Candidate Update

The CISI provides exam candidates with the very latest news and developments affecting exam syllabuses and learning materials, listed by programme.

CBT Examinations Tutorial Guide

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Please select the relevant exam programme from the following tabs:

International and Stand-alone

Exam Name & Syllabus version

Update/Development

Action Effective From/To

Date Posted

International Certificate in Wealth & Investment Management V6

International Certificate in Wealth & Investment Management V6
The following updates have been made:

Chapter 2, pg 44

Question numbers were amended to read in correct order.

Chapter 3

Pages headers have been amended to read “Asset Classes and Financial Markets”.

Chapter 3, pg 71

In the example above of 2% US Treasury Bond 2041 which is priced at 78.12, the YTM will be higher than the flat yield, as the market price is lower than the bond’s par value and the bond will generate a capital gain if held to maturity. If, however, the market price was above par, then the YTM would be lower than the flat yield, as a capital loss would be made if the bond were held to maturity.

Chapter 5, pg 214

Section 7.1.2 was hidden by an example box, and the content now visible is as follows:
7.1.2 Asset Turnover and Profit Margin
A more detailed analysis of ROCE can be undertaken by breaking this formula down further into two secondary ratios: asset turnover and profit margin.
Asset turnover looks at the relationship between sales and the capital employed in a business. It describes how efficiently a company is generating sales by looking at how hard a company’s assets are working.
Profit margin looks at how much profit is being made for each pound’s worth of sales. Clearly, the higher the profit margin, the better.
The relationship between ROCE and each of these can be shown as follows:

Chapter 6, section 2.1.2

1. Asset Allocation

The amended paragraph reads as follows:

Most asset allocation decisions, whether for institutional or retail portfolios, are made with reference to the peer group median asset allocation. This is known as ‘asset allocation by consensus’ and is undertaken to minimise the risk of underperforming the peer group. When deciding if, and to what extent, markets and asset classes should be over- or underweighted, most portfolio managers set tracking error, or standard deviation of return, parameters against peer group median asset allocations.
Finally, the decision whether to hedge market and/or currency risks must be taken.
Chapter 8

Section 1.2

The equations in the example have been amended to read as follows:

‘So, for example, let’s say that a client wants you to estimate what the value of their pension savings
would be if they invest $10,000 at the beginning of each year for 20 years and earns an average rate
of 5% compounded annually. The accumulated value of the fund at the of the 20 year period will be:

Fv = $10,000 x [(1.05^20 – 1)/0.05)] = $10,000 x 33.06595 x 1.05 = $347,192

…..
So, for example, the accumulated value of the pension fund if the investments were made at the end
of the year would be:
Fv = $10,000 x [(1.05^20 - 1)/0.05)] = $10,000 x 33.06595 = $330,659.

Note that the difference between this and the earlier example (of $16,533) is solely accounted for by
one earlier payment being invested over the entire twenty-year period, ie, $10,000 x (1.05^20 – 1)
= $16,532.98.

Chapter 5, section 1.6

Fiscal and Monetary Policy

The amended paragraph reads as follows:

Governments can use a variety of policies when attempting to reduce the impact of short-term cyclical fluctuations in economic activity. Collectively, these measures are known as stabilisation policies and are categorised under the broad headings of fiscal policy and monetary policy.
Most governments and central banks now adopt a pragmatic approach to managing economic activity through a combination of fiscal and monetary policies. Monetary policy is used to control the supply and cost of money, while fiscal policy sets the government’s objectives on borrowing, spending and taxation. Generally, central banks are responsible for setting monetary policy, although in some countries, the government exerts control or influence. Fiscal policy, on the other hand, remains the responsibility of governments.
In an increasingly integrated world, however, controlling the level of activity in an open economy in isolation is difficult, as financial markets rather than individual governments and central banks tend to dictate economic policy.

Chapter 5, Section 1.8

Monetary Policy

The amended paragraph reads as follows:

Monetary policy refers to a set of actions taken by a central bank (or, in some cases, government) that aims to achieve economic growth. In most countries in the Western world, these decisions have been left to central banks, to take the politics out of running a domestic economy.

02/03/2023 - 01/03/2025
06/09/2024

Testing
Technology in Investment Management V12

Technology in Investment Management V12

The following update has been made to your workbook edition:

Chapter 6, Section 4.1. The correct diagram reference has been amended to read as follows:

Let us look again at the systems architecture diagram of a typical investment bank that we first saw in chapter 5, section 1.3.”

11/05/2023 - 10/05/2025
20/09/2023

Testing
Combating Financial Crime (Ed 10)

Combating Financial Crime (Ed 10)
The following update has been made:

Chapter 3, the following sections have been re-numbered:

3.2.2 Regulation of Funds Transfers
As part of the EU Withdrawal Agreement, the UK has onshored the EU Regulations of Funds Transfers into UK law.

3.2.3 Payment Services Directive (PSD)
In the UK, EU Directive PSD2 was implemented in the Payment Services Regulations of 2017.

Chapter 8, page 59

The amended paragraph reads as follows:

In March 2022, the Court of Appeal overturned a High Court judgement (Mrs Philipps vs Barclays Bank) and held that the Quincecare duty arises in all events where a non-corporate customer falls victim to Authorised Push Payment fraud, even when the instruction is given by the customer themselves. The decision has been appealed by Barclays Bank. At the time of publication of this workbook the Supreme Court had not yet passed judgement.

11/01/2024 - 10/01/2025
26/10/2023

Testing
International Certificate in Wealth & Investment Management (Arabic) Edition 6

International Certificate in Wealth & Investment Management (Arabic) Edition 6
The following update has been made:
Chapter 8

Section 1.2

The equations in the example have been amended to read as follows:

"على سبيل المثال، افرض أن عميلًا طلب منك تقدير قيمة مدخراته التقاعدية الناتجة في حال استثمر مبلغ 10 آلاف
دولار في بداية كلِّ عام لمدة 20 عامًا بفائدة سنوية مركبة قدرها 5%. يمكنك حساب قيمة مستحقاته التقاعدية المتراكمة في الصندوق بعد 20 عامًا كما يأتي:

Fv = $10,000 x [(1.05^20 – 1)/0.05)] = $10,000 x 33.06595 x 1.05 = $347,192

وهكذا تصبح قيمة مستحقات التقاعد المتراكمة في الصندوق لو أضيفت المدخرات في نهاية العام على النحو الآتي:

Fv = $10,000 x [(1.05^20 - 1)/0.05)] = $10,000 x 33.06595 = $330,659

لاحظ أن الفرق بين هذا الرقم والناتج في المثال السابق (وقدره 16,533 دولارًا) يعزى حصرًا إلى تسديد دفعة مالية واحدة
في وقتٍ أبكر (أي في مطلع العام بدلًا من نهايته) واستثمارها على مدى العشرين عامًا كاملة، أي:

$10,000 x (1.05^20 – 1)
= $16,532.98

02/03/2023 - 01/03/2025
21/12/2023

Testing
UAE Financial Rules & Regulations Edition 4

UAE Financial Rules & Regulations Edition 4
The following updates have been made to your workbook edition:
This learning manual relates to syllabus version 4.0 and will cover exams from 10 September 2023 and 30 November 2025.
Chapter 1, Section 1.1.1 has been amended to read:
The SCA is managed by a board of directors, and the board is based on a resolution from the Cabinet of Ministers. The resolution of the Cabinet of Ministers determines the chairman of the board, the remunerations of the board members, the mechanism for holding meetings and taking decisions.
• The period in office – with the exception of the chief executive, SCA board members are appointed for four years, renewable once. In the event of a member stepping down prior to the end of that member’s term, a successor will be appointed for the remaining period of the original term.
• Ownership of securities – upon joining the board, every member has to declare to the SCA the securities owned by themselves, their spouse and minor children as well as any holdings with any broker. In addition, any changes in these holdings during their period in office need to be declared within one week after they are made aware of the change. All declarations need to be made in writing.
• Immediate termination of membership – members have to forfeit their membership in the following events:
• Conviction of an offence of dishonour or breach of trust.
• Bankruptcy.
• Failure to attend three consecutive meetings without an acceptable excuse.
• Validity of board meetings – board meetings are deemed valid if they are attended by the majority of the members. The chairman, or their deputy has to be in attendance.
• Resolutions – passed by a majority of the votes of the members present at the meeting. In the event the vote is undecided (ie, for and against have the same number of votes), the person chairing the meeting has the deciding vote.

