CISI Investment Advice Diploma study plan
CISI Investment Advice Diploma · Give each week a clear focus.
8 weeks · About 7 hours per week
Financial markets and instruments & Investment principles, risk and return
Map the full syllabus of Domain 1 into a one-page instrument taxonomy covering equities, fixed income, money market, derivatives, FX and collective investments
Explain in writing how cash flows, coupon structures, duration and convexity drive bond price sensitivity, with two worked numeric examples
Define the main risk types (market, credit, liquidity, inflation, currency, operational) and match each to an instrument class where it dominates
Compute holding period return, arithmetic and geometric mean return, and variance from a supplied series of five annual returns
Your checkpoint
A 2-page instrument-and-risk reference sheet plus a spreadsheet of return and volatility calculations checked against your own hand workings
Financial markets and instruments & Investment principles, risk and return
Distinguish systematic from unsystematic risk and state how diversification reduces each, citing correlation assumptions
Interpret beta, standard deviation, Sharpe ratio and the capital asset pricing model, and calculate required return for three given securities
Describe how derivatives (futures, options, swaps) are used for hedging versus speculation and identify the payoff profile of a basic option position
Summarise the role of exchanges, market makers and settlement in price discovery and liquidity
Your checkpoint
Ten self-written calculation and short-answer questions on risk and return, with model answers and a log of every error you made
Financial markets and instruments & Investment principles, risk and return & Investment analysis and valuation
Apply discounted cash flow to value a bond and a dividend-paying equity, showing each input and sensitivity to the discount rate
Compare price-to-earnings, price-to-book, dividend yield and EV/EBITDA as relative valuation tools, stating when each misleads
Read a set of simplified financial statements and derive earnings, free cash flow and a net-debt position
Explain how macroeconomic indicators (inflation, interest rates, GDP, unemployment) transmit into asset prices
Your checkpoint
A valuation workbook valuing one bond and one equity under two discount-rate scenarios, with a written note on which method you trust and why
Investment analysis and valuation & Portfolio construction and asset allocation
Contrast fundamental, quantitative and technical analysis and state the evidence for and against market efficiency in each
Construct three model portfolios for distinct risk profiles using asset allocation ranges and justify each weight
Calculate portfolio expected return and volatility for a two-asset and a three-asset mix, showing the diversification benefit numerically
Explain strategic versus tactical asset allocation and rebalancing triggers
Your checkpoint
Three written model portfolios with allocation tables, expected return and volatility figures, and a one-paragraph rationale per client profile
Client advice, suitability and investment planning & Portfolio construction and asset allocation
Run a structured fact-find: capture objectives, time horizon, capacity for loss, attitude to risk and liquidity needs without leading the client
Translate a fact-find into a suitability assessment and match it to an appropriate risk-rated solution
Draft a suitability report containing recommendation, rationale, costs, risks and alternatives considered
Identify the point at which a recommendation would be unsuitable and describe the correct escalation
Your checkpoint
A complete mock client file: fact-find notes, risk profile, suitability report and a self-scored checklist against the suitability criteria
Client advice, suitability and investment planning & Regulation, ethics and professional conduct
State the core conduct obligations owed to clients, including treating customers fairly, disclosure, best execution and managing conflicts of interest
Apply the ethical decision framework to two short scenarios involving inducements and unsuitable switching, and justify the defensible course of action
Outline the regulatory architecture relevant to advice: authorisation, supervision, complaints handling, compensation and financial crime controls
Explain know-your-client, anti-money-laundering and data protection duties in an advisory workflow
Your checkpoint
Two written ethical case analyses of 400 words each, each ending with a decision, the rule or principle relied on, and the records you would keep
Regulation, ethics and professional conduct & Taxation and tax-efficient investment & Investment products and services
Compare tax wrappers and reliefs for individuals, covering tax-advantaged savings and investment accounts, pensions and capital gains treatment, and state the order in which allowances are best used
Explain how tax treatment differs across interest, dividends and capital growth, and the effect of holding period on after-tax return
Match products (funds, investment trusts, bonds, structured products, annuities) to client needs on cost, liquidity, risk and tax efficiency
Distinguish advice from guidance and identify which product sales require a personal recommendation
Your checkpoint
A one-page tax-wrapper decision table plus a product-to-need matching matrix covering at least six products
Financial markets and instruments & Investment principles, risk and return & Investment analysis and valuation & Portfolio construction and asset allocation & Client advice, suitability and investment planning & Regulation, ethics and professional conduct & Taxation and tax-efficient investment & Investment products and services
Sit two full timed mock examinations under exam conditions and record the score by domain
Re-teach your three weakest domains from your own notes and error log rather than re-reading source material
Drill calculation types until you can complete each without reference notes within the target time
Build a one-page exam-day sheet of formulas, regulatory principles and suitability checkpoints, then reproduce it from memory
Your checkpoint
Two marked mock papers with a domain-by-domain score table, a closed gap list showing every weak area resolved, and a memory-tested one-page exam sheet
Milestones
Week 2: You can calculate return, volatility, beta, Sharpe ratio and CAPM required return unaided and explain each result in one sentence
Week 4: You can value a bond and an equity by DCF and build a three-asset portfolio with expected return and volatility, without notes
Week 6: You can produce a defensible suitability recommendation and resolve an inducements or switching conflict using a named rule or principle
Week 8: Both timed mocks scored, every domain at or above your target pass mark, and no unresolved items on the gap list