CIRO Institutional Securities Exam Guide, Study Plan & Practice Questions

Use this CIRO Institutional Securities Exam guide when you need both the review pages and the chapterized lessons in one place. The Institutional Securities Exam is not a retail-suitability exam in disguise. It is an institutional workflow, analysis, product-fit, and execution-quality exam, so the right study frame is institutional process discipline plus strong market and analysis judgment.

Quick links

• Study Plan
• Cheat Sheet
• FAQ
• Resources
• Practice CIRO Institutional Securities Exam on Web

Current study snapshot

What this exam is really testing

Institutional Securities Exam weighting

How to use this guide

• Put the 31% analysis block at the center of the plan instead of treating it like a side topic.
• Use the full guide when you need the section-by-section reading path for institutional-client workflow, analysis, product fit, and execution quality.
• Use product and execution review to support the recommendation logic, not replace it.
• Return to the FAQ when you need to separate institutional workflow from retail habits.

Practice this exam

Use this free guide for review, then Start CIRO Institutional Practice on Finance Prep for timed questions, topic drills, and detailed explanations.

In this section

• Managing institutional client relationships
  Study the managing institutional client relationships element of the CIRO Institutional Securities Exam and the section-level rules, workflows, and control points it tests.
  • Key aspects of institutional marketplace structure
    Understand institutional marketplace structure, sell-side institutional Investment Dealers, buy-side clients, and the dealer role in supporting them.
  • Types of traders within the institutional market
    Understand agency traders, liability traders, market makers, specialized asset-class traders, and program traders within the institutional market.
  • Services provided to Institutional Clients by Investment Dealers
    Apply trading, DEA, research, underwriting, merger and acquisition service, prime brokerage, and securities lending for Institutional Clients to realistic institutional-client, dealer, trading, issuer, or market scenarios.
  • Key aspects of service to onboarding new clients
    Apply institutional-client onboarding processes, the types of securities traded at institutional dealers, account structures including sub-accounts, product and service access, account opening, and qualification as an Institutional Client to realistic institutional-client, dealer, trading, issuer, or market scenarios.
  • Institutional Client information required under KYC requirements and the processes around collection and verification
    Understand Institutional Client KYC information, collection and verification, beneficial ownership, trade authorization, insider status, creditworthiness, client confirmation of accuracy, identification exemptions, Institutional Client exemptions, and the primary responsibility and delegation rules for keeping information current.
  • The role of the Investment Dealer in providing client services
    Apply the role of the Investment Representative and Registered Representative, product and service limits, compensation practices, soft-dollar and commission sharing arrangements, and work with foreign clients to realistic institutional-client, dealer, trading, issuer, or market scenarios.
  • Account appropriateness obligation and exceptions for certain types of Institutional Clients
    Apply account appropriateness obligations and exceptions for certain types of Institutional Clients to realistic institutional-client, dealer, trading, issuer, or market scenarios.
  • Key aspects of Institutional Client suitability determination requirements
    Apply Institutional Client suitability determination requirements, sophistication assessments, dealer obligations, and exceptions including permitted clients to realistic institutional-client, dealer, trading, issuer, or market scenarios.
  • Products used by Institutional Clients, including transfer-in and client-directed positions
    Understand the products used by Institutional Clients, including securities, fixed-income products, derivatives, transfer-ins, and client-directed trades.
  • Required documents and disclosures when servicing Institutional Clients
    Apply account agreements, disclosures, documentation of client sophistication, client records, and authorized-party requirements when servicing Institutional Clients to realistic institutional-client, dealer, trading, issuer, or market scenarios.
  • Importance of containment of confidential information
    Apply client confidentiality, information barriers, firewalls, grey and restricted lists, material non-public information, and the roles of investment banking, research, and corporate finance to realistic institutional-client, dealer, trading, issuer, or market scenarios.
  • Importance of internal subject matter experts
    Understand the need for internal subject matter experts, product-specific registration, referral to the correct desk, and efficient escalation inside the firm.
  • CIRO requirements when Investment Dealers communicate with clients and/or the public
    Apply communication obligations, professional titles, misleading communications, social-media restrictions, and off-channel communication issues to realistic institutional-client, dealer, trading, issuer, or market scenarios.
  • Relevant laws and regulations in relation to Proceeds of Crime (Money Laundering) and Terrorist Financing legislation, exceptions, related rules and issues
    Understand money-laundering stages, AML compliance programs, client due diligence, enterprise risk assessment, employee training, and business relationship record-keeping.
• Conflicts of interest and standards of conduct
  Study the conflicts of interest and standards of conduct element of the CIRO Institutional Securities Exam and the section-level rules, workflows, and control points it tests.
  • CIRO standards of conduct involving a Registered Representative and their client or firm