MCQs, Answer 10:

The amended answer now reads as follows:

10. A Chapter 2, Section 2.2
The Authority’s initial licence approval requirements for financial eligibility include not having repeatedly had returned cheques.

10/09/2023 - 30/11/2025
06/06/2024

Testing
Investment Management (Level 4) Edition 3

Investment Management (Level 4) Edition 3
The following update has been made to your workbook edition:

Chapter one title has updated from “Economics” to “The Investment Management Industry”.
Addendum
Page no.387, MCQs, Question no.27, amended to read as follows:
Page no.397, MCQs, Question No.75, amended to read as follows:
Page No.404, Question no.27, amended to read as follows:
Page no.85, Chapter 1, End of Chapter Questions, Question no.23, amended to read as follows:
Page no.137, Chapter 2, End of Chapter Questions, Question no.4, 5 and 6, amended to read as follows.
Page No.231, chapter 4, the equation at the end of section 6.5.2, amended to read as follows:
Page no.242, Chapter 4, The beginning of the section 6.9.3, amended to read as follows:
Page no.298, Chapter 5, section 4.1.1, last row table header amended to read as follows:
Page 399, MCQ Question no.80, the first answer amended to read as follows:
Page 412, MCQ, Question No.75, Answer reference amended to read as follows:
Page 413, MCQ, Question No.79, the numeral in the third column (Covariance (B4) amended to read as follows:
Page no.77, Chapter 1, Section 7.3.2- the third raw of the table amended to read as follows.
Page no.242, Chapter 4, Section 6.9.3, amended to read as follows.

11/12/2022 - 19/09/2025
13/12/2024

Testing
Economics and Markets for Wealth Management V3

Economics and Markets for Wealth Management V3
The following updates have been made to your workbook edition.
Page 26, Chapter 1, Section 2.5, Ten Largest Markets in 2021, the line below the heading has been amended to read:

(Total premiums in USD million)

Page 73, Chapter 2, Section 2.1, Income or Expenditure Cycle diagram has been amended to read:

Page 160, Chapter 3, Section 1.4.2, The basic formula for calculating compound interest has been amended to read:
Page 297, Chapter 4, Section 7.3.2, Net Present Value of Bonds Cash Flows table has been amended to read:

Page 316, Chapter 4, Section 7.5.3, under the Conversion Premium Formula, the 1^st table has been amended to read:
Page 316, Chapter 4, Section 7.5.3, under the Conversion Premium Formula, the second line of 2^nd paragraph under the 1^st table has been amended to read:
Staying with the above example, if the bond were priced at $1.10 and the shares were priced at $6.75 then it would be worth converting as can be seen in the following table.
Page 392, Chapter 5, Section 6.2.4, under the Main Types of Order, the 3^rd bullet point of Order Book has been amended to read:
The sell queue shows that there is a pending sale order to sell 5,000 shares at a price of no less than 496.00.
Page 392, Chapter 5, Section 6.2.4, under the Main Types of Order, the 5^th bullet point of Order Book has been amended to read:An order book will highlight the best prices and volumes available in yellow (seen above in black). In the early days of computer systems, the background colour was black and so the yellow highlighted the best prices available. In some markets, it became known as the yellow strip and is still sometimes referred to that today.
Page 533, Chapter 7, Section 3.1, Risk Reward Profile of Futures, the Long Futures Position diagram has been amended to read:
Page 533, Chapter 7, Section 3.1, Risk Reward Profile of Futures, the Short Futures Position diagram has been amended to read:

Page 595, Chapter 8, Section 1.3.3, Settlement, the Singapore row of Standard Settlement Days table has been amended to read:

Page 596, Chapter 8, Section 1.3.3, Settlement of Securities Side of a Trade diagram has been amended to read:
21/12/2023 - 20/12/2025
25/04/2024

Testing
Fundamentals of Credit Risk Management (Africa) Ed1.5 V3

Fundamentals of Credit Risk Management (Africa) Ed1.5 V3
The following update has been made to your workbook edition.

The edition number and final exam date in the front cover has amended to read:
Edition 1.5
Covering exams from
29 October 2018 to 30 June 2025

29/10/2018 - 30/06/2025
29/11/2024

Testing
Global Financial Compliance (V11)

Global Financial Compliance (V11)
The following updates have been made to the workbook edition.

The end of chapter questions of chapters 1-5 have been amended as follows:

Chapter 1- End of Chapter Questions

2. State the main differences between rules-based and principles-based approaches to regulation.
Answer reference: Sections 1.3
6. State the key policy goals of MiFID II.
Answer reference: Section 1.5.2

7. List how the Market Abuse Regulation (MAR) applies to financial instruments to increase market integrity and investor protection.
Answer reference: Section 1.5.2

8. What does Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley (SOX) Act require publicly registered US companies to do?
Answer reference: Section 1.5.2

9. What is the definition of payment services?
Answer reference: Section 1.5.2

10. What is the punishment for defrauding securities investors?
Answer reference: Section 1.5.2

11. How is AMLD best described?
Answer reference: Section 1.5.2

3. What is counterparty risk?
Answer reference: Section 1.7.2
14. How do regulators approach Fintech?
Answer reference: Section 1.8.1
Additionally, the question numbering has been changed from Question 10-24.
Chapter 2- End of Chapter Questions
2. Who is responsible for establishing a written compliance policy containing the basic principles followed by management and staff?
Answer reference: Section 1.1.2
3. What is the purpose of the compliance manual?
Answer reference: Section 1.2.1
4. What are the three key stages involved in a risk-based approach to a monitoring programme?
Answer reference: Section 1.4
Additionally, the question numbering has been changed from Question 3-10.
Chapter 3- End of Chapter Questions
2. What is the purpose of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF)?
Answer reference: Section 1.3.3
3. Give two examples of predicate offences in financial crime.
Answer reference: Section 1.3.4
4. How does a Ponzi scheme work?
Answer reference: Section 1.3.5
5. What are typical cybercrime activities?
Answer reference: Section 1.3.5
6. Describe how a material misstatement of financial statements may arise.
Answer reference: Section 1.3.6
7. What is the difference between tax avoidance and tax evasion?
Answer reference: Section 1.3.7
8. Explain the concept of dual criminality.
Answer reference: Section 1.3.8
17. In applying a risk-based approach to identifying money laundering, what factors should a firm consider?
Answer reference: Section 2.5
Additionally, the question numbering has been changed from Question 9-20.
Chapter 4- End of Chapter Questions

2. Name three Chartered Institute for Securities & Investment (CISI) Code of Conduct Principles.
Answer reference: Section 1.3.2

5. What are the components to create an ethical culture?
Answer reference: Section 1.5.7

Chapter 5- End of Chapter Questions

11. Name three of the Bank for International Settlements (BIS) principles for enhancing corporate governance.
Answer reference: Section 1.9

20. How do you calculate a risk score?
Answer reference: Section 2.5.1

Additionally, the question numbering has been changed from Question 11-31.

A new section, 2.4.6 on ‘whistleblowing’ has been added after section 2.4.5 of the workbook. (Page 150-151)
The following update has been made to the workbook edition.

