CISI Transfer Agency study plan

Map the transfer agency value chain end to end: show where dealing, registration, settlement, and reporting hand off between the TA, the fund manager, the custodian, and the administrator, and name the control point at each handoff.

Summarise the regulatory architecture that touches a TA - the FCA authorisation and client-asset rules, the COLL sourcebook obligations for authorised funds, and the AML regime under the Money Laundering Regulations - and state which obligation sits with the TA versus the ACD or fund board.

Explain the difference between a TA acting as agent for the fund versus as principal for the investor, and describe how that distinction changes the TA's duties, liability, and complaint handling.

List the core records a TA must keep, the retention periods that apply, and which regulator or auditor would ask for them.

Draft your own one-page glossary of TA-specific terms (dealing point, dilution levy, register of members, ACD, OEIC, SICAV) that you will extend each week.

Trace a subscription from receipt of a complete instruction through to units appearing on the register, naming every check and system touch in sequence and the point at which the deal becomes binding.

Distinguish forward pricing from historic pricing, and explain how the dealing cut-off time, the valuation point, and the contract note interact for a same-day versus next-day deal.

Work through redemption mechanics: how units are cancelled, how proceeds are calculated, what happens when a redemption exceeds available liquidity, and how in-specie redemption differs from cash redemption.

Explain switching (conversion) as a paired redemption and subscription, and identify where switch fees, tax points, and dealing-point timing can create investor detriment if mishandled.

Classify five common dealing exceptions (late instruction, insufficient cleared funds, unknown investor, price error, duplicate instruction) and state the correct handling and escalation for each.

Explain how a fund's valuation point, dealing cut-off, and pricing basis combine to determine the price an investor actually receives, and identify the scenarios where those three elements are misaligned.

Describe how dilution arises from investor flows, and compare the mechanisms used to protect continuing investors: dilution levy, dilution adjustment, swing pricing, and anti-dilution levy.

Explain single swinging versus dual pricing and state which fund structures typically use each.

Reconcile a worked example: given a fund's net asset value, units in issue, and a large inflow, calculate the price per unit before and after a dilution adjustment and explain the difference to the continuing investor.

Identify the controls that prevent a stale or incorrect price being used for dealing, including price validation, tolerance checks, and the escalation path when a material pricing error is found.

Apply a risk-based approach to onboarding: given three investor profiles (a UK retail individual, a high-risk jurisdiction corporate, and a PEP), assign a risk rating and justify the enhanced due diligence each requires.

List the identity evidence acceptable for individuals and for legal entities, and explain why beneficial ownership tracing matters more for entities than for individuals.

Explain the interaction between KYC, source-of-funds, and source-of-wealth checks, and identify which of the three most often fails to be evidenced properly in practice.

Describe ongoing monitoring obligations - trigger events, periodic review cycles, and sanctions and PEP screening - and state what the TA must do when a screening hit is generated.

Explain how a suspicious activity report is raised, who decides, and what tipping-off restrictions mean for the person handling the investor's instruction.

Compare open-ended and closed-ended structures, and authorised versus recognised versus unauthorised funds, stating how each difference changes what the TA can and must do.

Explain how an umbrella or multi-subfund structure works operationally, including how unit classes, hedged share classes, and currency denominations are administered on the register.

Trace the cash leg of a deal: subscription monies in, settlement timeline, dealing with failed or late settlement, and how redemption proceeds are paid out including any bank-detail verification controls.

Explain the FX exposure created when an investor subscribes in one currency for a fund denominated in another, and describe how the TA handles FX conversion, rate sourcing, and the timing risk between deal and settlement.

Identify the reconciliation points between the register, the cash account, and the fund's records, and state what a break at each point would indicate.

Explain the legal effect of a unit transfer, the evidence and stamp duty or tax considerations that apply, and how the register is amended and the transfer recorded.

Describe how distributions are calculated, declared, and paid, and distinguish income distributions from accumulation, including the tax reporting consequences of each.

Identify the corporate actions a TA may process - unit splits, consolidations, class conversions, mergers, and fund closures - and state the register entries and investor communications each requires.

Explain what a contract note, valuation statement, and annual tax report must contain, and why accuracy in the tax report matters more than in most other investor communications.

Draft the investor-facing notification for one corporate action, covering what is changing, the effective date, and what the investor needs to do, if anything.

Build a risk and control matrix for the TA function covering at least eight risks (pricing error, misdealt instruction, KYC failure, cash break, data loss, third-party failure, regulatory breach, misreporting) with the control that mitigates each and how its effectiveness is tested.

Explain the purpose and mechanics of reconciliation and the difference between a preventative control and a detective control, giving a TA example of each.

Describe a business continuity plan for a TA: the scenarios it must cover, the recovery time objective, and how dealing continuity is maintained if the primary system fails on a dealing day.

Explain how operational losses are recorded, escalated, and remediated, and how a root-cause analysis differs from simply fixing the error.

Explain how outsourcing and delegation to a third-party administrator or platform are governed, including the oversight and reporting obligations that remain with the TA.

Answer a full set of timed practice questions across all nine domains and record your score by domain to expose remaining weak areas.

Revisit the two domains with the lowest practice scores and rewrite your week-one glossary and process map to incorporate what you have since learned.

Rehearse the calculations you are most likely to be tested on - price per unit, dilution adjustment, distribution per unit, and FX conversion - until you can complete each without reference material.

Recite from memory the regulatory sourcebook or rule that governs each of the nine domains, and identify any domain where you cannot do so.

Complete a final timed mock under exam conditions and review every incorrect answer to identify whether the error was knowledge, misreading, or calculation.