CISI Investment Advice Diploma

CISI Securities Level 4 (IAD)

Official CISI Accredited Training Partner

Prepare for the Securities technical unit in the Investment Advice Diploma with eight chapters, bond and equity calculations, revision cards and five full mock papers.

400 Practice Questions Detailed Study Notes Realistic Mock Exams

Course syllabus information reviewed for 2026.

Exactly what is included

400 practice questions across 5 mock exams · unlimited retakes
Focus Learn · key areas, pitfalls, exam traps & key numbers
Flashcards · fun, fast and effective recall
Securities formulas, worked examples and chapter references
Audio Learning · every chapter in audio
AI Analyzer & Mentor · pinpoints your weak areas
Study Mode Exams · learn while you train
AI Chat trained specifically for this exam
Study material organised by syllabus

Full Chapter Audio Lessons New

Listen to extended lessons covering the examinable rules, numbers and traps in every chapter.

🎧 Audio

* This is a chapter sample. All audio is available in the full version.

Prepare for CISI Securities Level 4

Securities is a technical-unit option in the CISI Investment Advice Diploma. This Level 4 course is separate from Level 3 Securities. Choose the course that matches your registered examination.

Study cash and foreign exchange, fixed income, equities, collective investments, settlement and custody, financial analysis, portfolio construction and suitable investment selection. The official examination has 80 multiple-choice questions in two hours, with a pass at 56 correct answers (70%). Fixed income and equities each have a base allocation of 20 questions.

The learning hub contains eight detailed chapters with full audio lessons in female and male voices, 268 recall and calculation cards, and 273 searchable references including 50 worked examples. Five timed mock exams provide 400 practice questions. The first four contain distinct questions; the fifth mixes twenty from each. Worked methods show inputs, steps, answers and common traps. Source-scope notes distinguish workbook conventions from dated current-rule clarifications.

Key Benefits

Separate Level 4 course

Follow the Investment Advice Diploma unit with its own syllabus and learning materials.

✓ IAD technical-unit option
✓ Distinct from Level 3
✓ Eight chapters

Worked calculations

Practise bond valuation, rights issues, warrants and financial ratios with complete methods.

✓ Defined inputs and units
✓ Ordered calculation steps
✓ Answers and common traps

Five weighted papers

Build from foundational knowledge to applied and final practice using the official base allocation.

✓ 80 questions per paper
✓ Four original papers
✓ One balanced mixed paper

Syllabus

Module 1: Cash, Money Markets and the Foreign Exchange Market 6.25% syllabus weight

🎧 Audio

Deposits, bills and commercial paper; Repo and collateral; Currency markets and hedging.

• Deposits, bills and commercial paper
• Repo and collateral
• Currency markets and hedging

Module 2: Fixed-Income Securities 25% syllabus weight

Government and corporate debt; Issuance, dealing and credit risk; Yields, valuation and duration.

• Government and corporate debt
• Issuance, dealing and credit risk
• Yields, valuation and duration

Module 3: Equities 25% syllabus weight

Shareholder rights and issuance; Trading venues and corporate actions; Indices, warrants and CFDs.

• Shareholder rights and issuance
• Trading venues and corporate actions
• Indices, warrants and CFDs

Module 4: Collective Investments 10% syllabus weight

Fund structures and liquidity; Structured-product payoffs; Selection, costs and monitoring.

• Fund structures and liquidity
• Structured-product payoffs
• Selection, costs and monitoring

Module 5: Settlement, Safe Custody and Prime Brokerage 8.75% syllabus weight

Clearing and settlement controls; Custody and beneficial ownership; Securities lending and prime brokerage.

• Clearing and settlement controls
• Custody and beneficial ownership
• Securities lending and prime brokerage

Module 6: Securities Analysis 10% syllabus weight

Financial statements and cash flow; Ratios and comparative analysis; ESG risks and opportunities.

• Financial statements and cash flow
• Ratios and comparative analysis
• ESG risks and opportunities

Module 7: Portfolio Construction 10% syllabus weight

Market information and research; Allocation and risk management; Interpreting performance measures.

• Market information and research
• Allocation and risk management
• Interpreting performance measures

Module 8: Investment Selection and Administration 5% syllabus weight

Client needs and suitability; Selecting investments and strategies; Monitoring, reporting and review.

