CISI Platforms (IOC) study guide
CISI Platforms (IOC) · Work through your exam, one topic at a time.
The CISI Level 3 Certificate in Platforms is a specialist unit within the Investment Operations Certificate (IOC) suite, awarded by the Chartered Institute for Securities & Investment (CISI). It is designed for staff who work with, or alongside, investment platforms: platform operations and administration teams, client servicing and onboarding staff, paraplanners, compliance and risk analysts, and advisers seeking a formal grounding in how platform businesses actually run. The CISI Platforms (IOC) study guide has 10 sections and about 4,013 words.
01The platform market and business environment
This section checks that you can describe how the UK platform industry is structured, who the participants are, and how platforms actually earn money. Questions typically ask you to distinguish platform types, explain margin compression, or work out the commercial effect of a regulatory change such as the Retail Distribution Review (RDR).
433 words, about 2 min02Platform structures, operating models and technology
How a platform is legally structured, who holds the assets, which functions are outsourced, and how the technology stack fits together. Expect questions on bundled versus unbundled models, nominee custody, and the regulatory consequences of outsourcing.
421 words, about 2 min03Regulation and supervision of platforms
The regulatory architecture around platforms: who supervises, which Handbook modules bite, how Consumer Duty applies, and what happens when client assets or complaints go wrong. The FCA is the conduct regulator; the PRA is prudential and relevant only to certain firms.
445 words, about 2 min04Client onboarding, suitability and advice boundaries
Where advice ends and execution-only begins, what a suitability process must contain, and the onboarding controls - KYC, vulnerability, adviser due diligence - that a platform must operate. Regulated advice is a personal recommendation.
414 words, about 2 min05Products, wrappers and tax-efficient vehicles on platforms
The wrappers and vehicles available on a platform, how they are taxed, and how platform rules interact with product governance and clean share classes. ISA (cash, stocks and shares, innovative finance), Junior ISA, Lifetime ISA, SIPP, SSAS, general investment account, onshore and offshore investment bonds, VCT and EIS, and trusts.
380 words, about 2 min06Trading, settlement and asset administration
How orders are executed and priced, how trades settle, how assets are held and how corporate actions and transfers are administered. Execution-only platforms route orders to market makers, exchanges or fund managers.
380 words, about 2 min07Cash management, fees and charges
How cash is held and remunerated, how the full cost chain is built up, and how costs must be disclosed to clients. Cash awaiting investment or held as a balance may be client money under CASS 7, requiring segregation, daily reconciliation and a client money calculation.
373 words, about 2 min08Client reporting, valuations and data
What a platform must report to clients and when, how performance is measured, and how data quality and data protection underpin reporting. Online valuations are usually available daily; formal periodic statements are required at least annually for MiFID business, and more often on request or for complex products.
382 words, about 2 min09Risk, controls and financial crime prevention
The risk and control framework a platform must operate, and the financial crime obligations that sit across onboarding, payments and trading. Three lines of defence: the business owns risk, risk and compliance oversee it, internal audit provides independent assurance.
364 words, about 2 min10Ethics, conduct and treating customers fairly
Values and behaviours rather than rules alone: how the FCA Principles, Consumer Duty and the treating customers fairly outcomes are applied and evidenced in a platform business. The FCA Principles for Businesses include integrity, skill care and diligence, management and control, customers' interests, communications, conflicts of interest, and relations with regulators.
421 words, about 2 min