CISI exam help, from the inside

I passed UK Financial Regulation, Securities and Derivatives, the whole UK Capital Markets Programme, and I prepared for every one of them with PasskeyPrep. This is why I built it, how I used it and what I would tell anyone sitting the same papers.

Pass a CISI exam by turning the workbook into active recall, targeted question practice and timed mocks. This guide gives you the format, five-week plan and exam-day tactics.

This guide covers the UK unit, not the International Introduction to Securities & Investment. Pass it first time: the 11 elements and their weightings, a realistic study plan, the calculations, and exam-day tactics.

The Level 3 CISI UK Financial Regulation exam has 75 questions, 90 minutes and a 70% pass mark. See the four weightings, revision plan and free practice.

This guide covers the Capital Markets Programme Level 3 Securities paper, not the separate Level 4 IAD Securities unit. Here are the nine weightings, calculations and revision plan.

This guide covers the Capital Markets Programme Level 3 Derivatives paper, not the separate Level 4 IAD Derivatives unit. Here are the nine weightings, key terms and revision plan.

Pass the CISI Investment, Risk & Taxation exam: the eight elements and their weightings, the UK tax detail and risk statistics that trip people, and how to revise.

Pass the CISI Financial Planning & Advice exam: the five elements and their weightings, the pensions, protection and advice detail that trips people, and how to revise.

Pass the CISI Global Securities Operations exam: the five elements and their weightings, the settlement and corporate actions detail that trips people, and how to revise.

Pass the CISI Risk in Financial Services exam: the ten elements and their weightings, the credit, market and operational risk detail that carries the paper, and how to revise it.

Pass the CISI Global Financial Compliance exam: the five elements and their weightings, the financial crime and ethics detail that trips people, and how to revise.

A simple guide to choosing your first CISI exam: the foundation papers explained, the Capital Markets Programme, and a decision tree for graduates and new entrants.

Is a CISI qualification worth it? An honest take on who it helps, who it does not, what it costs you in time, and how it compares to the CFA and the IMC.

How hard is the CISI exam really? Honest difficulty by paper, what makes candidates fail, realistic study hours, and which CISI module is the hardest.

Book a CISI exam in three steps: register, choose and pay for your paper, then select a live test-centre or remote-invigilation slot.

How to calculate dividend yield for the CISI exam: the formula, three worked examples, and the distractors CISI uses to catch you. Simple once you have done a few.

Flat yield versus redemption yield, explained for the CISI exam: the formula, a worked example, and the premium and discount relationship candidates always muddle.

The three stages of money laundering for the CISI exam: placement, layering and integration, plus the Proceeds of Crime Act offences and how suspicions are reported.

There are no public CISI past papers. Here's what CISI actually gives you, why the old PDFs floating around are a trap, and the free, current alternative.

Complete the CISI Capital Markets Programme with UK Financial Regulation plus Securities or Derivatives. Compare formats, pass marks, routes and preparation.

Revision Express is CISI's own online question tool, sold alongside the workbook. The current UK Financial Regulation edition holds 302 questions, Securities 381 and Derivatives 338. Here is what it covers, where to find it, and what CISI says it is not.

This page covers Securities in the Level 3 Capital Markets Programme, not the separate Level 4 IAD unit. Here is what CISI provides and where to get current 100-question mocks.

This page covers Derivatives in the Level 3 Capital Markets Programme, not the separate Level 4 IAD unit. Here is what CISI provides and where to get current 100-question mocks.

This page covers UK Financial Regulation in the Level 3 Capital Markets Programme, not the IAD's Level 4 UK Regulation & Professional Integrity unit. Here is what official material exists and where to get current mocks.

This page covers the UK unit, not the International Introduction to Securities & Investment. No public past papers exist for it. Here's what CISI provides, and where to get current, weighted 50-question mocks.

No public past papers exist for CISI Global Securities Operations. Here's the official material that does, and where to get current, weighted 50-question mocks.

No public past papers exist for CISI Investment, Risk & Taxation. Here's the official material that does, and where to get current, weighted 80-question mocks.

No public past papers exist for CISI Financial Planning & Advice. Here's the official material that does, and where to get current, weighted 80-question mocks.

No public past papers exist for CISI Risk in Financial Services. Here's the official material that does, and where to get current, weighted 100-question mocks.

No public past papers exist for CISI Global Financial Compliance. Here's the official material that does, and where to get current, weighted 100-question mocks.

No public past papers exist for CISI Combating Financial Crime. Here's the official material that does, and where to get current, weighted 50-question mocks.

This page covers the Level 4 IAD Securities unit, not the Level 3 Capital Markets Programme paper. No public past papers exist for it. Here's the official material that does, and where to get current, weighted 80-question mocks.

No public past papers exist for CISI UK Regulation & Professional Integrity. Here's the official material that does, plus current, weighted 80-question mocks.

IntegrityMatters is the compulsory ethics test you must pass before the Capital Markets Programme. The pass mark is 19 out of 24. Here is how it works and how to approach it.

Take the technical unit that matches your desk: Securities for cash products, Derivatives for futures, options, swaps and margin. Here are both element weighting tables, an honest difficulty comparison, and what to do if nobody has chosen for you.

Every syllabus element on all three CISI Capital Markets Programme papers, with the exact number of questions each one carries and what it tests. Use it to weight your revision to the marks instead of spreading it evenly.

You can sit a CISI paper at a test centre or at home under remote invigilation, and the exam is identical either way. What differs is the ID you need, the kit and room rules, and how early you have to be there. Here is all of it, from CISI's own regulations.

The CISI Capital Markets Programme is two exams and 183 hours. The CFA is three exams, around 900 hours of study and 4,000 hours of qualified work experience. They are not competing for the same job.

Pass the CISI Combating Financial Crime exam: 50 questions in 60 minutes across eight elements, with Financial Crime Risk Management alone worth a quarter of the paper.

This guide covers the Level 4 IAD Securities unit, not the Level 3 Capital Markets Programme Securities paper. Pass it first time: 80 questions in two hours across eight elements, with fixed income and equities worth half the paper between them.

Pass the CISI UK Regulation & Professional Integrity exam: 80 questions in 120 minutes across six elements, where three elements carry 56 of the 80 marks.

Complete the CISI Investment Advice Diploma with two compulsory core units plus one technical unit. Compare the five papers, the routes through them and what order to sit them in.

Complete the CISI Investment Operations Certificate with three units, and pick the technical unit that matches your desk. The routes, the thirteen options and what order to sit them in.

CISI risk and compliance is built from standalone Level 3 Awards rather than one fixed qualification. Compare the three papers, see how an Award becomes a Certificate, and pick the right first one.

This guide covers the Level 4 IAD Derivatives unit, not the Level 3 Capital Markets Programme Derivatives paper. Pass it first time: 80 questions in two hours across ten elements, with three of them worth 42 of the 80 marks between them.

This page covers the Level 4 IAD Derivatives unit, not the Level 3 Capital Markets Programme paper. No public past papers exist for it. Here's the official material that does, and where to get current, weighted 80-question mocks.

This guide covers the international unit, not the UK Introduction to Securities & Investment. Pass it first time: 50 questions in one hour across ten elements, with equities and bonds worth 16 marks between them.

This page covers the international unit, not the UK Introduction to Securities & Investment. No past papers exist for it. Here's the official material that does, and where to get weighted 50-question mocks.

Tutoring commonly runs £40 to £70 an hour. Most CISI candidates do not need it: they need current questions at the real pace and weighting. Here is how to tell which you are, free.