What the CSC exams are
The Canadian Securities Course (CSC) is a long-standing course from the Canadian Securities Institute (CSI) for people starting out in Canadian financial services: bank and brokerage roles, mutual fund sales, financial planning support and investing for yourself. To complete it you must pass two separate exams, one for each volume of the course.
| Part of the exam | What to expect |
|---|---|
| Number of exams | 2 (Exam 1 and Exam 2) |
| Questions | 100 multiple-choice questions per exam |
| Time | 2 hours per exam |
| Pass mark | 60% on each exam |
| Attempts | Up to 3 per exam |
| Where | Proctored, either remotely or at a test centre, on a computer |
| Results | A pass or fail grade as soon as you finish |
CSI suggests 135 to 200 hours of study and gives you a one-year enrolment period. Two hours for 100 questions works out to about 72 seconds each, so you need to answer the fact questions quickly to leave time for the calculations.
A 2026 change you should know about
From January 1, 2026, the Canadian Investment Regulatory Organization (CIRO) moved to a new proficiency model for Approved Persons at investment dealers, based on CIRO's own exams. CSI states that the CSC is no longer acceptable for CIRO approval with an investment dealer. The CSC is still named in National Instrument 31-103 as one of the exams that qualifies a dealing representative of a mutual fund dealer, and CSI still lists it as meeting mutual fund proficiency requirements. If you need the course for a specific licence or job, check the current requirement with your employer or regulator before you enrol.
What each exam covers
CSI publishes the topic weightings for both exams:
| Exam 1 topic | Weight |
|---|---|
| The Canadian investment marketplace | 15% |
| The economy | 13% |
| Features and types of fixed-income securities | 12% |
| Pricing and trading of fixed-income securities | 11% |
| Common and preferred shares | 13% |
| Equity transactions | 10% |
| Derivatives | 10% |
| Corporations and their financial statements | 8% |
| Financing and listing securities | 8% |
| Exam 2 topic | Weight |
|---|---|
| Investment analysis | 18% |
| Portfolio analysis | 18% |
| Mutual funds | 14% |
| Exchange-traded funds | 10% |
| Alternative investments, other managed and structured products | 16% |
| Canadian taxation | 6% |
| Fee-based accounts and working with the retail client | 8% |
| Working with the institutional client | 10% |
The ten sections in our question bank
- Marketplace and regulation. Provincial regulators and the CSA, CIRO, CIPF coverage, primary and secondary markets, underwriting, prospectuses, T+1 settlement and conduct rules.
- The economy. GDP, the business cycle, unemployment, inflation, Bank of Canada policy and fiscal policy.
- Fixed income. Bond pricing, current yield, yield to maturity, strip bonds, T-bills, duration, yield curves and bond features.
- Equities and trading. Common and preferred shares, dividend yield, P/E, splits, rights, order types, short selling and margin.
- Derivatives. Calls, puts, intrinsic and time value, breakeven points, covered calls, futures, forwards and swaps.
- Company analysis. Financial statements, liquidity, leverage and profitability ratios, dividend discount valuation and technical analysis.
- Portfolio analysis. Expected return, standard deviation, correlation, beta, CAPM, the Sharpe ratio and asset allocation.
- Managed products. Mutual funds, NAVPS, the MER, NI 81-102 investment limits, ETFs, alternative mutual funds, hedge funds and structured products.
- Working with clients. Know your client, suitability, conflicts of interest, trusted contact persons, fee-based accounts and institutional clients.
- Taxation and retirement. Capital gains, adjusted cost base, superficial losses, RRSPs, TFSAs and FHSAs.
How to prepare
Work through the course material first, since the exams are built on it. Then use practice questions to find your weak spots. Many people lose marks on the calculations rather than the definitions, so do every worked example with a calculator until the steps for bond prices, yields, ratios and option breakevens are automatic. Drill one section at a time, then sit full 100-question mock exams under a two-hour timer. Read every explanation, including on questions you got right, and aim to score well above 60% in practice.
Aptitude Tests Canada is an independent practice platform. We are not affiliated with or endorsed by the Canadian Securities Institute, CIRO or the Canadian Securities Administrators, and we do not offer the CSC or its exams. Our questions are original practice questions written from public rules and official sources, not real exam questions and not taken from the CSI textbook.
Three worked examples
One question from different sections of the full pack, with the answer and explanation.
Which level of government has primary responsibility for securities regulation in Canada?
- The federal Department of Finance
- The provinces and territories
- The Bank of Canada
- Municipal governments
Using the expenditure approach, gross domestic product (GDP) equals:
- Wages + rent + interest + profits - taxes - depreciation - subsidies
- Exports + imports + government spending
- Consumption + investment + government spending + (exports - imports)
- Consumption + savings - taxes
What happens to the price of an existing bond when market interest rates rise?
- It rises
- It stays at par until maturity
- It falls
- It changes only if the issuer's credit rating changes