The Investment Operations Certificate (IOC), formerly known as Investment Administration Qualification (IAQ), is a benchmark qualification for administration and operations staff. The programme provides you with a full overview of the financial services industry.
1.Read the CISI Official Learning and Reference Manual (‘The Workbook’)
The Workbook is structured around the exam syllabus, so guarantees you cover every syllabus learning objective. You can find the full syllabus and an exam specification table at the back of your Workbook. The latter shows you the number of questions to expect on each chapter, so try and weight your study time to mirror this – spend longer on the more heavily tested areas.
2.Break up your study with questions
Keep your reading light – approach the Workbook like an ‘interesting novel’ – then test yourself at the end of each chapter. Complete the ‘End of Chapter Questions’ (in your Workbook) and multiple choice questions (in your Kaplan Pocket Test Book) when you finish a chapter – these will check you are picking up the right level of detail for the exam. When you can answer the questions correctly, move on.
3.Use your Kaplan EN-gage Mock Exam and Custom Test to consolidate and fine tune your IOC knowledge
The real exam will be set in random order. Get used to the experience of sitting the real exam by attempting the Mock Exam and Custom Test on your Kaplan EN-gage online account. Review any questions you get wrong.
4.Give yourself a final test and develop good IOC exam technique
Complete the ‘Multiple Choice Questions’ at the back of the Official Workbook. These are written by the CISI and reflect as closely as possible the examination standard you will experience in the real exam. Try doing them to time (50 questions in one hour) – it will give you a feel for the required exam ‘pace’. Most delegates finish before the time is up – this is quite normal.
Think about exam technique – do the questions you feel comfortable with first and come back to the harder questions later. Adopting this approach will give you confidence in the early part of the exam, and plenty of time for the harder questions at the end. The pass mark is 70%, so passing is about doing the easier questions well, not getting every question right.
5.Practice makes perfect!
Ask a successful IOC delegate what the key to success is and they will say, ‘when you have done all the questions, do them all again!’ Good advice.
Good luck with your study and the Investment Operations Certificate (IOC) exam.
These tips were prepared by Jeremy Smith, Head of UK Benchmark Examinations at Kaplan Financial. Kaplan Financial offers training courses and study materials, including online support, towards the (IOC) also known as the Investment Administration Qualification (IAQ). IOC classroom courses are available in London and Edinburgh. More information about IOC courses and study materials is available here