• Client needs and suitability
• Selecting investments and strategies
• Monitoring, reporting and review

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Frequently Asked Questions

No. This is the Level 4 Securities technical unit in the Investment Advice Diploma. Level 3 Securities remains a separate course with its own workbook and assessment.

The official assessment has 80 multiple-choice questions in two hours. The official sample gives a pass boundary of 56 correct answers, equivalent to 70%.

Fixed-Income Securities and Equities each have a base allocation of 20 out of 80 questions. Official papers may vary by up to two questions per element.

Eight chapters, 268 recall and calculation cards, 273 revision references including 50 worked examples, an AI tutor and 400 practice questions across five mock exams. Audio lessons cover all eight chapters, with female and male voices.

It covers the Securities technical unit. The IAD also requires its core units, including UK Regulation and Professional Integrity and Investment, Risk and Taxation, subject to CISI requirements.

Check the CISI Candidate Updates page for your examination date. The lessons distinguish the retained workbook and applicable update from separately dated current-rule clarifications.

Yes! Test your knowledge and review detailed explanations with the free CISI Securities Level 4 (IAD) Mock Exam Preview below. It contains 15 exam-style questions from one named syllabus topic; the full course provides complete mock exams and syllabus coverage.

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Free CISI Securities Level 4 (IAD) Practice Questions & Exam Preview

Try 15 CISI Securities Level 4 (IAD) practice questions from Equities

Practice CISI Securities Level 4 (IAD) exam questions with answers and explanations. The full course includes 5 mock exams and complete syllabus coverage.

Exam Preview

Equities

Question 1 of 15

What distinguishes a cumulative preference dividend?

1 / 15

Flashcards

Card 1 of 10Chapter 1

Question

Why can a capital-stable deposit still be unsuitable for an investor?

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Focus Learn

Key Examinable Areas10

1.1.1: Deposit return, access and protection
1.1.2: Treasury bills and discount yield
1.1.3: Commercial paper programmes
1.1.4: Repo, collateral and documentation
1.2.1: FX quotes and market structure
1.2.2: Determinants of exchange rates
1.2.3: Forward FX arithmetic
1.2.4: Choosing a currency hedge
Deposit comparison and protection
Treasury-bill issuance and access

