CISI ICWIM International Certificate in Wealth & Investment Management Exam Practice Test

Compound Interest Formula:A=P×(1+r)nA = P \times (1 + r)^nA=P×(1+r)n

P: Initial principal (£1,000)

r: Annual interest rate (3% or 0.03)

n: Number of years (5)A=1,000×(1+0.03)5A = 1,000 \times (1 + 0.03)^5A=1,000×(1+0.03)5A=1,000×(1.159274)A = 1,000 \times (1.159274)A=1,000×(1.159274)A=£1,157.63A = £1,157.63A=£1,157.63

Elimination of Other Options:

All other values result from incorrect application of the formula or ignoring compounding.

References:

ICWIM Module 2: Focus on time value of money and compounding.

Fund Gating:

Gating occurs when fund managers temporarily restrict redemptions to protect the remaining investors and ensure liquidity.

This allows the fund to sell illiquid assets to generate sufficient cash for redemptions.

Elimination of Other Options:

A: Tax deferral benefits are irrelevant to gating.

B: Commission proportions are unrelated to liquidity.

C: Lock-in periods are predetermined and not linked to gating.

References:

ICWIM Module 3: Focus on fund structures and liquidity management.

What is Key Person Protection?

A policy designed to compensate a company for financial losses incurred if a key employee dies or becomes disabled.

A prerequisite is that the company must prove aninsurable interestin the key person.

Why D is Correct

Insurable interest ensures that the company has a legitimate financial dependency on the key person, a requirement for taking out such a policy.

Other Options Analyzed

A. Ever-increasing premiums: Not a feature specific to key person policies.

B. Moving to a competitor: Irrelevant; this is not an insurable risk.

C. Undefined sum: Key person policies require a specific sum based on financial calculations.

ICWIM Textbook, Chapter on Business Insurance: Emphasizes insurable interest in key person policies.

Insurance Industry Standards: Insurable interest is a fundamental requirement.

References

What is Back-End Loading?

A fee structure where costs are charged when an investor sells out of an investment, typically in mutual funds or other collective investments.

Why the Answer is B

Collective investments, such as mutual funds, frequently use back-end loads as a way to encourage long-term investment.

Why Other Options are Incorrect

A. Bonds: Fees are not typically structured as back-end loads.

C. Equities: Equities do not have fee structures similar to back-end loads.

D. Real estate: Transaction costs in real estate are upfront, not back-end.

ICWIM Study Guide, Chapter on Collective Investments: Discusses fee structures, including back-end loading.

Investment Fund Literature: Explains back-end loads as a feature of mutual funds.

References

Financial advisers are required to explain the additional obligations associated with derivatives, such as margin requirements, leverage risks, and potential for substantial losses. This is because derivatives are complex financial instruments with high risk.

Fundamental analysis involves evaluating a security to determine its intrinsic value by examining factors such as financial statements, economic conditions, and industry trends. The goal is to identify whether the security is undervalued or overvalued compared to its current market price.

Inflation from the Seller's Perspective:

The Producer Price Index (PPI) measures changes in the prices received by sellers for their goods and services.

It reflects production cost pressures, making it distinct from consumer-focused indices.

Elimination of Other Options:

A & C: Retail Price Index (RPI) and Consumer Price Index (CPI) measure inflation from the buyer's perspective.

D: Inflation Price Index is not a recognized term.

References:

ICWIM Module 1: Explanation of inflation measurement indices.

Why Affordability is the Major Constraint

A client’s ability to mitigate risks is directly limited by their financial resources.

Even the most sophisticated risk strategies, such as diversification, derivatives, or insurance, require financial capacity.

Other Options Analyzed

Age: Impacts risk tolerance but does not constrain the financial ability to manage risks.

Risk aversion: A behavioral factor, not a financial constraint.

Tax implications: Important but secondary compared to affordability.

ICWIM Textbook, Chapter on Investment Constraints: Highlights affordability as the top financial constraint.

Wealth Planning Principles: Discusses practical limitations of risk mitigation strategies.

ReferencesThus, the answer isB. Affordability.

Global Currency Trading

The US dollar dominates the foreign exchange market due to its status as the global reserve currency.

It is heavily used in international trade, financial transactions, and as a benchmark currency.

Market Share

The US dollar is involved in approximately88% of all forex trades.

Other currencies like the euro, Japanese yen, and British pound have significant market shares but are far behind the US dollar.

ICWIM Study Guide, Chapter on Global Financial Markets: Highlights the US dollar as the most traded currency.

Bank for International Settlements (BIS)Forex Market Surveys: Confirms trading dominance of the US dollar.

References

Correlation Coefficient of 1.0:

A correlation coefficient measures the strength and direction of the relationship between two datasets.

A value of1.0indicates a perfect positive correlation, meaning the two sets of data move in the same direction proportionally.

Elimination of Other Options:

A: A value of 0 indicates no correlation.

