GISI Securities Course Professional Level study plan

Map the regulatory architecture governing securities firms, exchanges, and intermediaries, and summarize in your own words how registration, licensing, and market-conduct rules fit together

Explain the structure of primary and secondary markets, order types, trading venues, clearing and settlement mechanics, and identify who bears counterparty risk at each stage

Decompose fixed income instruments by issuer, seniority, coupon structure, and embedded options, and state the cash-flow pattern of each category

Derive the price-yield relationship for a plain vanilla bond and compute price, accrued interest, and yield to maturity for three worked examples by hand

Calculate duration, modified duration, and convexity for at least three bonds and interpret how each metric predicts price change for a given yield shift

Distinguish money market instruments from capital market instruments and explain the role of central bank policy rates and the yield curve in pricing both

Describe how margin requirements, capital adequacy, and investor compensation schemes protect clients and the market, and identify which regulator or body enforces each

Compare the main fixed income trading venues and quoting conventions, including the difference between price and yield quotation

Explain credit risk, interest rate risk, liquidity risk, and reinvestment risk for a bond portfolio and rank them by severity for a rising-rate scenario

Interpret credit ratings, credit spreads, and default recovery assumptions, and explain why rating agencies are not a substitute for independent analysis

Outline the compliance obligations attached to suitability, best execution, and conflicts of interest, and describe the records a firm must keep

Identify the principal risk categories in the regulatory framework for market abuse, insider dealing, and disclosure

Distinguish ordinary shares, preference shares, and depositary receipts by voting rights, dividend priority, and claim on liquidation

Trace the equity issuance and listing lifecycle from prospectus through bookbuilding to secondary trading, and explain the role of underwriters and stabilisation

Apply discounted cash flow and dividend discount models to value a listed company, and state the assumptions that most affect the output

Compute and interpret price-to-earnings, price-to-book, dividend yield, and enterprise-value multiples, and explain when each is misleading

Explain the payoff profile at expiry for forwards, futures, vanilla options, and swaps, and draw each payoff from first principles

Calculate option intrinsic value, time value, and the payoff of simple covered and protective strategies, and identify the breakeven for each

Describe how margin, mark-to-market, and central clearing operate in futures and OTC derivatives, and explain counterparty risk transfer

Identify the investor-suitability and disclosure concerns raised by structured products and explain why capital protection may be conditional

Compare open-ended funds, closed-ended funds, exchange-traded funds, and unit trusts on pricing, liquidity, and dealing mechanics

Explain the fees and charges in a collective investment scheme, including initial, management, performance, and exit charges, and compute the effect of a 1 percent annual fee over ten years

Construct an asset allocation for three investor profiles defined by time horizon, liquidity need, and stated risk tolerance, and justify each allocation

Distinguish strategic from tactical allocation and explain rebalancing rules and their cost implications

Compute and interpret portfolio return, standard deviation, Sharpe ratio, and correlation between two assets, and explain diversification limits

Apply value-at-risk and stress testing conceptually to a sample portfolio and state the assumptions and shortcomings of each measure

Explain how a firm monitors concentration limits, leverage, and liquidity under its risk framework, and identify escalation routes when limits are breached

Describe the compliance cycle from client onboarding and know-your-client checks through ongoing monitoring and periodic review

Apply the core ethical duties of integrity, fair dealing, client priority, and confidentiality to four short dilemma scenarios and justify each decision

Identify the conflicts that arise from remuneration structures, soft commissions, and personal account dealing, and state the required disclosure

Consolidate the regulatory framework into a single reference sheet covering the main regulators, their mandates, and the key rule areas

Complete two timed mixed-domain practice sets and review every incorrect answer to a named knowledge gap