Free CISI Global Securities Operations practice questions
Exam-style Global Securities Operations questions written to the current CISI syllabus. No sign-up, full explanations, and a feel for the paper.
These 10 questions are a free sample for the CISI Global Securities Operations exam, written to the current syllabus and multiple-choice format. Pick an answer and the explanation appears straight away, so each one teaches you something whether you get it right or wrong.
They span several syllabus elements rather than one topic, so you get a feel for the breadth of the paper. For the complete question bank and full mock exams weighted like the real Global Securities Operations paper, it is all included for £59, or £89 if you want all fourteen supported CISI exams.
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Try 10: Global Securities Operations
Pick an answer to see whether you got it, and why.
Which of the following invests its own money on its own account rather than pooling the contributions of others?
Not quite. The answer is C.
An individual investor commits their own capital on their own account and takes the resulting gain or loss personally. An institutional investor is a transparent vehicle that channels the pooled money of many smaller savers. An investment manager runs assets belonging to others for an annual fee, and an inter-dealer broker simply matches trades anonymously between market makers without taking a position for itself.
Which data item is needed when matching a corporate bond trade's settlement instruction but NOT generally needed when matching an equity trade?
Not quite. The answer is D.
The number of days and the amount of accrued interest is required only if the instrument is a fixed-income security, so it applies to the bond trade but not generally to equities. The net settlement value, counterparty BIC and the direction of the trade are standard matching fields for all instruments.
Why must a firm segregate client safe custody investments from its own designated investments?
Not quite. The answer is A.
Segregation keeps client assets identifiable and outside the pool available to creditors if the firm fails, and stops the firm using them without consent. It is not a capital reduction technique. Netting client obligations against the firm's own is precisely what segregation prevents, and pooling assets into a lending programme would require the client's specific authority.
From April 2025, what is the maximum amount of dividend income a UK individual can receive in a tax year before any dividend tax becomes payable?
Not quite. The answer is A.
The dividend allowance is £500 from April 2025, so dividend income up to that figure carries no dividend tax. £1,000 was the allowance in 2023-24, before it was halved and halved again, while £3,000 and £6,000 are capital gains tax annual exempt amounts rather than dividend figures.
The Bank for International Settlements (BIS) identifies three main categories of risk in the financial services sector. Which of the following correctly lists them?
Not quite. The answer is B.
The BIS identifies credit risk, market risk and operational risk as the three main categories of risk in financial services. The other risks listed are all recognised, but they sit outside the BIS's three headline categories: settlement and counterparty risk, for example, are treated as elements of credit risk, and reputational risk as a subcategory of operational risk.
Who must have issued the certificate that lets a UK investor certify as a sophisticated investor, and within what period must it date?
Not quite. The answer is C.
Certified sophisticated investors are persons holding a certificate issued in the past three years by an FCA-approved authority, confirming the required level of investment knowledge. Neither the exchange, the investor's own manager nor HM Treasury performs this certification role.
Which of the following are levels at which trade data is matched before settlement? I Trading counterparties comparing trade details II Custodians comparing settlement instructions III The exchange comparing orders against transaction reports IV Registrars comparing shareholder records
Not quite. The answer is A.
Matching happens twice: the trading counterparties compare the economic terms of the bargain, and their custodians then compare settlement instructions, so I and II are correct. The exchange does not reconcile executed orders against transaction reports, which go to the regulator through an approved reporting mechanism, and registrars play no part in pre-settlement matching, so III and IV are both wrong.
A UK firm holds client safe custody investments with an external custodian rather than physically holding them itself. At a minimum, how often must it reconcile its records of those investments?
Not quite. The answer is A.
Records of safe custody investments the firm is accountable for but does not physically hold must be reconciled at least every 25 business days in the UK, supported by statements from the custodian. The six-month interval applies to the physical count of assets the firm itself holds, not to this record reconciliation.
A UK higher-rate taxpayer receives dividend income in excess of the dividend allowance. Which of the following is the rate at which the excess is taxed?
Not quite. The answer is C.
Dividends above the £500 allowance are taxed at 8.75% for basic-rate taxpayers (and non-taxpayers), 33.75% for higher-rate taxpayers and 39.35% for additional-rate taxpayers. 39.35% is the additional rate, not the higher rate, and 20% is the basic rate of income tax on earnings, not dividends.
A company that issued a corporate bond fails to pay the coupon due to bondholders and, consequently, cannot redeem the principal at the redemption date. Which risk has crystallised for the bondholders?
Not quite. The answer is B.
Issuer risk is the risk that an issuer defaults on its obligations: in the case of a debt instrument, failing to meet interest payments and to redeem principal on the redemption date. Legal risk concerns loss from unenforceable contracts or defective documentation, while settlement risk concerns a transaction failing to complete as expected; neither describes an issuer defaulting on its own instrument, and liquidity risk concerns an inability to realise or fund a position rather than a default by the issuer.
These are a free sample. PasskeyPrep has over 9,400 exam-standard questions across fourteen supported CISI exams, sorted so you drill exactly where you are weak. Start with the full free Global Securities Operations mock exam: 50 original PasskeyPrep questions in 60 minutes, with no sign-up. It is independent practice material, not a CISI paper or a set of live CISI questions. Build your plan with the Global Securities Operations exam guide, see what official material exists in the Global Securities Operations past papers and mocks guide, or unlock the full bank and timed mocks from £59.
Frequently asked questions
Are these real CISI Global Securities Operations questions?
No. CISI does not publish its live questions. These are original questions written by PasskeyPrep to match the current CISI Global Securities Operations syllabus, format and difficulty.
Is the CISI Global Securities Operations practice free?
The questions on this page are free with no sign-up. The full Global Securities Operations question bank and mocks are one payment of £59, or £89 for all fourteen supported CISI exams. No subscription.
How should I use practice questions to pass Global Securities Operations?
Read the workbook once to build the picture, then spend most of your time answering questions and reviewing the explanations, focusing hardest on the topics you keep getting wrong. Finish with full, timed mocks weighted like the real paper.