B: Weak correlation would be closer to 0.

C: Perfect negative correlation has a value of -1.

References:

ICWIM Module 3: Concepts of statistical measures, including correlation.

Risk Tolerance Defined

Risk tolerance is the degree of variability in investment returns that an investor is willing to withstand.

Pillars of Risk Tolerance

Psychological Traits: Key determinants of how much risk an individual can emotionally handle.

Includes traits like optimism, pessimism, and loss aversion.

Other Factors (Secondary): Experience, education, and financial goals play roles, but they do not directly "underlie" the core risk tolerance.

Example

Two investors with identical knowledge and experience may have different risk tolerances due to differing psychological profiles.

ICWIM Study Guide, Chapter on Risk Profiling: Highlights psychological traits as the foundation of risk tolerance.

Behavioral Finance Theory: Psychological biases and emotional traits shape risk appetite.

ReferencesThus, the correct answer isA. Psychological traits.

Offshore Foundations

These legal entities are typically used for wealth preservation, estate planning, or philanthropic purposes.

Foundations are managed by acouncil, which is responsible for operational decisions and ensuring the foundation’s goals are met.

Why the Answer is C

The council acts similarly to a board of directors but focuses specifically on the foundation’s assets and objectives.

Why Other Options are Incorrect

A. Board of directors: Applies to companies, not foundations.

B. Trustees: Apply to trusts, not foundations.

D. Beneficiaries: Beneficiaries do not have decision-making authority.

ICWIM Study Guide, Chapter on Trusts and Foundations: Discusses the governance of offshore foundations.

Legal Principles of Foundations: Confirms the role of the council.

ReferencesThus, the correct answer isC. The council.

Avoiding Conflicts of Interest:

By placing orders in the order they are received, the firm ensures fairness and transparency.

This approach avoids any preferential treatment and complies with regulatory obligations.

Elimination of Other Options:

A: Withdrawing services would not address the conflict and is impractical.

C: Disclosing orders breaches confidentiality agreements.

D: Prioritizing sell orders introduces bias and conflict.

References:

ICWIM Module 5: Discussion on ethics and conflict of interest mitigation in trading.

The ongoing charges figure (OCF) of a mutual fund is included in its Key Investor Information Document (KIID). The KIID provides standardized and essential information about a fund’s costs, risks, and performance, ensuring transparency for investors.

Execution-only refers to situations where clients make investment decisions without receiving advice from the firm. The firm’s role is limited to executing the client’s instructions, without providing recommendations or assessing suitability.

Key features:

The firm does not offer advice.

The client takes full responsibility for their investment decisions.

Modern Portfolio Theory (MPT) and the Efficient Frontier

The efficient frontier represents portfolios that offer thehighest return for a given level of risk.

Portfolios below the frontier areinefficientbecause they providelower returns for the same level of riskorhigher risk for the same level of return.

Why the Answer is D

Portfolios below the efficient frontier are suboptimal; the investor is not maximizing return relative to the risk taken.

ICWIM Study Guide, Chapter on Portfolio Theory: Discusses the efficient frontier and inefficiency of suboptimal portfolios.

MPT Literature: Explains risk-return optimization.

References

Effect of Increased Consumer Preference:

When consumer preference for a good increases, demand rises at all price levels, leading to a rightward shift in the demand curve.

The rightward shift reflects higher quantity demanded at each price point.

Elimination of Other Options:

A & B: Movements along the curve (upward or downward) occur due to price changes, not preference shifts.

D: A leftward shift indicates reduced demand, contrary to the scenario presented.

References:

ICWIM Module 3: Microeconomics: Demand and supply curve analysis.

Demutualisation refers to the process by which a mutual savings institution, such as a building society, converts into a publicly traded company or bank. This transformation allows the institution to raise capital through equity issuance and expand its services beyond mutual members.

Example:

The Abbey National Building Society in the UK demutualised in the 1980s to become a bank.

Standard deviation measures the dispersion of returns around the average (mean) return. A higher standard deviation indicates greater historical volatility, showing how much the returns deviate from the expected average.

Formula:

Standard Deviation=Σ(Ri−Rˉ)2n\text{Standard Deviation} = \sqrt{\frac{\Sigma (R_i - \bar{R})^2}{n}}Standard Deviation=nΣ(Ri​−Rˉ)2​​

Where:

RiR_iRi​ = Individual returns

Rˉ\bar{R}Rˉ = Mean return

nnn = Number of data points

A recommendation report for a client should contain comprehensive details of their existing financial arrangements. This ensures that advice aligns with the client’s goals and existing commitments. The inclusion of previous arrangements helps provide a full financial picture and ensures the recommendations are appropriate.

Definition of Recession:

A recession is defined as two consecutive quarters of negative GDP growth, indicating a sustained economic downturn.

It reflects reduced consumer spending, higher unemployment, and lower production.

Elimination of Other Options:

B (Slump): A slump is a more general term and not a specific phase.

