A practical CSI IFC study plan with 30-day, 60-day, and 90-day tracks aligned to the official weighting, mutual-fund route fit, and exact IFC web practice.
Use this plan with the Guide Home, the Cheat Sheet, the FAQ, the Official Resources, and exact IFC web practice on MasteryExamPrep.
IFC improves fastest when you train the decision chain in the right order:
wrong client fact, wrong fund or fee logic, and wrong compliance step.CSI’s official guidance is 90 – 140 hours of study for IFC.
Source: https://www.csi.ca/en/learning/courses/ifc/exam-credits
Choose based on hours per week:
| Time you can commit | Recommended plan |
|---|---|
| 18–25 hrs/week | 30-day intensive |
| 10–14 hrs/week | 60-day balanced |
| 6–9 hrs/week | 90-day part-time |
| Study stage | What you are stabilizing |
|---|---|
| mutual-fund marketplace and KYC first | the context that makes later product and suitability questions readable |
| products, portfolios, and fund structure second | the core language of fund comparison, risk, and fees |
| analysis and selection third | the judgment layer that separates similar-looking fund answers |
| ethics, compliance, and regulation last | the answer-quality filter that turns a decent choice into a defensible recommendation |
Target pace: ~18–25 hours/week. Goal: finish the full coverage quickly, then harden suitability and fund-selection speed with mixed sets.
| Week | Focus | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Marketplace, KYC, and behavioural finance | Build the representative role, KYC workflow, and the client-fact language that controls later answers. |
| 2 | Tax, retirement, products, and portfolios | Classify products quickly, drill risk-return vocabulary, and connect constraints to portfolio structure. |
| 3 | Fund structure, fund types, alternatives, and analysis | Learn how funds are built, what separates the main categories, and how to compare performance and fees. |
| 4 | Fund selection, services, regulation, and ethics | Finish with selection logic, fee or service distinctions, and compliance filters; then move into mixed timed sets. |
Target pace: ~10–14 hours/week. Goal: steady learning with repeated review so product, suitability, and regulation language stays connected.
| Week | Focus | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Chapters 1–2 | Representative role plus market basics; start the miss log. |
| 2 | Chapter 3–4 | Economics plus KYC and the planning process; build a KYC checklist. |
| 3 | Chapter 5–6 | Behavioural finance and tax or retirement concepts; practice scenario language. |
| 4 | Chapter 7–8 | Products and portfolios; drill return, risk, and diversification vocabulary. |
| 5 | Chapter 9–10 | Statements and the modern mutual fund; lock down NAV and fee language. |
| 6 | Chapter 11–13 | Fund categories and alternatives; match structures to client profiles. |
| 7 | Chapter 14–16 | Performance, selection, fees, and services; build a simple due-diligence checklist. |
| 8 | Chapter 17–18 plus review | Regulation and ethics; finish with mixed sets and gap-closing. |
Target pace: ~6–9 hours/week. Goal: slow repetition with frequent short drills and spaced review.
| Week | Focus | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Chapter 1 | Role, responsibilities, and why the representative process matters. |
| 2 | Chapter 2 | Market structure and the higher-level environment around mutual funds. |
| 3 | Chapter 3 | Economics and client-impact language. |
| 4 | Chapter 4 | KYC and planning approach; practice fact-finding. |
| 5 | Chapter 5–6 | Behavioural finance plus tax or retirement concepts. |
| 6 | Chapter 7 | Product features and how they trade or behave. |
| 7 | Chapter 8 | Portfolio logic, diversification, and suitability. |
| 8 | Chapter 9–10 | Statement basics and mutual fund structure. |
| 9 | Chapter 11–13 | Fund categories and alternatives. |
| 10 | Chapter 14 | Performance evaluation and comparison. |
| 11 | Chapter 15–16 | Selection process, fees, and services. |
| 12 | Chapter 17–18 plus review | Regulation, ethics, mixed sets, and miss-log cleanup. |
| Domain | Weight | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
| The Know Your Client Communication Process | 19% | the heaviest block and the frame for many suitability questions |
| Understanding Investment Products and Portfolios | 18% | the core product and risk language layer |
| Evaluating and Selecting Mutual Funds | 16% | the main comparison and recommendation block |
| Ethics, Compliance, and Mutual Fund Regulation | 16% | the answer-quality filter for many near-miss situations |
client fact or fund feature -> stronger suitability rule -> better answer -> why the distractor fails.Use exact IFC web practice on MasteryExamPrep in phases:
| Stage | What to do |
|---|---|
| after KYC and product review | short timed sets for client-fact and fund-feature recognition |
| after fund analysis and selection review | mixed sets for comparison, fees, and performance logic |
| final two weeks | full timed sets with miss-log cleanup and pacing work |
IFC is usually the cleaner first move.Sources: https://www.csi.ca/en/learning/courses/ifc/exam-credits and https://www.csi.ca/en/learning/courses/ifc/curriculum