Page numbering of chapter 5, Appendices, Glossary, MCQs and the SLM of contents page No.V has been changed and now reads as:

Governance, Risk Management and Compliance 169

Appendices 205

Glossary 227

Multiple Choice Questions 235

Syllabus Learning Map 269

Chapter 1

‘client’ has been marked as a glossary term under section 1.4

The paragraph started with ‘OTFs’ in between the table of section 1.6.3 and section 1.7 is removed.

End of Chapter Questions 2, 11,13 and 14, answer references have been amended and now read as follows:

2. State the main differences between rules-based and principles-based approaches to regulation.
Answer reference: Sections 1.3, 2.3.2, 2.3.3

11. How is AMLD best described?
Answer reference: Section 1.5.3

13. What is counterparty risk?
Answer reference: Section 1.7

14. How do regulators approach Fintech?
Answer reference: Section 1.8

Chapter 2

The LO 2.1.2 under section 1.2 is amended and now reads as follows:

2.1.2 understand Principle 6 of the BCBS Principles on Compliance and the compliance Function in Banks

The LO 2.2.4 under section 2.1.3 is amended and now reads as follows:

2.2.4 Understand Principle 5 of the BCBS Principles on Compliance and the compliance Function in Banks

End of Chapter Question No.3 is changed to read as:

3. What does Principle 5 of the BCBS Principles on Compliance and the compliance Function in Banks require of a firm’s compliance function?
Answer reference: Section 1.3.1

The answer references of End of Chapter Questions No.2, 3 and 4 are changed to read as:

2. Who is responsible for establishing a written compliance policy containing the basic principles followed by management and staff? Answer reference: Section 1.1.3

3. What does Principle 5 of the BCBS Principles on Compliance and the compliance Function in Banks require of a firm’s compliance function?
Answer reference: Section 1.3.1

4. What are the three key stages involved in a risk-based approach to a monitoring programme? Answer reference: Section 1.5

Chapter 3

The section number in ‘see section’ in the following paragraph under ‘Offshore Trusts’ is revised to read as follow:

Although offshore trusts may be used by people for legitimate tax planning, ie, minimising an individual’s or family’s tax liability within the tax regulations relating to their country of residence and the offshore centre, such trusts may also be used for tax evasion. While tax avoidance is legal, tax evasion is a crime and any suspicion is reportable as with any financial crime. See section 1.7 on tax evasion and tax avoidance.

The answer references of questions 2,3,4,5,6,7 and 8 and the Question No.2 of End of chapter questions in Chapter 3 have been amended as follows:

2. What is the purpose of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF)?
Answer reference: Section 1.3.4

3. Give two examples of predicate offences in financial crime.
Answer reference: Section 1.4
4. How does a Ponzi scheme work?
Answer reference: Section 1.5

5. What are typical cybercrime activities?
Answer reference: Section 1.5

6. Describe how a material misstatement of financial statements may arise.
Answer reference: Section 1.6

7. What is the difference between tax avoidance and tax evasion?
Answer reference: Section 1.7

8. Explain the concept of dual criminality.
Answer reference: Section 1.8

Chapter 4

Additional content has been added to section 3.1 to read as follows:

The following are the expected outcomes set out by the UK’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) for customers in the retail area from a fair treatment approach:
Outcome 1 – Consumers can be confident that they are dealing with firms where the fair treatment of customers is central to the corporate culture.
Outcome 2 – Products and services marketed and sold in the retail market are designed to meet the needs of identified consumer groups and are targeted accordingly.
Outcome 3 – Consumers are provided with clear information and are kept appropriately informed before, during and after the point of sale.
Outcome 4 – Where consumers receive advice, the advice is suitable and takes account of their circumstances.
Outcome 5 – Consumers are provided with products that perform as firms have led them to expect, and the associated service is of an acceptable standard and as they have been led to expect.
Outcome 6 – Consumers do not face unreasonable post-sale barriers imposed by firms to change product, switch provider, submit a claim or make a complaint.
Firms are expected to be able to demonstrate that they are consistently treating their customers fairly and delivering fair outcomes relevant to their business. A firm needs to be able to:
demonstrate that senior management have instilled a culture whereby they understand:
• what the fair treatment of customers means
• where they expect their staff to achieve this at all times, and
• where (a relatively small number of) errors are promptly found, put right and learnt from

End of Chapter Questions

The answer reference of Question No.2 is amended to:

2. Name three Chartered Institute for Securities & Investment (CISI) Code of Conduct Principles.
Answer reference: Section 1.3.1

Section 4 has amended from Fair Dealing to Client Outcomes

The following content in 4.8.4 has amended to read as follows:

National rules will confirm how such segregation is achieved – in particular, the actions required when a firm receives client money. For example, a firm that operates the ‘normal approach’ to segregation must promptly place client money received into one or more accounts opened with any of the following (as permitted by the regulations):
• a central bank
• an institution authorised to hold client money
• a bank authorised in a third country
• a qualifying money market fund.

Glossary

The glossary term’ European Economic Area (EEA)’ is now removed as a glossary term.

MCQ

The following changes have been made to the MCQ questions and answers

Answers

5. C Chapter 1, Section 1.4 and 2.2.3

19. C Chapter 1, Section 1.5.3

Under the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA) and the US-UK intergovernmental agreement, a UK foreign financial institution must report to His Majesty’s Revenue and Customs (HMRC) on its account holders who are US persons or foreign entities with substantial US ownership.

26. B Chapter 5, Section 1.2

It is the responsibility of the board of directors to set out the governance structure for the organisation, to make sure it is implemented as intended, and to provide effective supervision over senior management. Members of the board need to act with honesty and integrity and need to be independent. Members of the board of directors and senior managers of financial institutions performing key roles need to be approved by the regulator to execute their function.

54. D Chapter 1, Section 1.6.3

60. D Chapter 5, Section 2.2.6

The key to managing stakeholder risk is to:
• build relationships at senior levels
• understand their agenda and how it may differ from the firm’s own agenda, and
• manage expectations with any new developments.

64. A Chapter 1, Section 1.3

72. D Chapter 2, Section 2.1.3

The concept of independence involves four related elements:
• Compliance should have a formal status within the firm.
• There should be a group compliance officer or head of compliance.
• Their responsibilities within the firm should not lead to conflicts of interest.
• They should have access to information and personnel.

74. C Chapter 3, Section 1.4

79. A Chapter 3, Section 1.7

83. D Chapter 3, Section 1.5

89. B Chapter 3, Section 1.6
Questions
19. In respect of the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA) under the UK-US intergovernmental agreement, which of the following are UK foreign financial institutions required to do?

A. Report monthly to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) on account holders who are US persons or foreign entities
B. Report annually to the IRS on account holders who are UK domiciled
C. Report to His Majesty’s Revenue and Customs (HMRC) on account holders who are US persons or foreign entities
D. Report monthly to HMRC on account holders who are UK domiciled

26. Which of the following is responsible for setting out the governance structure of an organisation?

A. Head of Compliance
B. Board of Directors
C. Senior Management
D. SMCR Regime

SLM

The following changes have been done to the Syllabus Learning Map

Syllabus Unit/Element 3.1.5- Chapter/Section has revised to 1.4

Syllabus Unit/Element 3.1.6- Chapter/Section has revised to 1.5

Syllabus Unit/Element 3.1.7- Chapter/Section has revised to 1.6

Syllabus Unit/Element 3.1.8- Chapter/Section has revised to 1.7

Syllabus Unit/Element 3.1.9- Chapter/Section has revised to 1.8

Syllabus Unit/Element 3.2.8 - Chapter/Section has revised to 2.7

Syllabus Unit/Element 4.5.2 - Chapter/Section has revised to 5.1

Syllabus Unit/Element 5.2.6 - Chapter/Section has revised to 2.5.6

01/10/2024 - 30/09/2026
12/11/2024

Testing
Fundamentals of Financial Services (French) Edition 4

Fundamentals of Financial Services (French) Edition 4
The last exam date of the current version has been changed from 10 Feb 2025 to 10 Feb 2027.

