CISI Securities Exam Guide 2026: Format, Syllabus and Study Plan

Table of Contents

• • CISI Securities Exam at a Glance
• • CISI Securities Pass Mark and Pass Rate
• • How the Capital Markets Programme Works
• • Current CISI Securities Syllabus Weightings
• • What to Study in Each High-Weight Area
• - Asset Classes - 27 questions
• - Secondary Markets - 15 questions
• - Primary Markets - 14 questions
• - Accounting Analysis - 14 questions
• • Calculation Areas to Practise
• • A Practical CISI Securities Study Plan
• - 1. Lock the correct exam and syllabus
• - 2. Allocate time by weighting
• - 3. Combine reading with retrieval
• - 4. Practise calculations throughout
• - 5. Move to timed sets
• - 6. Keep an error log
• • Securities or Derivatives: Which Technical Unit?
• • CISI Securities vs Saudi CME-3A
• • Before You Book

The CISI Securities exam is the Securities technical unit in the Capital Markets Programme. The current CISI Version 25 syllabus is effective from 22 March 2026 and tests global market infrastructure, asset classes, primary and secondary markets, corporate actions, clearing and settlement, accounting analysis and investment management.

The assessment is 100 multiple-choice questions in two hours. It is not a complete qualification by itself: the Capital Markets Programme is achieved by combining a regulatory unit with either Securities or Derivatives. The Securities route is recognised by Ofqual as the Level 3 Certificate in Securities.

CISI Securities Exam at a Glance

Question	Current answer
Technical unit	Securities
Programme	CISI Capital Markets Programme
Qualification level	Level 3 when combined with the required regulatory unit
Assessment	Computer-based multiple-choice examination
Scored questions	100
Duration	2 hours
Pass mark	70%
Current pass rate	83% when checked on 2 August 2026
Recommended study	CISI states a minimum of 100 hours
Current syllabus	Version 25, effective from 22 March 2026
Main syllabus areas	Asset classes, markets, issuance, trading, corporate actions, settlement, accounting and investment management
Official programme page	CISI Capital Markets Programme
Official 2026 syllabus	CISI Securities Level 3 syllabus

Candidates sitting the exam by computer-based testing may receive up to 10% additional trial questions. CISI states that these questions are not separately identified, do not contribute to the result and come with proportionately more time.

CISI Securities Pass Mark and Pass Rate

CISI currently lists the pass mark as 70%, with 70-100 marks graded as a pass and 0-69 as a fail. The official exam card displayed a current pass rate of 83% when checked on 2 August 2026.

Those figures answer different questions. The pass mark is the score a candidate must achieve. The pass rate is the proportion of candidates who passed during CISI’s current reporting period and will change as new results are recorded. It is not a prediction of an individual result or evidence that the exam requires little preparation.

CISI recommends a minimum of 100 study hours for the Securities unit. Candidates should adjust that time according to prior market knowledge, calculation confidence and diagnostic performance.

How the Capital Markets Programme Works

The Capital Markets Programme combines:

1. one regulatory unit, such as UK Financial Regulation or a recognised local regulatory paper; and
2. one technical unit, either Securities or Derivatives.

That distinction matters. Searching only for “CISI Capital Markets exam” can lead to materials that mix the regulatory and technical units together. Use the exact exam name shown in the booking journey and study from the matching current syllabus.

For candidates in the UK, Ireland, Europe and North America, CISI currently states that IntegrityMatters must be passed before sitting the Capital Markets Programme exams. Candidates in other jurisdictions should confirm the accepted local regulatory paper and any local prerequisites.

Our Capital Markets Programme guide explains the route and the difference between the Securities and Derivatives choices.

Current CISI Securities Syllabus Weightings

The Version 25 syllabus gives the following examination specification:

Element	Approximate questions
The Financial Services Industry	3
Asset Classes	27
Markets	2
Primary Markets	14
Secondary Markets	15
Corporate Actions	7
Clearing and Settlement	8
Accounting Analysis	14
Investment Management	10
Total	100

CISI notes that the number tested in each element may vary by up to two questions to maintain a consistent level of difficulty. Treat the table as a study-allocation guide, not permission to omit smaller elements.

Four areas - Asset Classes, Primary Markets, Secondary Markets and Accounting Analysis - account for approximately 70 questions. They deserve most of the study time, but the remaining 30 questions can still decide the result.

What to Study in Each High-Weight Area

Asset Classes - 27 questions

This is the largest element. It covers cash instruments, shares, government and corporate debt, Eurobonds, depositary receipts, warrants, property routes, foreign exchange, collective investments and structured products.

