HKSI Paper 1 study plan

Map the regulatory architecture: identify the statutory roles of the SFC, HKMA, Stock Exchange of Hong Kong, and the Investor Compensation Fund, and state in one sentence what each body can and cannot do.

Trace how the Securities and Futures Ordinance and its subsidiary legislation fit together, and list the nine regulated activities from memory with a one-line description of each.

Explain the SFC's investigation, intervention and disciplinary powers, and distinguish them from the Exchange's listing-related powers.

Build a one-page diagram linking the SFC, HKMA, Exchange, and CCB/Investor Compensation Fund to the market participants each supervises.

Distinguish licensing from registration, and list the fit-and-proper criteria the SFC applies to corporations and to individuals.

Identify the competence requirements (industry experience, qualifications, CPT hours) for responsible officers and licensed representatives.

Explain the conditions under which an intermediary must appoint at least two responsible officers, and the role of the Manager-In-Charge regime.

Apply the licensing rules to three short scenarios: a firm adding Type 4 business, a representative changing employers, and a sole proprietor seeking Type 1 licensing.

Summarise the core conduct requirements: know-your-client, suitability, best execution, conflicts of interest, and client order handling, with the specific rule or code provision behind each.

Explain the Code of Conduct's requirements on marketing, advertising, and the distinction between solicited and unsolicited business.

Describe record-keeping and audit-trail obligations, and the circumstances in which an intermediary must report to the SFC.

Work through four conduct scenarios and identify which requirement was breached and what the likely disciplinary consequence is.

Explain the client-agreement, risk-disclosure and suitability-assessment steps required before an intermediary can execute a client's first transaction.

Distinguish professional from retail clients (including the opt-up process) and state what protections change.

Describe client-asset protection rules: segregation, trust accounts, custody, and the treatment of client securities and collateral.

Apply the onboarding rules to a mock client file and identify every missing document or disclosure.

List the market-misconduct offences (insider dealing, false trading, price rigging, disclosure of false or misleading information) and their statutory elements.

Explain the SFC's disciplinary powers, the Market Misconduct Tribunal process, and the difference between civil and criminal routes.

Describe the SFO offences most often tested: unlicensed dealing, breach of licence conditions, and failure to comply with SFC requests.

Draft short answers to three enforcement scenarios, identifying the offence, the forum, and the likely sanction.

Outline the listing regime: the roles of the Listing Committee, the Exchange, and the SFC in vetting and approving listings.

Explain the inside-information disclosure regime, including the statutory definition, the safe harbours, and the timing of disclosure obligations.

Describe continuing obligations for listed issuers: periodic reporting, notifiable transactions, connected transactions, and directors' dealings.

Apply the inside-information rules to two short fact patterns and determine whether disclosure was required and when.

Distinguish authorised collective investment schemes from unauthorised ones, and state when an offering document or SFC authorisation is required.

Explain the SFC's product-authorisation process and the key restrictions on marketing investment products to the Hong Kong public.

Summarise the AML/CFT obligations: customer due diligence, ongoing monitoring, record-keeping, and suspicious-transaction reporting to the JFIU.

Apply the AML rules to a suspicious-client scenario and write a short suspicious-transaction report narrative.

Revisit every domain's error log and re-test only the questions previously answered incorrectly.

Complete two full-length timed mock exams under exam conditions and record scores by domain.

For any domain scoring below 70%, re-read the relevant rules and rewrite the summary notes in your own words.

Build a final one-page 'cheat sheet' of the 30 facts you are most likely to forget, and rehearse it aloud.