    Apply CIRO standards of conduct involving a Registered Representative and their client or firm in the institutional context to realistic institutional-client, dealer, trading, issuer, or market scenarios.
  • Regulatory requirements governing the management of conflicts of interest in the best interests of the client
    Apply identifying, avoiding, addressing, and disclosing conflicts of interest in the best interests of the client to realistic institutional-client, dealer, trading, issuer, or market scenarios.
  • Regulatory requirements relating to outside activities
    Apply outside-activity prohibitions, approvals, and disclosures to realistic institutional-client, dealer, trading, issuer, or market scenarios.
  • Regulatory requirements relating to personal financial dealings with Institutional Clients
    Apply prohibitions and actions relating to accepting consideration, settlement agreements, personal borrowing, personal lending, and control or authority over client assets to realistic institutional-client, dealer, trading, issuer, or market scenarios.
  • Investment Dealer's policies and procedures relating to the management of conflicts of interest
    Understand the Investment Dealer's policies and procedures relating to conflict management, effective controls, supervision, approvals, and record-keeping.
  • Regulatory requirements governing Institutional Client complaint handling
    Apply recognition, process, resolution, reporting, and prohibited practices in Institutional Client complaint handling to realistic institutional-client, dealer, trading, issuer, or market scenarios.
• Fixed income
  Study the fixed income element of the CIRO Institutional Securities Exam and the section-level rules, workflows, and control points it tests.
  • Structure of the Canadian fixed-income markets
    Understand the structure of Canadian fixed-income markets, including market size, access, delivery, settlement, and the role of credit-rating agencies.
  • Regulatory requirements for debt markets
    Understand debt-market regulatory requirements, dealer and Approved Person obligations, policies and procedures, and prohibited practices.
  • Types and features of fixed-income products
    Understand the types and features of Government of Canada, provincial or municipal, and corporate fixed-income securities.
  • Terminology of fixed-income products
    Apply par value, coupon rate, maturity date, term to maturity, bond price, yield to maturity, and settlement terminology to realistic institutional-client, dealer, trading, issuer, or market scenarios.
  • Characteristics of fixed-income products
    Analyze the investor and issuer advantages, disadvantages, risks, returns, and holding costs of fixed-income products in an institutional-securities context.
  • Characteristics of the following products and the conditions that affect the risk-return profile
    Understand strips, floating-rate, callable or puttable, convertible, real return, extendable, and sinking or purchase-fund products and the conditions affecting their risk-return profile.
  • Standard calculations to bond yields
    Apply standard bond-yield calculations including income yield, approximate yield to maturity, zero-coupon yield, and yield-curve interpretation to realistic institutional-client, dealer, trading, issuer, or market scenarios.
  • Relationship between coupon, yield, duration, price sensitivity, and economic factors
    Apply the relationship between coupon, yield, term to maturity, Macaulay duration, modified duration, price sensitivity, and economic-factor changes to realistic institutional-client, dealer, trading, issuer, or market scenarios.
  • Modified duration calculations to assess bond price change
    Apply modified-duration calculations to assess the change in a bond price for a given change in yields to realistic institutional-client, dealer, trading, issuer, or market scenarios.
  • Time value of money for fixed-income calculations
    Apply time value of money for fixed-income securities, present value, discount rate, and missing-variable calculations to realistic institutional-client, dealer, trading, issuer, or market scenarios.
• Equities
  Study the equities element of the CIRO Institutional Securities Exam and the section-level rules, workflows, and control points it tests.
  • Different types of business structures and the impact on investment opportunities
    Understand sole proprietorships, partnerships, corporations, co-operatives, and how business structure affects investment opportunities.
  • Prospectus requirement under NI 41-101 and when it may not apply under NI 45-106 Prospectus Exemptions
    Understand prospectus requirements under NI 41-101, prospectus exemptions under NI 45-106, takeovers, accredited investors, private placements, and disclosure obligations.
  • Types and key features of different classes of common shares
    Understand the types and key features of different classes of common shares, including dividend rights, voting rights, and residual rights.
  • Types and key features of Canadian depository receipts (CDRs)
    Understand Canadian depository receipts, holder rights, and CDR ratios.
  • Characteristics of investing into different classes of common shares and depositary receipts
    Analyze the risks, returns, and holding costs of investing in common shares and depositary receipts in an institutional-securities context.
  • Features of common share ownership
    Analyze the features of common-share ownership and the advantages and disadvantages to investors and issuers in an institutional-securities context.
  • How corporate actions and other factors can affect the shareholder's position
    Understand how dividends are declared, claimed, and taxed, how primary and secondary distributions and takeovers affect shareholders, and how stock splits, consolidations, share buy-backs, and ESG issues can affect the shareholder's position.
  • Types and key features of different classes of preferred shares
    Understand the types and key features of different classes of preferred shares, including dividend rights, voting rights, and rights on dissolution.
