Free CISI Global Securities Operations mock exam
Sit the whole Global Securities Operations paper: 50 questions on participants, settlement, asset servicing, tax and risk, under a 60-minute clock. Free, no sign-up, with a weighted score and an explanation for every answer.
What is on the CISI Global Securities Operations mock exam?
One full Global Securities Operations practice paper: 50 questions in 60 minutes, weighted across the five syllabus elements exactly as the real paper is. Score 35 out of 50 to meet the 70% practice threshold, then review every answer one at a time.
- Questions
- 50 original practice questions
- Time
- 60 minutes
- Practice threshold
- 70%, which is 35 of 50
- Access
- Free, with no account or card
How the paper is weighted
Global Securities Operations is the technical unit of the Investment Operations Certificate, and its weighting is unusually front-loaded onto the parts of the settlement chain candidates deal with least.
| Element | Questions |
|---|---|
| 1. Main Industry Participants | 13 |
| 2. Settlement Characteristics | 11 |
| 3. Other Investor Services | 16 |
| 4. Aspects of Taxation | 4 |
| 5. Risk | 6 |
| Total | 50 |
Other Investor Services is the heaviest element at sixteen of the 50 marks, with Main Industry Participants at thirteen and Settlement Characteristics at eleven. Those three carry 40 of the 50 marks. Aspects of Taxation is four and Risk is six, which is exactly the reason people neglect them and then lose a pass by two marks.
For the cleanest rehearsal, set aside the full 60 minutes, avoid notes and answer every question. There is no negative marking on the real paper, so a guess is always better than a blank. The mock hides feedback until submission and warns you before handing in a paper with blanks.
Full practice paper
75 questions. 90 minutes. No sign-up.
Sit the paper in one go if you can. Answers and explanations stay hidden until you submit, so the score is a more useful rehearsal than an instant-feedback quiz.
The timer starts when you press the button. Reloading or leaving the page ends this sitting.
Where the marks go on this paper
Other Investor Services is the element that decides this paper. Corporate actions, income collection, proxy voting, securities lending and collateral management are sixteen marks, and they are the operations most candidates touch only through a system screen rather than end to end.
Main Industry Participants rewards clean definitions rather than experience. Custodian against sub-custodian, ICSD against CSD, prime broker against clearing broker: thirteen marks turn on distinctions that people who work in operations often use loosely in conversation.
Aspects of Taxation is four marks and reliably the worst-scoring element. Withholding tax, double taxation treaties and relief at source versus reclaim are a small, self-contained body of material that is quick to learn and almost never revised, because four marks feels ignorable until you fail by one.
Settlement Characteristics is eleven marks and the element where working in the industry helps most, provided you know the model as well as the market you sit in. Delivery versus payment, settlement cycles across markets, matching and affirmation, and the causes and consequences of a failed trade are all testable in the abstract, not just as your own market does them.
How to use your result
Treat 70% as a practice threshold, not a readiness promise. A stronger signal is a run of timed scores above the threshold with no element repeatedly falling behind. With only 50 questions, each mark is two percentage points. A four-question element you skipped is 8% of the paper, which is most of the distance between a comfortable pass and a resit.
Use the answer review to understand each miss, then revisit the relevant part of the Global Securities Operations exam guide. To drill a single topic rather than sit a whole paper, start with the free Global Securities Operations practice questions.
Looking for official material? Global Securities Operations past papers: what actually exists explains what CISI actually publishes and how to combine it with question practice. For more full papers, see the £59 Pass Package.
Independent practice material: PasskeyPrep is not affiliated with, endorsed by or accredited by the Chartered Institute for Securities & Investment. These questions were written independently against the syllabus. They are not copied from a live CISI exam or official past paper.
Frequently asked questions
Is this Global Securities Operations mock exam really free?
Yes. All 50 questions are free, with no account or card needed. Submit the paper and you get your score, a five-element breakdown and an explanation for every answer.
Does this mock match the real GSO exam format?
It uses 50 questions, a 60-minute timer, a 70% practice threshold and the published weightings across the five syllabus elements. The questions are original PasskeyPrep practice material, not the CISI examination platform or official exam questions.
Where does Global Securities Operations sit in the IOC?
It is a technical unit of the Investment Operations Certificate, taken alongside a regulatory unit. It suits settlement, custody, asset servicing and middle-office roles rather than advisory ones.
What score should I aim for?
The exam pass mark is 70%, so this mock marks 35 out of 50 as meeting the practice threshold. One result cannot predict or guarantee an exam result. Check Aspects of Taxation and Risk separately, since a short element can hide inside a decent total.
Turn the element breakdown into a study plan.
Unlock the full Global Securities Operations question bank, more timed mocks, study notes, flashcards and weak-spot tracking as part of the £59 Pass Package.