Common Pitfalls to Avoid3

Exam Traps3

Key Numbers10

1.1.1: A cash deposit earns interest rather than capital growth. Compare the institution and its credit standing, the term, notice period, early-withdrawal penalty, and whether the rate is fixed or variable. Annual equivalent rate allows for compounding; it is not automatically the same as a quoted simple rate. The exact real return is (1 + nominal return)/(1 + inflation) − 1, using decimals. A positive interest rate can therefore leave purchasing power lower. Foreign-currency deposits add conversion costs, exchange-rate risk, local protection and tax considerations, and possible exchange controls affecting repatriation. A structured deposit links its return to an index or other benchmark, often with a cap or participation rate, while return of capital is a contractual promise at maturity subject to the deposit taker’s ability to pay. It need not provide ordinary interest or early access. A two-year total participation payoff must not be described as annual income. Deposit compensation is a statutory eligibility question, not an unconditional guarantee for every product or amount; check the dated protection note before applying a monetary limit. Current-rule note, checked 9 October 2026: since 1 December 2025 FSCS deposit protection is normally £120,000 per eligible person per authorised firm, with deposits under a shared banking licence aggregated. Certain qualifying temporary high balances have protection up to £1.4 million for six months; personal injury, disability and incapacity cases have different, potentially unlimited protection. The workbook’s £85,000 and £1 million figures are historical, not current limits. Money-market fund units are investments, not protected bank deposits merely because their portfolios hold cash instruments.
1.1.2: Treasury bills provide short-term government funding and cash-management instruments. The UK DMO issues bills by competitive tender: successful bidders pay the price bid, and retail access to tenders is through primary participants. The retained syllabus discusses 28-, 91- and 182-day bills, with maturity below one year at issue. It distinguishes a £500,000 minimum nominal tender bid, £50,000 increments above that, and a £25,000 secondary-market denomination. These are different market stages. Bills have no periodic coupon and redeem at nominal value; the difference from purchase cost is the investor’s return. For face value F, purchase price P and d days, simple annual investment yield is (F − P)/P × 365/d under Actual/365, whereas the discount rate is (F − P)/F × 365/d. Do not omit brackets or confuse a discount quotation with a yield on money invested. UK bills normally settle on the following business day. Historically published DMO reference prices were indicative valuation inputs rather than executable dealer prices. Government credit quality does not eliminate interest-rate, reinvestment or inflation risk.
1.1.3: Commercial paper allows issuers to fund short-term liquidity needs directly in the market rather than solely through bank borrowing. Ordinary CP is generally an unsecured discount instrument; asset-backed CP is supported by assets such as trade, loan or credit-card receivables and requires analysis of both structure and underlying credit quality. The source describes frequent one-to-three-month issuance and US programmes commonly kept within 270 days for the stated registration exemption; that threshold is not a universal global maturity rule. The UK quotation convention discussed uses Actual/365, while many other markets use Actual/360. A direct issuer sells to investors itself; dealer paper uses an intermediary. Programmes issue successive amounts and maturities as funding is required, rather than one single long-term bond issue. Credit ratings help differentiate issuers but do not promise repayment. The secondary market can be inactive, so an investor expecting to sell before maturity must examine dealer support, settlement arrangements and liquidity rather than relying only on the short tenor.
1.2.3: A forward exchange rate fixes today the exchange terms for a later value date. With a spot quote S in quote-currency units per base-currency unit, covered interest parity gives F = S × (1 + r_quote × t)/(1 + r_base × t) for simple annual rates and a common year fraction t. Use separate day fractions if the currencies use different stated bases. This is a no-arbitrage financing relationship under the assumptions, not a forecast of future spot. Forward points must be converted to the same units as the spot quote before adding or subtracting. For the workbook’s explicitly labelled “pm” forward adjustment subtract the stated points; for “dis” add them. These labels must be read with that quotation convention: an outright rate above spot means the base currency costs more quote currency forward, while a lower rate means less. Apply each adjustment to the corresponding bid or offer, then check that bid remains below offer. A description such as 0.50 cents means 0.0050 currency units, not 0.50 units. Do not turn a spread pattern from a worked example into a rule that all forward spreads must be wider than spot.
Discount and investment yield: Discount yield = (F − P) / F × B/d; investment yield = (F − P) / P × B/d Inputs: Face £100; price £98.50; 90 days; stated basis 365 Answer: 6.0833% discount yield; 6.1760% investment yield.
Price from a discount rate: P = F × (1 − yd/B) Inputs: Face £500,000; discount rate 4%; 91 days; basis 365 Answer: £495,013.70.
Simple deposit interest: Interest = principal × annual rate × days / basis Inputs: £25,000; 3.6% a year; 120 days; stated basis 365 Answer: Interest £295.89; maturity value £25,295.89.
Exact real return: Real return = (1 + nominal return)/(1 + inflation) − 1 Inputs: Nominal one-year return 5%; inflation 3% Answer: 1.94175%.
Repo repurchase price: Repurchase = cash × (1 + rt) Inputs: Cash £2m; repo rate 4.5%; 7 days; basis 365 Answer: £2,001,726.03.
Collateral haircut: Cash advanced = collateral market value × (1 − haircut) Inputs: Collateral £1m; haircut 3%; no other adjustment Answer: £970,000 cash advanced.

Chapter 1: Cash, Money Markets and the Foreign Exchange (FX) Market

Cash instruments differ in access, credit exposure and quotation. Establish the legal claim and units before assessing return or hedging a currency cash flow.

1.1.1: Deposit return, access and protection

A cash deposit earns interest rather than capital growth. Compare the institution and its credit standing, the term, notice period, early-withdrawal penalty, and whether the rate is fixed or variable. Annual equivalent rate allows for compounding; it is not automatically the same as a quoted simple rate. The exact real return is (1 + nominal return)/(1 + inflation) − 1, using decimals. A positive interest rate can therefore leave purchasing power lower. Foreign-currency deposits add conversion costs, exchange-rate risk, local protection and tax considerations, and possible exchange co…

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Who Is This For?

✓ Candidates taking the Securities technical unit in the Investment Advice Diploma

✓ Investment advisers and portfolio professionals studying securities markets

✓ Learners preparing for Level 4 bond, equity and portfolio applications

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