Why I Built PasskeyPrep, and How I Used It to Pass All Three CISI CMP Papers
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.
Who built PasskeyPrep, and did he pass the CISI exams himself?
PasskeyPrep was built by Rueben Yu, who passed UK Financial Regulation, Securities and Derivatives, which is every paper in the UK CISI Capital Markets Programme, and prepared for all three with PasskeyPrep. He started building it in April 2026 while revising, because he could not find a question bank with weak-spot tracking and weighted timed mocks at a price a self-funding candidate would pay. He now works in project finance at Citi and runs PasskeyPrep alongside that. PasskeyPrep is independent and not affiliated with CISI.
- Founder
- Rueben Yu
- Passed
- UK Financial Regulation, Securities and Derivatives: both CMP routes
- Prepared with
- The official workbook, then PasskeyPrep, for all three papers
- Building since
- April 2026, while revising
- Now
- Project finance at Citi, infrastructure
- CISI affiliation
- None. Independent study tool
I passed UK Financial Regulation, Securities and Derivatives, which is every paper in the UK CISI Capital Markets Programme, and I prepared for all three with PasskeyPrep. I built it while I was revising, because the tool I wanted did not exist. I now work in project finance at Citi, on infrastructure, and I run PasskeyPrep around that.
This page is the plain account: why the product exists, how I used it for each paper, and what passing does and does not prove about it.
The short version
| Question | Answer |
|---|---|
| Who writes this | Rueben Yu, founder of PasskeyPrep |
| What I passed | UK Financial Regulation, Securities and Derivatives. Regulation plus one technical paper completes the Programme; I sat both technical papers, so both routes |
| What I revised with | The official CISI workbook for each paper, then PasskeyPrep for the questions, weak-spot tracking and timed mocks |
| When I started building it | April 2026, while preparing for the papers |
| What I do now | Project finance at Citi, infrastructure. PasskeyPrep is evenings and weekends |
| Relationship with CISI | None. PasskeyPrep is independent and not affiliated with, endorsed by or accredited by CISI |
Why I built it
The official workbook is the authority for each exam. It has the material you are expected to know and a handful of practice questions. I used it, and anyone preparing properly should.
The problem is that reading gives you a poor signal. A paragraph feels familiar while it is in front of you. That feeling goes when the book is closed and the same point is hidden inside four options that all look right. Reading also cannot tell you which syllabus element is quietly pulling your score under 70%.
The question I wanted answered was simple: if I sat the paper tomorrow, which parts would cost me marks? A book cannot answer that. You need a lot of questions, explanations that deal with the wrong answers as well as the right one, a record of where you keep slipping, and fresh mocks weighted the way the real paper is weighted.
I looked for that and did not find it at a price a candidate paying their own way would accept. So in April 2026 I started writing questions against the syllabus and building the thing around them, and I revised from it as it grew.
How I used it, paper by paper
The loop was the same for all three, and it is the loop the product is built around:
- Read the official workbook once, to get the map of the syllabus.
- Answer questions from memory, every day, without looking anything up.
- Read the explanation, including why the tempting options are wrong.
- Let the weak-spot tracker decide what comes back, rather than revising everything evenly.
- Sit full, timed mocks before booking, and judge readiness on more than one result.
UK Financial Regulation
Regulation rewards exact reading. Knowing broadly what the FCA does is not enough when the options turn on who a rule applies to, when an exception operates or which protection belongs to which client. What helped was volume: the same rules asked from several angles until the qualifiers stuck. Our UK Financial Regulation guide sets out the paper and its weighting.
Securities
Securities is wide rather than deep. Asset classes, primary and secondary markets, corporate actions, clearing, settlement and accounting analysis all compete for the same two hours. The tracker mattered most here, because it kept sending me back to the two or three elements I would otherwise have left alone. The Securities exam guide has the structure and revision priorities.
Derivatives
Derivatives punishes vague understanding. You have to know which side of a position gains, how the pricing relationships move, what margin and clearing do and how a hedge changes the exposure. Drawing the position and then testing it with questions was more useful than rereading a definition. The Derivatives exam guide covers the nine elements.
I am not going to quote my scores. A pass is a pass, and the point of this page is the method, which anyone can copy with or without us.
Test yourself on CMP: Securities
4 questions written to the current syllabus, in the format of the real paper. Pick an answer and the explanation appears. Nothing to sign up for.
Who does a UK exporter approach when it wants to hedge its dollar receipts and to convert floating rate borrowing into fixed rate?
Not quite. The answer is D.
Forward foreign exchange and interest rate swaps are wholesale treasury products, and it is the markets division of an investment bank that supplies both to a corporate customer. The closest distractor is the custodian bank, whose settlement staff do execute currency deals, but only in the amounts needed to settle a client's securities bargains rather than to hedge a commercial exposure months ahead. A building society lends on residential property out of retail deposits, and a private client bank manages the investments of wealthy individuals.
A 5% gilt with £100 face value last paid a coupon 73 days ago. Using a 365-day year, what is the accrued interest per £100 nominal?
Not quite. The answer is B.