  • Characteristics of investing into different classes of preferred shares
    Analyze the risks, returns, and holding costs of investing in preferred shares in an institutional-securities context.
  • Distinction between common share and preferred share ownership
    Apply the distinction between common-share and preferred-share ownership, including issuer and investor advantages and disadvantages to realistic institutional-client, dealer, trading, issuer, or market scenarios.
  • Time value of money for equity calculations
    Apply time value of money for equity calculations using discounted cash flow and price-earnings-growth models to realistic institutional-client, dealer, trading, issuer, or market scenarios.
• Securities analysis and investment theory
  Study the securities analysis and investment theory element of the CIRO Institutional Securities Exam and the section-level rules, workflows, and control points it tests.
  • Factors involved in performing company analysis
    Analyze the factors involved in company analysis, relevant documents and sources, client explanations, and collaboration with subject matter experts in an institutional-securities context.
  • Purpose and content of a company's statement of financial position
    Understand a company's statement of financial position, statement of changes in equity, classification of items, and their relation to other financial statements.
  • Purpose and content of statements disclosing company income
    Understand the structure of statements disclosing company income, statement of comprehensive income, retained earnings, and the relation between core financial statements.
  • Purpose and content of statements disclosing company cash flows
    Understand statements disclosing company cash flows, including operating, financing, and investing classifications.
  • Other factors regarding company financial statements
    Understand the notes to financial statements and the auditor report as part of company financial-statement analysis.
  • Information from basic financial statements about the company
    Analyze liquidity, risk, profitability, efficiency, and equity ratios derived from basic financial statements to assess the company in an institutional-securities context.
  • Information from basic financial statements about the investment
    Analyze value ratios, trend analysis, external comparisons, and investment-quality assessment of debt and equity using financial statements in an institutional-securities context.
  • Types and uses of information for equities and fixed income provided by issuers, exchanges, and regulators
    Understand the types and uses of information for equities and fixed income provided by issuers, exchanges, and regulators, including prices, yields, volumes, market capitalization, and cease-trade restrictions.
  • Purpose and uses of market indices
    Understand the purpose and uses of market indices, index construction, weighting approaches, total-return versus price-return treatment, and index segmentation.
  • Information regarding financial markets
    Analyze market trends, the market impact of specific trades, foreign exchange influences, and the economic, political, and social events that affect investments in an institutional-securities context.
  • Methods of assessing product and stock market behaviour
    Analyze fundamental, quantitative, and technical or statistical analysis and the assumptions and valuation approaches used to assess product and stock market behaviour in an institutional-securities context.
  • How industries can be classified into sectors and interpreted in stock valuation
    Understand industry classification into sectors such as consumer products, manufacturing, services, and technologies and how those classifications affect stock valuation.
  • Macroeconomic factors and investor expectations of prices and markets
    Apply interest rates, inflation, employment, productivity, and how macroeconomic factors influence investor expectations of prices and market movements to realistic institutional-client, dealer, trading, issuer, or market scenarios.
  • Purpose of relevant sources of information on investment products
    Understand offering documents, prospectuses, regulatory documents, market research, marketing material, and dealer recommendations as sources of product information.
  • Different types of risk
    Understand interest-rate, inflation, liquidity, capital, income, issuer, and financial-crime risk.
  • What different measures of risk indicate about an asset or portfolio
    Understand standard deviation, variance, beta, multi-factor measures, and drawdown as indications of portfolio or asset risk.
  • Methods of risk management processes to deal with risk and return
    Apply risk-management methods used to deal with risk and return, including asset selection, hedging, diversification, and portfolio trade-offs to realistic institutional-client, dealer, trading, issuer, or market scenarios.
  • Theories of interest rate determination
    Apply classical, loanable-funds, Keynesian, liquidity-preference, and Modern Monetary Theory approaches to interest-rate determination to realistic institutional-client, dealer, trading, issuer, or market scenarios.
  • Concepts of portfolio theories
    Understand modern portfolio theory, mean-variance thinking, diversification, concentration, Black-Litterman theory, and Monte Carlo simulations.
  • Purpose, advantages, and disadvantages of asset pricing models
    Analyze the purpose, advantages, and disadvantages of CAPM, arbitrage pricing theory, and multi-factor asset-pricing models including the Fama-French five-factor, Fama-French five-factor plus momentum, and Carhart four-factor models in an institutional-securities context.
  • Passive investment styles and strategies
    Analyze passive investment styles and strategies such as buy-and-hold and tracking or indexing in an institutional-securities context.
  • Active investment styles and strategies
    Analyze active investment styles and strategies including top-down versus bottom-up, sector rotation, growth, value, and market timing in an institutional-securities context.
