Published May 2026 · 8 min read
Being booked in for the CISI UK Financial Regulation exam without a clear plan is one of the most common reasons candidates underperform. Without a structured approach it is easy to spend weeks reading without the preparation actually converting into exam readiness. If you have less time available, see the two-week plan or the one-week plan.
The most important thing to know before opening the workbook is where the exam puts its marks.
| Chapter | Questions | % of Paper | Priority |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chapter 2 — COBS / CASS | ~35 | ~47% | 🔑 Highest |
| Chapter 1 — Regulatory Environment | ~15 | ~20% | High |
| Chapter 4 — AML / Financial Crime | ~13 | ~17% | High |
| Chapter 3 — Market Abuse | ~12 | ~16% | Medium |
Every hour you spend on Chapter 2 is worth roughly twice as much as an hour spent on any other chapter. Your study plan should reflect that.
| Week | Focus | What to Do |
|---|---|---|
| Week 1 | Chapter 2 — COBS & CASS | Read COBS in full. Master client categorisation (Retail, Professional, Eligible Counterparty), suitability vs appropriateness, and financial promotions. Then read CASS — focus on the segregation principle, CASS 6 (custody assets) and CASS 7 (client money). Do practice questions after each topic, not at the end of the chapter. |
| Week 2 | Chapters 1, 3 & 4 | Chapter 1: FCA and PRA, the 12 FCA Principles (including Principle 12 — Consumer Duty), SM&CR, FSCS and FOS. Chapter 3: inside information, insider dealing, market manipulation, safe harbours, UK MAR. Chapter 4: three stages of money laundering, SARs, tipping off, terrorist financing, MLRs. Practice questions after each chapter. |
| Week 3 | Drilling & Gap Closing | Work through a large question bank. Read every explanation — including questions you got right. Track which topics cost you marks. Return to the workbook only for those specific areas. The goal is converting broad familiarity into exam-condition precision. |
| Week 4 | Timed Mocks & Consolidation | Run full timed mock exams — 75 questions, 90 minutes, no pausing. At least two or three before the sitting. Final two days: lighter revision only. Review weak areas, short COBS/CASS drill. Do not try to learn new material in the final 48 hours. |
The honest test is not how confident you feel — it is how you perform on material you have not seen before, under timed conditions. If you are consistently scoring above 75% on full timed mock exams using questions you have not previously seen, you are ready. If your scores are strong on familiar questions but drop on unfamiliar ones, that is a memorisation problem, not a knowledge problem.
MockSmith provides 1,000+ practice questions and full timed mock exams for the CISI UK Financial Regulation exam, with complete explanations for every answer. The resource for weeks 3 and 4 of this plan.
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