11/02/2024 - 10/02/2027
09/10/2024

Testing
International Introduction to Securities & Investment (Africa) V10

International Introduction to Securities & Investment (Africa) V10
Chapter 4, Section 4.2.4, the last paragraph has been removed and the following is now the last paragraph in the section before the example box:

Preferred bonds, also known as ‘preferreds’ (more common in the US than the UK), have similar characteristics to shares and bonds and have the potential to offer investors higher yields than holding the company’s ordinary shares or bonds. They are essentially bonds that have equity-like features and are generally issued by large banks and insurance companies. They are usually undated/perpetual and carry callable rights for the issuer within the first five to ten years of issuance. A specific equity-like feature is the fact that these pay dividends as opposed to coupons as with other bonds. Within the issuer’s capital structure, preferreds rank lower than senior debt but higher than equity.

10/09/2024 - 09/09/2025
09/10/2024

Testing
International Introduction to Securities & Investment V17

International Introduction to Securities & Investment V17
The following update has been made to your workbook edition:
Chapter 4, Section 4.2.4, the last paragraph has been removed and the following is now the last paragraph in the section:

Preferred bonds, also known as ‘preferreds’ (more common in the US than the UK), have similar characteristics to shares and bonds and have the potential to offer investors higher yields than holding the company’s ordinary shares or bonds. They are essentially bonds that have equity-like features and are generally issued by large banks and insurance companies. They are usually undated/perpetual and carry callable rights for the issuer within the first five to ten years of issuance. A specific equity-like feature is the fact that these pay dividends as opposed to coupons as with other bonds. Within the issuer’s capital structure, preferreds rank lower than senior debt but higher than equity.

10/09/2024 - 09/09/2025
09/10/2024

Testing
Fundamentals of Financial Services V6

Fundamentals of Financial Services Edition 6 (syllabus version 6.0)
The following update has been made to your workbook edition.

This learning manual relates to syllabus version 6.0 and will cover exams from 1 August 2023 and 31 July 2026

01/08/2023 - 31/07/2026
25/10/2024

Testing
International Introduction to Securities & Investment (Kenya) V4

International Introduction to Securities & Investment (Kenya) V4
The following update has been made to your workbook edition:
The Front/Cover page final exam date has been amended to read:

This workbook relates to syllabus version 4 and will cover examinations from 21 January 2023 to 20 July 2025

21/01/2023 - 20/07/2025
07/11/2024

Testing
Managing Operational Risk in Financial Institutions V5

Managing Operational Risk in Financial Institutions (V5)
The following update has been made to your workbook edition.

The Front/Cover page final exam date has been amended to read:

This workbook relates to syllabus version 5 and will cover exams from 02 March 2023 to 31 July 2025

02/03/2023 - 31/07/2025
13/12/2024

Testing
International Introduction to Securities and Investment Arabic Ed17

International Introduction to Securities and Investment Arabic Ed17
The following update has been made to the workbook edition:
Chapter 5, Section 3.3
The definition of “put option” has been amended.

تعديل تعريف خيار البيع في الصفحة 110 من:
خيار البيع (put option): لبائع عقد الخيار الحقُّ في بيع الأصل...
إلى:
خيار البيع (put option): لمشتري عقد الخيار الحقُّ في بيع الأصل...

11/01/2025 - 10/01/2026
13/12/2024

Testing
Regulations & Market Practice (Kenya) V3

Regulations & Market Practice (Kenya) V3
The following update has been made to your workbook edition.
The final exam date in the front cover has been amended to read:
This learning manual relates to syllabus version 3.1 and will cover exams from 22 March 2022 to 30 August 2025.

22/01/2022 - 30/08/2025
19/12/2024

Testing

Level 3 IOC

Exam Name & Syllabus version

Update/Development

Action Effective From/To

Date Posted

Technology in Investment Management V12

Technology in Investment Management V12

The following update has been made to your workbook edition:

Chapter 6, Section 4.1. The correct diagram reference has been amended to read as follows:

Let us look again at the systems architecture diagram of a typical investment bank that we first saw in chapter 5, section 1.3.”

11/05/2023 - 10/05/2025
20/09/2023

Testing
Combating Financial Crime (Ed 10)

Combating Financial Crime (Ed 10)
The following update has been made:

Chapter 3, the following sections have been re-numbered:

3.2.2 Regulation of Funds Transfers
As part of the EU Withdrawal Agreement, the UK has onshored the EU Regulations of Funds Transfers into UK law.

3.2.3 Payment Services Directive (PSD)
In the UK, EU Directive PSD2 was implemented in the Payment Services Regulations of 2017.

Chapter 8, page 59

The amended paragraph reads as follows:

In March 2022, the Court of Appeal overturned a High Court judgement (Mrs Philipps vs Barclays Bank) and held that the Quincecare duty arises in all events where a non-corporate customer falls victim to Authorised Push Payment fraud, even when the instruction is given by the customer themselves. The decision has been appealed by Barclays Bank. At the time of publication of this workbook the Supreme Court had not yet passed judgement.

11/01/2024 - 10/01/2025
26/10/2023

Testing
Derivatives V23

Derivatives V23
Derivatives (Ed19)

The following update has been made:

Chapter 4
Contents page:

The amended sentence now reads:

‘This syllabus area will provide approximately 14 of the 100 examination questions’

Section 2.2, page 137:

The amended equation in the example box reads:

Chapter 5

Contents page:

The amended sentence now reads:

‘This syllabus area will provide approximately 14 of the 100 examination questions’
Chapter 1

Page 40, Section 9.7, Example box:

Amended paragraphs now read:

A producer of aluminium (called aluminum in some countries) makes regular sales of aluminium and
receives the market price for sales of their aluminium. They believe that the aluminium price is going to fall over the next 12 months so they wish to hedge against this risk. They, therefore, undertake
a swap to receive, from a swap counterparty, an agreed fixed aluminium price each month, based
on an agreed quantity of aluminium. At the same time, they agree to pay that counterparty each
month the market price for aluminium, which is then current, based on the same quantity. They will
continue to sell aluminium to their customers in the usual way, as the swap is a completely separate
transaction from the underlying physical sales.

The net effect is that the producer will receive an approximately fixed price for their sales. The two
swap parties will need to agree on an aluminium price index for the purpose of the swap settlements.
This index will not necessarily be exactly the same as the price received by the producer from their
customers from time to time, such that they will be left with a basis risk, but the two should move
closely in line. The timing of the swap settlements might also not be exactly the same as for the
physical sales, but again, the producer will be better protected than if they had not hedged at all.

Chapter 2

Page 64, Section 4.1.2:

Amended bullet points now read:

• short – less than seven years remaining
• medium – seven to 15 years remaining
• long – greater than 15 years remaining.

Chapter 4, Appendix

Answer to exercise 2:

The amended answer now reads:

The fair value of the FTSE 100 future with 91 days to delivery will be:
Cash index = 7200
Interest rate = 0.8%
Dividend yield = 3.6%
Fair value = cash price x interest rate – dividend yield
= 7200 x 1+ ((0.8% – 3.6%) x (91 / 365)) = 7200 x (1–0.007)
= 7149.60

11/10/2023 - 10/02/2025
10/06/2024

Testing
UK Financial Regulation V31

UK Financial Regulation V31
The following update has been made to your workbook edition.

Chapter 2, section 8.3, page 105, there was an oversight here and the text has now been amended to read ‘In addition, the FCA can also publish requirement notices and cancellation notices.’

Chapter 3, section 1.2, page 121, the first two sentences have now been restructured to read as follows: “The Financial Services Act 2021 introduced new maximum sentences for insider dealing and financial services offences (ie, misleading statements as per the Financial Services Act 2012). The penalties for breaching any of the requirements under Sections 89–95 of the Financial Services Act 2012 are as follows:”

01/04/2024 - 31/03/2025
03/05/2024

Testing
Global Financial Compliance (V11)

Global Financial Compliance (V11)
The following updates have been made to the workbook edition.