Accrued interest = annual coupon rate × (days elapsed / 365) × nominal = 5% × (73 / 365) × £100 = 0.05 × 0.2 × £100 = £1.00. The 73-day period is exactly one-fifth of a year (73 / 365 = 0.2), making the arithmetic clean. The accrued amount compensates the seller for the coupon income earned but not yet paid.
An institution wants to work a very large order quietly. Which venue matches orders without displaying prices beforehand?
Not quite. The answer is A.
A dark pool provides no pre-trade transparency, which is why institutions use it to work large orders without moving the price against themselves. An order-driven market shows the depth of buy and sell interest on the book to every participant. A regulated market operates under pre-trade transparency requirements, and in a quote-driven market the market makers' bids and offers are displayed continuously.
Who distributes part of a bond issue but takes a smaller share of it than the lead manager?
Not quite. The answer is D.
Co-managers are brought into a syndicate to widen distribution; they place bonds with their own clients and take a smaller allotment and a smaller fee than the lead. The closest distractor is the lead manager, which also distributes bonds but in addition wins the mandate, documents the issue and runs the book. The paying agent handles coupons and the trustee represents holders.
That is 4 of more than 10,800 questions in the PasskeyPrep bank. Chapter 1 of every exam is free, with the study notes and flashcards that go with it, and every answer is marked and explained the way these were.
What using my own product taught me about it
Revising from something you are building is uncomfortable in a useful way. Every weak question, every explanation that dodged the hard part, every mock that did not feel like the real paper was in front of me the night before an exam. A lot of what is in PasskeyPrep now is the result of being annoyed by it as a candidate.
| What I ran into as a candidate | What changed in the product |
|---|---|
| Reading felt productive without proving recall | Question-led practice with instant marking |
| A wrong answer told me too little | Explanations for the right answer and for the traps around it |
| Comfortable topics ate the time weak ones needed | Weak-spot tracking and spaced return |
| Loose quizzes did not feel like the paper | Timed mocks weighted by syllabus element |
| Confidence was based on mood | A readiness estimate built from attempts and repeated mock results |
| Some questions were easier than the real thing | A standard for every bank: the wrong options have to be mistakes a candidate would plausibly make, and a bank that falls short is rewritten |
The candidate is still the one doing the work. The product's job is to remove friction, keep the evidence honest and make the next useful action obvious.
What I do now
I work in project finance at Citi, on the infrastructure side. That is a full-time job, so PasskeyPrep is run in the evenings and at weekends, with help. The exams are behind me, which is the point of the byline on our guides: they are written by someone who has sat these papers, against the current syllabus and current UK regulation, and they are corrected when something is wrong.
What I would do again
I would still start with the workbook. I would move into questions earlier, record the reason behind every mistake and spend more time on weak elements than comfortable ones. I would protect fresh, full-length mocks for the final stage rather than using every available question too early.
I would not treat one good mock as proof I was ready. A single result can flatter you. Repeated results, under the real time limit and the real weighting, are better evidence. They are still evidence, not a guarantee.
A precise point about the CMP
For the UK Capital Markets Programme, the standard structure is UK Financial Regulation plus one technical unit, either Securities or Derivatives. Passing Regulation and Securities completes the Securities route. Passing Regulation and Derivatives completes the Derivatives route. I passed all three papers and therefore completed both routes. CISI explains the current structure on its Capital Markets Programme page.
You do not need to take both technical papers unless that serves your role or your own goals. Pick the route you actually need, then prepare for that paper properly.
What passing does and does not prove
Passing these papers gives me first-hand knowledge of the preparation and the exam format, and it means the product was good enough to get one candidate through all three. It does not make PasskeyPrep official CISI material, and it does not make every answer automatically right. We still check the bank against the current official workbook and published syllabus, and we correct it when something is wrong.
PasskeyPrep is independent. It is not affiliated with, endorsed by or accredited by CISI. The qualification comes from CISI. Our job is to help you walk into the exam having tested what you know.
If you are preparing for the CMP, start with the paper in front of you. Try the free practice questions for UK Financial Regulation, Securities or Derivatives. No sign-up is required, and chapter 1 of every paper is free once you do.
Frequently asked questions
Did Rueben use PasskeyPrep to pass his own CISI exams?
Yes. He prepared for UK Financial Regulation, Securities and Derivatives with the official workbook for each paper and PasskeyPrep for the question practice, weak-spot tracking and timed mocks, building the product as he revised.
How many exams do you need for the UK CISI Capital Markets Programme?
You normally need UK Financial Regulation plus one technical unit, either Securities or Derivatives. Rueben passed the regulatory paper and both technical papers, completing both routes.
Do you need to pass both Securities and Derivatives?
No. One technical unit is required alongside the regulatory unit. Rueben took both, but most candidates should choose the technical paper that matches their role or qualification requirement.
What study method did Rueben use for the CMP exams?
The official workbook once, then daily questions answered from memory, careful review of every mistake, a tracker deciding which weak elements came back, and complete timed mocks before booking. Repeated results were used as evidence of progress, not as a guarantee.
Is PasskeyPrep affiliated with CISI?
No. PasskeyPrep is an independent study tool. It is not affiliated with, endorsed by or accredited by the Chartered Institute for Securities & Investment.