C (Depression): Refers to prolonged and severe economic downturns.

D (Inflationary): Opposite of the scenario described.

References:

ICWIM Module 1: Explanation of economic cycles and recession indicators.

Minimum Efficient Scale:

This is the point where a company achieves the lowest average cost per unit due to economies of scale.

Once this level is reached, the firm can afford to lower prices to remain competitive and expand market share.

Elimination of Other Options:

A: Halting expansion would waste the cost advantages achieved.

B: Accelerating output expansion could lead to diseconomies of scale.

C: Increasing unit prices is counterintuitive at this stage.

References:

ICWIM Module 3: Coverage of cost structures and the theory of the firm.

Equity funds allow portfolio managers to efficiently access a specific market or sector that may otherwise require significant resources and expertise to invest in directly. For instance, a fund specializing in renewable energy provides exposure to that sector without the need for individual stock selection.

Avoiding capital gains tax (A): This is not applicable because funds do not inherently avoid tax obligations.

Reducing ongoing charges (C): Funds typically have higher fees than directly holding equities.

Changes in volatility (D): While funds manage diversification, they do not specifically capitalize on volatility.

References:

International Certificate in Wealth & Investment Management: Section on mutual funds and specialized investment funds.

Use of funds for sectoral or thematic investment strategies.

When a firm acts as an agent, it does not trade securities for its own account but facilitates transactions between buyers and sellers. The firm earns revenue by charging a commission to its clients for executing these transactions.

Profiting from the spread (A): This is typical for firms acting as principal, not as agent.

Providing advice (B): Advice is part of advisory services, not agency transactions.

Trading against its own order book (D): This describes proprietary trading, not agency.

References:

International Certificate in Wealth & Investment Management: Roles of market participants and distinctions between agent and principal roles.

Definitions of commission structures in agency services.

What is a Non-Profit, Whole-of-Life Assurance Policy?

It providesguaranteed coverage for the entire lifeof the insured.

The policy does not participate in the insurer’s profits (hence "non-profit") and pays apre-determined sumupon death.

Why D is Correct

The payout isfixed at the policy’s inception, offering certainty to beneficiaries.

Other Options Analyzed

A. Linked to units: Describes a unit-linked or investment-linked policy.

B. Predetermined time: Describes term insurance.

C. Linked to inflation: Describes index-linked policies.

ICWIM Textbook, Chapter on Insurance Products: Explains non-profit policies and their characteristics.

Insurance Guidelines: Confirm fixed payouts as a feature of non-profit, whole-of-life assurance.

References

Treasury Bills Defined

Treasury bills (T-bills) are short-term government debt securities issued at a discount and redeemed at face value at maturity.

They are typically issued with maturities of3 months (most common), 6 months, and 1 year.

Why the Answer is B

While T-bills can have shorter or longer maturities,3 monthsis the standard minimum maturity for most markets, including the UK and US.

ICWIM Study Guide, Chapter on Fixed Income Securities: Covers treasury bill characteristics.

Debt Market Literature: Confirms typical T-bill maturities.

References

Understanding Negative Interest Rates:

Negative interest rate policies (NIRP) are used by central banks to stimulate the economy by discouraging banks from hoarding excess reserves.

Under NIRP, banks are charged interest for holding deposits with the central bank, incentivizing lending to businesses and consumers instead.

Elimination of Other Options:

A & B: Interest is still charged on loans, and consumers are not directly "paid" to borrow.

C: Discounting loan interest rates is a potential consequence but not the direct mechanism of NIRP.

References:

ICWIM Module 1: Economic Policy: Coverage of unconventional monetary policies like NIRP.

Yield to Maturity (YTM)

YTM is the total return an investor can expect from a bond if held to maturity, consideringannual coupon paymentsand any difference between the purchase price and the bond's face value.

Why the Answer is D

YTM incorporates all cash flows, providing a comprehensive measure of total return.

Why Other Options are Incorrect

A. Running Yield: Considers only current income relative to price, not total return.

B. Annual Coupon: Ignores price changes and reinvestment potential.

C. Price-to-Book Ratio: Unrelated to bonds, applies to equities.

ICWIM Study Guide, Chapter on Fixed Income: Details YTM and its role in total return calculations.

Bond Investment Literature: Highlights the comprehensive nature of YTM.

References

Understanding Bullet Payments:

A bullet payment is a single payment of principal and interest at maturity.

Zero coupon bonds do not provide periodic interest payments, making them associated with bullet payments.

Elimination of Other Options:

A: Treasury bonds typically pay semiannual interest.

C: Convertible bonds may have periodic interest.

D: Premium bonds involve prize draws, not bullet payments.

References:

ICWIM Module 3: Coverage of fixed income securities and payment structures.

In an order-driven market, an electronic order book is used to match buy and sell orders based on strict price and time priority. This system ensures transparency and fair pricing since all orders are visible to market participants.