The end of chapter questions of chapters 1-5 have been amended as follows:

Chapter 1- End of Chapter Questions

2. State the main differences between rules-based and principles-based approaches to regulation.
Answer reference: Sections 1.3
6. State the key policy goals of MiFID II.
Answer reference: Section 1.5.2

7. List how the Market Abuse Regulation (MAR) applies to financial instruments to increase market integrity and investor protection.
Answer reference: Section 1.5.2

8. What does Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley (SOX) Act require publicly registered US companies to do?
Answer reference: Section 1.5.2

9. What is the definition of payment services?
Answer reference: Section 1.5.2

10. What is the punishment for defrauding securities investors?
Answer reference: Section 1.5.2

11. How is AMLD best described?
Answer reference: Section 1.5.2

3. What is counterparty risk?
Answer reference: Section 1.7.2
14. How do regulators approach Fintech?
Answer reference: Section 1.8.1
Additionally, the question numbering has been changed from Question 10-24.
Chapter 2- End of Chapter Questions
2. Who is responsible for establishing a written compliance policy containing the basic principles followed by management and staff?
Answer reference: Section 1.1.2
3. What is the purpose of the compliance manual?
Answer reference: Section 1.2.1
4. What are the three key stages involved in a risk-based approach to a monitoring programme?
Answer reference: Section 1.4
Additionally, the question numbering has been changed from Question 3-10.
Chapter 3- End of Chapter Questions
2. What is the purpose of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF)?
Answer reference: Section 1.3.3
3. Give two examples of predicate offences in financial crime.
Answer reference: Section 1.3.4
4. How does a Ponzi scheme work?
Answer reference: Section 1.3.5
5. What are typical cybercrime activities?
Answer reference: Section 1.3.5
6. Describe how a material misstatement of financial statements may arise.
Answer reference: Section 1.3.6
7. What is the difference between tax avoidance and tax evasion?
Answer reference: Section 1.3.7
8. Explain the concept of dual criminality.
Answer reference: Section 1.3.8
17. In applying a risk-based approach to identifying money laundering, what factors should a firm consider?
Answer reference: Section 2.5
Additionally, the question numbering has been changed from Question 9-20.
Chapter 4- End of Chapter Questions

2. Name three Chartered Institute for Securities & Investment (CISI) Code of Conduct Principles.
Answer reference: Section 1.3.2

5. What are the components to create an ethical culture?
Answer reference: Section 1.5.7

Chapter 5- End of Chapter Questions

11. Name three of the Bank for International Settlements (BIS) principles for enhancing corporate governance.
Answer reference: Section 1.9

20. How do you calculate a risk score?
Answer reference: Section 2.5.1

Additionally, the question numbering has been changed from Question 11-31.

A new section, 2.4.6 on ‘whistleblowing’ has been added after section 2.4.5 of the workbook. (Page 150-151)
The following update has been made to the workbook edition.

Page numbering of chapter 5, Appendices, Glossary, MCQs and the SLM of contents page No.V has been changed and now reads as:

Governance, Risk Management and Compliance 169

Appendices 205

Glossary 227

Multiple Choice Questions 235

Syllabus Learning Map 269

Chapter 1

‘client’ has been marked as a glossary term under section 1.4

The paragraph started with ‘OTFs’ in between the table of section 1.6.3 and section 1.7 is removed.

End of Chapter Questions 2, 11,13 and 14, answer references have been amended and now read as follows:

2. State the main differences between rules-based and principles-based approaches to regulation.
Answer reference: Sections 1.3, 2.3.2, 2.3.3

11. How is AMLD best described?
Answer reference: Section 1.5.3

13. What is counterparty risk?
Answer reference: Section 1.7

14. How do regulators approach Fintech?
Answer reference: Section 1.8

Chapter 2

The LO 2.1.2 under section 1.2 is amended and now reads as follows:

2.1.2 understand Principle 6 of the BCBS Principles on Compliance and the compliance Function in Banks

The LO 2.2.4 under section 2.1.3 is amended and now reads as follows:

2.2.4 Understand Principle 5 of the BCBS Principles on Compliance and the compliance Function in Banks

End of Chapter Question No.3 is changed to read as:

3. What does Principle 5 of the BCBS Principles on Compliance and the compliance Function in Banks require of a firm’s compliance function?
Answer reference: Section 1.3.1

The answer references of End of Chapter Questions No.2, 3 and 4 are changed to read as:

2. Who is responsible for establishing a written compliance policy containing the basic principles followed by management and staff? Answer reference: Section 1.1.3

3. What does Principle 5 of the BCBS Principles on Compliance and the compliance Function in Banks require of a firm’s compliance function?
Answer reference: Section 1.3.1

4. What are the three key stages involved in a risk-based approach to a monitoring programme? Answer reference: Section 1.5

Chapter 3

The section number in ‘see section’ in the following paragraph under ‘Offshore Trusts’ is revised to read as follow:

Although offshore trusts may be used by people for legitimate tax planning, ie, minimising an individual’s or family’s tax liability within the tax regulations relating to their country of residence and the offshore centre, such trusts may also be used for tax evasion. While tax avoidance is legal, tax evasion is a crime and any suspicion is reportable as with any financial crime. See section 1.7 on tax evasion and tax avoidance.

The answer references of questions 2,3,4,5,6,7 and 8 and the Question No.2 of End of chapter questions in Chapter 3 have been amended as follows:

2. What is the purpose of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF)?
Answer reference: Section 1.3.4

3. Give two examples of predicate offences in financial crime.
Answer reference: Section 1.4
4. How does a Ponzi scheme work?
Answer reference: Section 1.5

5. What are typical cybercrime activities?
Answer reference: Section 1.5

6. Describe how a material misstatement of financial statements may arise.
Answer reference: Section 1.6

7. What is the difference between tax avoidance and tax evasion?
Answer reference: Section 1.7

8. Explain the concept of dual criminality.
Answer reference: Section 1.8

Chapter 4

Additional content has been added to section 3.1 to read as follows:

The following are the expected outcomes set out by the UK’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) for customers in the retail area from a fair treatment approach:
Outcome 1 – Consumers can be confident that they are dealing with firms where the fair treatment of customers is central to the corporate culture.
Outcome 2 – Products and services marketed and sold in the retail market are designed to meet the needs of identified consumer groups and are targeted accordingly.
Outcome 3 – Consumers are provided with clear information and are kept appropriately informed before, during and after the point of sale.
Outcome 4 – Where consumers receive advice, the advice is suitable and takes account of their circumstances.
Outcome 5 – Consumers are provided with products that perform as firms have led them to expect, and the associated service is of an acceptable standard and as they have been led to expect.
Outcome 6 – Consumers do not face unreasonable post-sale barriers imposed by firms to change product, switch provider, submit a claim or make a complaint.
Firms are expected to be able to demonstrate that they are consistently treating their customers fairly and delivering fair outcomes relevant to their business. A firm needs to be able to:
demonstrate that senior management have instilled a culture whereby they understand:
• what the fair treatment of customers means
• where they expect their staff to achieve this at all times, and
• where (a relatively small number of) errors are promptly found, put right and learnt from

End of Chapter Questions

The answer reference of Question No.2 is amended to:

2. Name three Chartered Institute for Securities & Investment (CISI) Code of Conduct Principles.
Answer reference: Section 1.3.1

Section 4 has amended from Fair Dealing to Client Outcomes

The following content in 4.8.4 has amended to read as follows:

National rules will confirm how such segregation is achieved – in particular, the actions required when a firm receives client money. For example, a firm that operates the ‘normal approach’ to segregation must promptly place client money received into one or more accounts opened with any of the following (as permitted by the regulations):
• a central bank
• an institution authorised to hold client money
• a bank authorised in a third country
• a qualifying money market fund.

Glossary

The glossary term’ European Economic Area (EEA)’ is now removed as a glossary term.