Preparation should include both comparison and calculation. The current syllabus includes calculations involving bond income and yields, accrued interest, short-term present value, convertible bonds, spot and forward foreign-exchange settlement prices, and interest-rate parity.

Secondary Markets - 15 questions

Know how trading venues and participants operate. This includes order-driven and quote-driven markets, market makers, broker-dealers, alternative venues, order types, central counterparties, indices and government and corporate bond markets.

Do not learn terms in isolation. Practise identifying which participant, venue or order type fits a short market scenario.

Primary Markets - 14 questions

Primary-markets questions cover how issuers raise capital. The syllabus includes initial public offerings, follow-on offerings, offers for sale, placings, introductions, convertible or exchangeable bond offerings, syndicate roles, advisers, underwriting, stabilisation and bond issuance.

Build a sequence for each issue method: why it is used, who participates, how the offer is structured and which risks or obligations follow.

Accounting Analysis - 14 questions

Candidates must understand the main financial statements and interpret a defined group of ratios. The current syllabus includes profitability, liquidity, debt, turnover, return, gearing and investor ratios.

Practise choosing the correct inputs as well as applying the formula. A correct formula with the wrong financial-statement figure will still produce the wrong answer.

Calculation Areas to Practise

The current syllabus explicitly uses the instruction be able to calculate for several objectives. Build a calculation sheet covering:

• simple interest on corporate debt;
• flat yield, accrued interest and short-term bond present value;
• convertible-bond premiums;
• spot and forward foreign-exchange settlement prices;
• the effect of bonus issues, stock splits and reverse splits;
• rights-issue prices and nil-paid rights;
• return on capital employed, return on assets and return on equity;
• debt-to-equity, net debt-to-equity and interest cover;
• earnings per share, price-earnings ratio, dividend yield and dividend cover;
• enterprise value to EBIT and EBITDA.

For every formula, practise three steps: identify what the question asks, select the correct inputs, and interpret the result. This is more reliable than memorising a formula without knowing when to use it.

A Practical CISI Securities Study Plan

1. Lock the correct exam and syllabus

Confirm that the booking says Securities, not Introduction to Securities & Investment, Level 4 Securities, Global Securities Operations or Saudi CME-3A. Record the syllabus version and effective date before starting.

2. Allocate time by weighting

Give the largest share of study time to Asset Classes. Then cover Secondary Markets, Primary Markets and Accounting Analysis. Reserve explicit sessions for Corporate Actions, Clearing and Settlement, Investment Management, the Financial Services Industry and Markets.

3. Combine reading with retrieval

After each section, close the workbook and reconstruct the key distinctions, process sequence and formulas from memory. Then check the source and correct what was missed.

4. Practise calculations throughout

Do not leave every calculation until the final week. Mix numerical and conceptual questions from the start so that formula selection becomes part of normal exam technique.

5. Move to timed sets

Two hours for 100 scored questions is an average of 72 seconds per question. Use shorter timed sets first, then complete full-length practice. If trial questions are included in the live test, CISI provides proportionately more time.

6. Keep an error log

Classify each mistake as a knowledge gap, formula-selection error, calculation error, misread instruction or time-management problem. Revision should target the cause, not just repeat the same question.

Securities or Derivatives: Which Technical Unit?

Choose Securities when your role or required pathway focuses on equity and debt instruments, issuance, trading, settlement, accounting and investment management. Choose Derivatives when the role or required pathway focuses on futures, options, swaps and related market practice.

This is not simply a choice between an “easy” and a “hard” paper. The correct unit should follow the employer, regulator, role and recognised qualification combination.

CISI Securities vs Saudi CME-3A

The names overlap, but the pathways are different:

CISI Securities	Saudi CME-3A
Technical unit in the global CISI Capital Markets Programme	Securities paper in the Saudi CME-3 brokerage route
Combined with a recognised regulatory unit	Paired with CME-3B, the Saudi brokers-regulations paper
Uses the current CISI Securities syllabus	Follows the Saudi Financial Academy/CMA route and booking rules

Exams Academy does not currently list a standalone preparation course for the global CISI Securities technical unit. The existing CME-3A course is Saudi-specific. Candidates taking that route should use the Saudi CME-3A study guide and the regional course page shown there.

Before You Book

Verify all of the following in the current CISI or local-jurisdiction booking information:

• the full exam name;
• the regulatory and technical unit combination required for your pathway;
• the current pass mark and grading rules;
• the syllabus version and workbook validity period;
• IntegrityMatters or another prerequisite;
• delivery, calculator and identification rules;
• any employer or regulator requirement.

The official CISI syllabus is the authority for examinable content. This independent guide explains the structure and a preparation method; it does not reproduce official questions or imply CISI endorsement.