CISI Financial Markets study guide
CISI Financial Markets · Work through your exam, one topic at a time.
The CISI Financial Markets qualification is one of the professional qualifications offered by the Chartered Institute for Securities & Investment (CISI), a professional body whose site describes a membership of over 54,000 members worldwide and lists qualifications, CPD, events and learning resources alongside membership services. This profile treats the exam as a multiple-choice assessment split into five equally weighted areas: the financial markets environment, securities and investments, derivatives, foreign exchange, and regulation and ethics. The CISI Financial Markets study guide has 5 sections and about 1,715 words.
01The Financial Markets Environment
You need a working map of who does what in the financial system: retail and institutional investors, issuers, intermediaries (brokers, market makers, investment banks), exchanges and multilateral trading facilities, clearing houses and central counterparties, custodians, and the central bank. Understand the difference between primary markets (new issuance raising capital for the issuer) and secondary markets (trading between investors, providing liquidity and price discovery).
345 words, about 2 min02Securities and Investments
You must be able to describe the main securities and evaluate them. For equities , know ordinary shares (voting, residual claim, variable dividend) versus preference shares (fixed dividend, priority over ordinary, often limited voting).
341 words, about 2 min03Derivatives
Derivatives derive value from an underlying asset. You must distinguish the four core types and their uses.
349 words, about 2 min04Foreign Exchange
The FX market is the largest and most liquid market, operating largely over-the-counter around the clock across time zones. You must understand exchange rates as the price of one currency in terms of another, the base/quote convention, and how to read a quote such as GBP/USD 1.25 (one pound buys 1.25 dollars).
347 words, about 2 min05Regulation and Ethics
This domain covers the rules and standards governing markets and the conduct expected of practitioners. You need a grasp of the regulatory architecture (regulators, exchanges, clearing houses), the objectives of regulation (investor protection, market integrity, financial stability, reducing financial crime), and the principles-based conduct expected of individuals.
333 words, about 2 min