MCQ

The following changes have been made to the MCQ questions and answers

Answers

5. C Chapter 1, Section 1.4 and 2.2.3

19. C Chapter 1, Section 1.5.3

Under the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA) and the US-UK intergovernmental agreement, a UK foreign financial institution must report to His Majesty’s Revenue and Customs (HMRC) on its account holders who are US persons or foreign entities with substantial US ownership.

26. B Chapter 5, Section 1.2

It is the responsibility of the board of directors to set out the governance structure for the organisation, to make sure it is implemented as intended, and to provide effective supervision over senior management. Members of the board need to act with honesty and integrity and need to be independent. Members of the board of directors and senior managers of financial institutions performing key roles need to be approved by the regulator to execute their function.

54. D Chapter 1, Section 1.6.3

60. D Chapter 5, Section 2.2.6

The key to managing stakeholder risk is to:
• build relationships at senior levels
• understand their agenda and how it may differ from the firm’s own agenda, and
• manage expectations with any new developments.

64. A Chapter 1, Section 1.3

72. D Chapter 2, Section 2.1.3

The concept of independence involves four related elements:
• Compliance should have a formal status within the firm.
• There should be a group compliance officer or head of compliance.
• Their responsibilities within the firm should not lead to conflicts of interest.
• They should have access to information and personnel.

74. C Chapter 3, Section 1.4

79. A Chapter 3, Section 1.7

83. D Chapter 3, Section 1.5

89. B Chapter 3, Section 1.6
Questions
19. In respect of the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA) under the UK-US intergovernmental agreement, which of the following are UK foreign financial institutions required to do?

A. Report monthly to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) on account holders who are US persons or foreign entities
B. Report annually to the IRS on account holders who are UK domiciled
C. Report to His Majesty’s Revenue and Customs (HMRC) on account holders who are US persons or foreign entities
D. Report monthly to HMRC on account holders who are UK domiciled

26. Which of the following is responsible for setting out the governance structure of an organisation?

A. Head of Compliance
B. Board of Directors
C. Senior Management
D. SMCR Regime

SLM

The following changes have been done to the Syllabus Learning Map

Syllabus Unit/Element 3.1.5- Chapter/Section has revised to 1.4

Syllabus Unit/Element 3.1.6- Chapter/Section has revised to 1.5

Syllabus Unit/Element 3.1.7- Chapter/Section has revised to 1.6

Syllabus Unit/Element 3.1.8- Chapter/Section has revised to 1.7

Syllabus Unit/Element 3.1.9- Chapter/Section has revised to 1.8

Syllabus Unit/Element 3.2.8 - Chapter/Section has revised to 2.7

Syllabus Unit/Element 4.5.2 - Chapter/Section has revised to 5.1

Syllabus Unit/Element 5.2.6 - Chapter/Section has revised to 2.5.6

01/10/2024 - 30/09/2026
12/11/2024

Testing
International Introduction to Securities & Investment (Africa) V10

International Introduction to Securities & Investment (Africa) V10
Chapter 4, Section 4.2.4, the last paragraph has been removed and the following is now the last paragraph in the section before the example box:

Preferred bonds, also known as ‘preferreds’ (more common in the US than the UK), have similar characteristics to shares and bonds and have the potential to offer investors higher yields than holding the company’s ordinary shares or bonds. They are essentially bonds that have equity-like features and are generally issued by large banks and insurance companies. They are usually undated/perpetual and carry callable rights for the issuer within the first five to ten years of issuance. A specific equity-like feature is the fact that these pay dividends as opposed to coupons as with other bonds. Within the issuer’s capital structure, preferreds rank lower than senior debt but higher than equity.

10/09/2024 - 09/09/2025
09/10/2024

Testing
International Introduction to Securities & Investment V17

International Introduction to Securities & Investment V17
The following update has been made to your workbook edition:
Chapter 4, Section 4.2.4, the last paragraph has been removed and the following is now the last paragraph in the section:

Preferred bonds, also known as ‘preferreds’ (more common in the US than the UK), have similar characteristics to shares and bonds and have the potential to offer investors higher yields than holding the company’s ordinary shares or bonds. They are essentially bonds that have equity-like features and are generally issued by large banks and insurance companies. They are usually undated/perpetual and carry callable rights for the issuer within the first five to ten years of issuance. A specific equity-like feature is the fact that these pay dividends as opposed to coupons as with other bonds. Within the issuer’s capital structure, preferreds rank lower than senior debt but higher than equity.

10/09/2024 - 09/09/2025
09/10/2024

Testing
International Introduction to Securities & Investment (Kenya) V4

International Introduction to Securities & Investment (Kenya) V4
The following update has been made to your workbook edition:
The Front/Cover page final exam date has been amended to read:

This workbook relates to syllabus version 4 and will cover examinations from 21 January 2023 to 20 July 2025

21/01/2023 - 20/07/2025
07/11/2024

Testing
International Introduction to Securities and Investment Arabic Ed17

International Introduction to Securities and Investment Arabic Ed17
The following update has been made to the workbook edition:
Chapter 5, Section 3.3
The definition of “put option” has been amended.

تعديل تعريف خيار البيع في الصفحة 110 من:
خيار البيع (put option): لبائع عقد الخيار الحقُّ في بيع الأصل...
إلى:
خيار البيع (put option): لمشتري عقد الخيار الحقُّ في بيع الأصل...

11/01/2025 - 10/01/2026
13/12/2024

Testing
Regulations & Market Practice (Kenya) V3

Regulations & Market Practice (Kenya) V3
The following update has been made to your workbook edition.
The final exam date in the front cover has been amended to read:
This learning manual relates to syllabus version 3.1 and will cover exams from 22 March 2022 to 30 August 2025.

22/01/2022 - 30/08/2025
19/12/2024

Testing

Level 3 Certificates

Exam Name & Syllabus version

Update/Development

Action Effective From/To

Date Posted

Derivatives V23

Derivatives V23
Derivatives (Ed19)

The following update has been made:

Chapter 4
Contents page:

The amended sentence now reads:

‘This syllabus area will provide approximately 14 of the 100 examination questions’

Section 2.2, page 137:

The amended equation in the example box reads:

Chapter 5

Contents page:

The amended sentence now reads:

‘This syllabus area will provide approximately 14 of the 100 examination questions’
Chapter 1

Page 40, Section 9.7, Example box:

Amended paragraphs now read:

A producer of aluminium (called aluminum in some countries) makes regular sales of aluminium and
receives the market price for sales of their aluminium. They believe that the aluminium price is going to fall over the next 12 months so they wish to hedge against this risk. They, therefore, undertake
a swap to receive, from a swap counterparty, an agreed fixed aluminium price each month, based
on an agreed quantity of aluminium. At the same time, they agree to pay that counterparty each
month the market price for aluminium, which is then current, based on the same quantity. They will
continue to sell aluminium to their customers in the usual way, as the swap is a completely separate
transaction from the underlying physical sales.

The net effect is that the producer will receive an approximately fixed price for their sales. The two
swap parties will need to agree on an aluminium price index for the purpose of the swap settlements.
This index will not necessarily be exactly the same as the price received by the producer from their
customers from time to time, such that they will be left with a basis risk, but the two should move
closely in line. The timing of the swap settlements might also not be exactly the same as for the
physical sales, but again, the producer will be better protected than if they had not hedged at all.

Chapter 2

Page 64, Section 4.1.2:

Amended bullet points now read:

• short – less than seven years remaining
• medium – seven to 15 years remaining
• long – greater than 15 years remaining.

Chapter 4, Appendix

Answer to exercise 2:

The amended answer now reads:

The fair value of the FTSE 100 future with 91 days to delivery will be:
Cash index = 7200
Interest rate = 0.8%
Dividend yield = 3.6%
Fair value = cash price x interest rate – dividend yield
= 7200 x 1+ ((0.8% – 3.6%) x (91 / 365)) = 7200 x (1–0.007)
= 7149.60

11/10/2023 - 10/02/2025
10/06/2024

Testing
UK Financial Regulation V31

UK Financial Regulation V31
The following update has been made to your workbook edition.