  • Passive portfolio management techniques for equity managers
    Understand passive portfolio-management techniques for equity managers, including buy-and-hold and tracking or indexing.
  • Passive and active fixed-income portfolio management techniques
    Understand passive and active fixed-income portfolio-management techniques such as index matching, immunization, duration management, bond swaps, and sector rotation.
  • Processes, laws, and rules under NI 62-104 in relation to takeovers and issuer bids
    Apply processes, laws, and rules under NI 62-104 in relation to takeovers and issuer bids, including adequate disclosure, circulars and valuation, sufficient time, equal treatment, minimum tender requirements, and bid financing to realistic institutional-client, dealer, trading, issuer, or market scenarios.
  • Processes, laws, and rules in relation to public company disclosure and statutory rights of investors
    Apply public-company disclosure, periodic and event-driven filings, SEDAR+, SEDI, certification, and statutory rights of investors to realistic institutional-client, dealer, trading, issuer, or market scenarios.
  • Impact of relevant changes and updates
    Analyze the impact of relevant changes and updates to industry standards, legislation, regulations, dealer procedures, product due diligence, and emerging market or economic issues in an institutional-securities context.
• Managed and other products
  Study the managed and other products element of the CIRO Institutional Securities Exam and the section-level rules, workflows, and control points it tests.
  • Types and key features of managed products
    Understand managed products such as income trusts, closed-ended funds, REITs, ETFs, and pooled funds.
  • Structure and features of alternative investments
    Understand the structure and features of alternative investments such as derivatives, crypto assets, and private equity.
  • Structure and features of alternative strategy funds
    Understand hedge funds, structured products, and alternative investment funds as alternative strategy funds.
  • Characteristics of alternative and other types of investments
    Analyze the structure, features, fees, investor and provider advantages or disadvantages, risks, returns, costs, and accredited-investor requirements of alternative and other investments in an institutional-securities context.
  • Main features of ETFs
    Analyze ETF access, creation, market price versus NAV, management styles, leverage types, and cost structures in an institutional-securities context.
  • Factors used to decide between managed products and individual equity securities
    Apply the factors used to decide between managed products and individual equity securities, including investor decision factors to realistic institutional-client, dealer, trading, issuer, or market scenarios.
  • Role of derivatives markets within the securities market
    Understand the role of derivatives markets within the securities market, including hedging, risk transfer, price discovery, and liquidity support.
• Execution and market integrity
  Study the execution and market integrity element of the CIRO Institutional Securities Exam and the section-level rules, workflows, and control points it tests.
  • Understanding of the UMIR in specific situations
    Apply UMIR concepts in specific situations, including best execution, abusive trading, front running, DEA, routing arrangements, and principal trading to realistic institutional-client, dealer, trading, issuer, or market scenarios.
  • Regulatory requirements in relation to UMIR gatekeeping responsibilities
    Apply UMIR gatekeeping responsibilities, suspicious-transaction recognition and escalation, possible insider-trading activity, whistleblower frameworks, and reporting obligations to realistic institutional-client, dealer, trading, issuer, or market scenarios.
  • Features of different types of orders
    Apply the features of limit, market, immediate-and-cancel, fill-or-kill, on-stop, iceberg, and short-sale orders to realistic institutional-client, dealer, trading, issuer, or market scenarios.
  • Trade execution and settlement process
    Apply trade execution and settlement, awareness of marketplaces including exchanges versus over-the-counter markets and lit versus dark pools, order handling, error correction, introducing and carrying broker relationships, settlement and delivery, and foreign-exchange conversion considerations to realistic institutional-client, dealer, trading, issuer, or market scenarios.
  • Types of trading accounts
    Understand client, inventory, and non-client trading accounts.
  • Requirements on managing client orders
    Apply requirements on managing client orders, including accuracy, no discretion, recordkeeping, and remaining available to the client to realistic institutional-client, dealer, trading, issuer, or market scenarios.
  • Nature of the various trading desks
    Understand the nature of agency, proprietary, buy-side, sell-side, retail, and institutional trading desks.
  • Benefits and disadvantages of algorithmic trading
    Analyze the benefits and disadvantages of algorithmic trading, including market discipline, consistency, speed, technological failure, over-optimization, and flash crashes in an institutional-securities context.
• CIRO Institutional Securities Exam Study Plan
  CIRO Institutional Securities Exam study plan with 30-, 60-, and 90-day tracks, weekly sequencing, and final-review priorities.
• CIRO Institutional Securities Exam Cheat Sheet: Analysis & Workflow Review
  High-yield CIRO Institutional Securities Exam cheat sheet for client mandates, conflicts, fixed income, equities, securities analysis, managed products, execution, and market integrity.
• CIRO Institutional Securities Exam FAQ
  Common questions about the CIRO Institutional Securities Exam format, what it tests, study priorities, and how to use this guide.
• CIRO Institutional Securities Exam Resources
  Official CIRO source pages and the best way to use them with this CIRO Institutional Securities Exam guide.