Chapter 2, section 8.3, page 105, there was an oversight here and the text has now been amended to read ‘In addition, the FCA can also publish requirement notices and cancellation notices.’

Chapter 3, section 1.2, page 121, the first two sentences have now been restructured to read as follows: “The Financial Services Act 2021 introduced new maximum sentences for insider dealing and financial services offences (ie, misleading statements as per the Financial Services Act 2012). The penalties for breaching any of the requirements under Sections 89–95 of the Financial Services Act 2012 are as follows:”

01/04/2024 - 31/03/2025
03/05/2024

Testing
Corporate Finance Regulation (Edition 14)
Corporate Finance Regulation (Edition 14)
The following updates have been made to your workbook edition:
Chapter 1, Section 4.1.1
The amended paragraph now reads:
There is also a statutory obligation to report any suspicious transaction in relation to terrorist financing, and in particular suspicions that a person may be providing funds for terrorism, using, and possessing funds or property for the purposes of terrorism, or laundering money which is terrorist property. These obligations should be interpreted with the help of JMLSG guidance. A failure to report is an offence punishable by up to five years’ imprisonment, an unlimited fine, or both.
This learning manual relates to syllabus version 19.0 and will cover exams from 11 April 2024 to 10 April 2025.
11/04/2024 - 10/04/2025
13/05/2024
Testing
Securities (Capital Markets Programme) Ed 19

Securities (Capital Markets Programme) Ed 19
The following updates have been made to the workbook edition.

Page no.201, Chapter 6, Section 4.2, a passage has been added after the 5th paragraph starting with “Another possibility”. The change goes as follow.

Another possibility for keeping stakebuilding more secretive is to build a stake in an ‘indirect’ way. Instead of buying shares in another entity directly, the stake could be established by acquiring contracts for difference (CFDs). A CFD on a share is an agreement between the buyer and seller to exchange the difference in the current value of the share and its value at the end of the contract. If the difference is positive, the seller pays the buyer; if it is negative, the buyer pays the seller. CFDs enable participants to get the economic exposure of owning a stake in another entity in a less visible and potentially leveraged way.

While a CFD provides the same economic exposure during a stake-building exercise (demand in the shares may cause a price rise), it does not provide elements of control which acquiring the actual shares does. So for example, someone who is building a significant stake in a company by buying shares would be able to vote their significant block and also possibly demand a seat on the board of directors. This would not be possible using CFDs.

Also it is important to keep in mind that for a potential predator building a stake in order to eventually acquire a target company, or anyone else building a significant stake, there are generally certain regulatory restrictions.

Page no.266, Chapter 8, Section 6.3.2, a line has been added to the start of the second sentence of the paragraph. The change goes as follow.
Debt to Equity = Debt/Equity
Both figures for debt and equity are drawn from the statement of financial position of a company. All interest-bearing non-current liabilities are generally considered to be debt, and the total of the equity portion of the statement of financial position is considered to be equity. The ratio is either stated as a simple proportion: debt to equity is 0.16; or, as a percentage: debt is 16% of the equity.

The example box in Page no.100, Chapter 2, has replaced and amended as follows:

Example
Another example of a structured product could be a EUR five-year Bitcoin-Gold Switcher Note. The investor receives 6% pa in euros and at maturity receives the principal (€100 face value per note) plus the higher of double the return on Bitcoin or gold through to the end of the five-year period. If losses have been incurred, the smallest loss will be doubled and deducted from the principal up to the full amount, so possibly 100% of the face value.
At the time of issue, the euro interest rate is around 3%, so the note pays a much higher than market interest rate to entice investors. However, the investors bear substantial risk at redemption. The structure provides income and the possibility of considerable upside, and effectively offers a limited risk means of investing in two types of assets which are often seen as alternatives to traditional central bank-controlled currencies.
Let us consider two scenarios, both assuming that upon purchase the gold spot price is $1,800 per ounce and Bitcoin is $35,000. In the first scenario, after five years the gold price is $2,200 and Bitcoin is trading at $32,000. The investor would have received the 6% annual interest paid in euro, and at maturity, would receive the final 6% coupon plus €144.44 for a total of €150.44. The increase over face value represents twice (2x) the 22.22% return on gold, which is the better of the returns on the two assets as Bitcoin suffered a loss over the period.
Alternatively, if after five years, gold has fallen to $800 per ounce and Bitcoin has fallen to $16,000, the investor would receive the final 6% coupon but no principal, reflecting the fact that both gold and Bitcoin have lost more than 50% over the period, leading to a complete loss of the face value of the notes. The investor’s return on the notes would have been just the 5 years of interest, as there would be zero redemption of principal. The relatively high coupon rate will have provided some mitigation against the hefty losses on the two 'switching' assets.

Page no.155, Chapter 5, Section 3.1.2 on ‘Opening Auctions and Automatic Execution’ has been revised and replaced.

At the start of each day’s trading, an opening price is often established using an auction process. Typically, this sees member firms entering orders into an auction over a period of time prior to the market opening. This is often referred to as the auction call period, and no trading takes place whilst the
orders are gathered. During this time, market participants can place, modify, or cancel their orders. The aim is to accumulate as many orders as possible to help determine a fair opening price.

At the end of the auction call period, an uncrossing algorithm determines the final auction price. This is the price at which the greatest volume of shares can be traded, ensuring the highest possible liquidity at the opening.

The “uncrossing” refers to the process of matching buy and sell orders at the determined auction price. All orders that can be matched at this price are executed, resulting in the “uncrossing” of the order book, where there are no longer opposing orders at the same price.

Once the uncrossing is complete, any unmatched orders are carried over to the continuous trading session, and the trading day officially opens at the price determined by the auction and the uncrossing algorithm. During continuous trading, as orders are entered, the exchange’s system tries to match them. If the exchange system finds a buyer and seller with agreeable prices and volumes, the trade is automatically executed.

Occasionally there can be interruptions during the trading day that sees automatic execution temporarily suspended. This will happen when the price of a trade is more than the price tolerance level away from the previous trade price. The price tolerance level is typically set at between 5% and 25%,
depending upon the exchange and the share concerned. This suspension is intended to allow investors time to react to significant price changes.

22/03/2024 - 21/03/2025
02/09/2024

Testing

Publications & Elearning

Exam Name & Syllabus version

Update/Development

Action Effective From/To

Date Posted

Qualifications Bulletin

The bulletin is a quarterly email sent to all interested parties to provide an update on key areas relating to qualifications.

You can view past bulletins below and if you would like to receive the bulletin regularly please login to My CISI and set your email preference to opt in.

Narrative

Exam Name & Syllabus version

Update/Development

Action Effective From/To

Date Posted

Diploma in Corporate Finance: Corporate Finance Strategy & Advice V 1a

Diploma in Corporate Finance: Corporate Finance Strategy & Advice V 1a

Corporate Finance Strategy & Advice

Please note the following change to the exam rubric for this paper applicable from the December 2013 sitting onwards.

The December exam will start at 13:00 and candidates will receive both the Information Booklet and the Question Paper. They will not receive the Answer Book.

At 13:55 Answer Books will be circulated, then from 14:00, once candidates have been instructed to do so, candidates may open their answer books and begin writing. They will then have 3 hours to complete the exam and will finish at 17:00.

This change will be reflected on the examination paper as follows:
Part 1: Time allowed: 1 Hour

Candidates will be provided with an Information Booklet and the examination question paper. Candidates have one hour in which to review the information booklet and questions. During this time, candidates may annotate the information book. The examination has been prepared on the assumption that candidates will not have any detailed knowledge of the type of company or sector to which it refers. No additional merit will be accorded to those candidates displaying such knowledge.
Part 2: Time allowed: 3 Hours

The Answer Book will be distributed at 1.55 pm and candidates should open and begin writing in the answer book when instructed at 2.00 pm.
The syllabus has now been updated for 2014.

Corporate Finance Strategy and Advice Ed1 Addendum October 2021

02/09/2013 - ongoing

17/10/2013

Testing
Pension Transfers & Planning Advice

Pension Transfers & Planning Advice
We are withdrawing our Pension Transfers & Planning Advice exam in the summer 2025 session. This also means that any resits for these exams must be booked and sat by the final sitting on 3 June 2025. Once the examination withdrawal date has passed, you will not be able to sit the exam. If you have any questions, please contact our Customer Support Team.
Chapter 2, Exercise 2, Question 2 has been amended to read as follows:

‘The Better Marketing Ltd SSAS has assets of £5 million including an existing loan of £1 million from James, the managing director. During the 2024–25 tax year, the SSAS makes a loan of £500,000 to the firm’s sister company, Creative Design Ltd.’

24/07/2024 - 03/06/2025
31/07/2024

Testing
Global Operations Management (Edition 10)

Global Operations Management (Edition 10)
The following update has been made to your workbook edition.
The exam date of the book has been changed from 28 November 2024 to 5 June to 28 November 2024 to 3 June 2025.

28/11/2024 - 03/06/2025
24/10/2024

Testing

Level 4 Investment Advice Diploma

Exam Name & Syllabus version

Update/Development

Action Effective From/To

Date Posted

Derivatives V14

Derivatives V14
Chapter 2, section 9
L.O. 2.8.1
The Learning Objective 2.8.1 has been amended and reads as follows:
2.8.1 Understand the main energy products and the influences on price: change in demand; change in supply; marginal costs of production; holding and delivery costs; political and strategic factors; environmental factors
Chapter 8, section 6.3
The Long Strangle graph on page 288 has been changed to look like this:

31/12/2023 - 30/12/2024
07/11/2023

Testing
Securities (Investment Advice Diploma) V14

Securities (Investment Advice Diploma) V14
The following updates have been made to your workbook edition:
Chapter 7, Section 3.4.1, last paragraph has been amended to read:
So if, for example, a speculator buys four contracts of the S&P 500 at 1599.1 and sells those four contracts shortly after at 1600 exactly, the profit would be:
Profit = 90 bps /0.10 = 9 ticks x $25 x 4 contracts = $900
Chapter 7, Section 8.3, sixth paragraph has been amended to read:
There are two formulae for the standard deviation. The first is where the variability of an entire population is being calculated and, as can be seen, the denominator of the equation is equal to n – the number of items being analysed. The second formula is more conventionally used for a sample, rather than the entire population, and the denominator used is n – 1. For calculations of large sets of data the difference is minimal.

MCQ, Answer no.18 has been amended to read:

18. A Chapter 4, Section 2.2
Chapter 2, Section 6.3.7, last paragraph has been removed and the section is now amended to read:

6.3.7 Macroeconomic Factors Affecting Bond Prices and Yields

A major driver of bond prices is the prevailing interest rate and expectations of interest rates to come. Yields required by bond investors are a reflection of their interest rate expectations. For example, if interest rates are expected to rise, bond prices will fall to bring the yields up to appropriate levels to reflect the interest rate increases. To remain competitive, equities prices will also suffer.

The interest rate itself is heavily impacted by inflationary expectations. Simplistically, if inflation is expected to be 4% pa, the interest rate will have to be greater than this in order to provide the investor with any real return. The interest rate might stand at 7% pa. If economic news suggests that inflation is likely to increase further, to say 6%, then the interest rate will increase too, perhaps up to 9%. The reverse will be true if inflation is expected to fall.
Chapter 3, Section 6.1, first paragraph has been amended to read:

A warrant gives the right to the holder to buy shares from the company that issued the warrant at a specified price on or before a specified date. Essentially, a warrant is very similar to a call option, which gives the right to buy a share. Warrants have all the characteristics of call options, such as volatility, risk and valuation factors. The major difference is that warrants are issued by and exercisable on the company, which will issue new shares on exercise – therefore, they are dilutive. Traded and traditional options are issued by investors and relate to shares already in issue; their exercise does not result in new shares being issued – hence, they are not dilutive.

31/12/2023 - 30/12/2024
22/11/2024

Testing
UK Regulation & Professional Integrity V16

UK Regulation & Professional Integrity V16
The following updates have been made to your workbook edition.
Chapter 10, Section 5.6.2 has been amended to read:
also apply to a firm which is not a common platform firm when it produces, or arranges for the production of, investment research and/or non-independent research that is intended for, or likely to be subsequently disseminated to, clients of the firm or to the public in accordance with COBS 12.2 (investment research and non-independent research).

Answers to Multiple Choice Questions
Q.48. Answer: A Ref: Chapter 6, Section 6
If there are concerns about the suitability of advice provided then any review of this must be undertaken by someone independent of the business unit responsible for the sales practice – they are hardly going to recommend actions to be taken against themselves. Independent reviews can be undertaken internally by internal audit or compliance, or externally by law/accountancy firms.

12/03/2024 - 11/03/2025
11/03/2024

Testing
Investment, Risk & Taxation V15

Investment, Risk & Taxation V15
The following updates have been made to your workbook edition:
Page 217, Chapter 3, Section 1.3.2 the example solution related to the calculation has been amended to read:

Page 340, Chapter 4, Section 12.3.1 the second row of the example, which is the personal allowance, has been amended to read:
Page 555, Chapter 8, Section 2.5 the example related to the 17–30 days return calculation has been amended to read:
31/10/2024 - 30/10/2025
23/09/2024

Testing
Securities (Investment Advice Diploma) V15

Securities (Investment Advice Diploma) V15
The following updates have been made to your workbook edition:
Chapter 3, Section 6.1, first paragraph has been amended to read:
A warrant gives the right to the holder to buy shares from the company that issued the warrant at a specified price on or before a specified date. Essentially, a warrant is very similar to a call option, which gives the right to buy a share. Warrants have all the characteristics of call options, such as volatility, risk and valuation factors. The major difference is that warrants are issued by and exercisable on the company, which will issue new shares on exercise – therefore, they are dilutive. Traded and traditional options are issued by investors and relate to shares already in issue; their exercise does not result in new shares being issued – hence, they are not dilutive.
Chapter 8, Section 3.3.3, The ISA Wrapper, second paragraph has been amended to read:

Cash ISAs are savings accounts where the interest is not taxed; and, in addition to income tax relief, investments in stocks and shares ISAs provide a shelter from CGT, in that any gains on investments held within the ISA are exempt from CGT. However, there is a limit to how much can be inserted into such a wrapper account. Each tax year, everyone over the age of 18 has an ISA allowance which sets the maximum that can be saved within the tax-free wrapper for that tax year.
MCQ, Question 40 has been amended to read:
40. Which of the following best describes the primary role of unit trust trustees?

A. The primary duty of the trustees is to protect the interests of the unitholders
B. The trustees must qualify targeted risk in the way assets and their custody are managed
C. They must demonstrate that they have an appropriate level of training and formal qualifications to carry out their responsibilities
D. The trustees must be regulated and supervised by the FCA and report directly to the trust manager

MCQ, Answer 40 has been amended to read:

40. A Chapter 4, Section 1.1.1

Trustees of a unit trust must be authorised by the FCA and fully independent of the trust manager. The primary duty of the trustees is to protect the interests of the unitholders.

31/12/2024 - 30/12/2025
22/11/2024

Testing
Derivatives (Investment Advice Diploma) V15

Derivatives L4 Ed15 (Syllabus version 15.0)
The following update has been made:

The omitted chapter 9 has now been added to V15.2 of the workbook.

31/12/2024 - 30/12/2025
18/12/2024

Testing

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Derivatives (Investment Advice Diploma) V15