CM-CMP (officially Capital Markets – Securities, Derivatives, Collective Investment Schemes and Foreign Exchange) is a combined CMFAS product knowledge module administered by the IBF. Because it merges the CM-EIP and CM-SIP syllabi into one sitting, a single exam spans plain equities and bonds through to options, swaps, structured notes, daily leveraged certificates, contracts for differences and foreign exchange. It is typically taken by representatives who already hold, or are taking, a Rules, Ethics and Skills (RES) module and need the matching product knowledge qualification to deal in capital markets products. This guide breaks the territory into 32 core concepts, organised by the official syllabus areas, with original explanations, worked hypothetical examples, common conceptual traps, three self-check scenarios, and a staged revision plan. Use it to structure your study alongside the official CM-EIP and CM-SIP study guides, which remain the authoritative sources for every detail you will be tested on.
Exam and assessment essentials
- Format
- 80 multiple-choice questions, computer based[1]
- Duration
- 2.5 hours[1]
- Pass mark
- 70%[1]
- Study guide arrangement
- No separate CM-CMP study guide exists; it is a combined module of CM-EIP and CM-SIP, and candidates refer to those study guides for the syllabus[1]
- Exemptions
- Candidates should refer to MAS Notice SFA 04-N22 for the list of exemptions[1]
- Study guide access and currency
- Registered candidates get PDF study guide access via the IBF Portal, expiring on the exam day; study guides are updated at intervals and the latest version should be used[2]
What the syllabus covers
This study map groups the official scope into revision themes. It is not an official chapter list or a prediction of question weightings.
Introduction to investing, investments and financial markets, and the classification of investment products (EIP versus SIP)
Explain how financial markets channel funds, identify major product categories, and apply the EIP/SIP distinction that drives regulatory safeguards[1]
Risk, return and time value of money calculations
Compute present and future values, quantify the risk-return trade-off, and distinguish systematic from diversifiable risk[1]
Key drivers of market movements and asset values
Analyse how interest rates, inflation, growth and sentiment move bond, equity and currency prices[1]
Foreign exchange
Interpret currency quotes, explain exchange rate mechanics, and describe leveraged foreign exchange trading and margin[1]
Company analysis and understanding financial statements
Read income statements, balance sheets and cash flow statements, and use ratios to assess profitability, solvency and liquidity[1]
Equity securities, deposits and fixed-income securities
Describe shareholder rights and equity valuation basics, and price bonds, explaining the inverse price-yield relationship and yield measures[1]
Portfolio management and exchange-traded funds, unit trusts, REITs and insurance (pooled and managed products)
Explain diversification, asset allocation and fund structures, and compare ETFs, unit trusts, REITs and insurance-linked products on cost, liquidity and return profile[1]
Warrants, technical analysis and quantitative analysis
Analyse warrant gearing and time decay, and distinguish what technical and quantitative approaches can and cannot indicate[1]
Overview of derivatives; futures, forwards and swaps, and futures strategies
Explain hedging, speculation and arbitrage uses, margin and marking to market, forward-futures differences, swaps, and index hedging mechanics[1]
Options; structured warrants, daily leveraged certificates; barrier and binary options and callable contracts
Construct payoff profiles, decompose premiums, and explain leverage, reset and barrier features of listed structured products[1]
Structured deposits, other structured products, structured notes and structured funds
Examine how payoffs are linked to underlyings, identify issuer and conditionality risks, and evaluate capital protection claims critically[1]
Contracts for differences; key product and investment risks; suitability, disclosure and compliance; case studies
Assess leverage, financing and liquidity risks in CFDs, apply risk and suitability analysis to client scenarios, and integrate concepts in case-study format[1]
32 key concepts to understand
- EIP versus SIP product classification
- The risk-return trade-off
- Future value and compounding
- Present value and discounting
- Systematic versus unsystematic risk and the limits of diversification
- How interest rates and macro factors drive asset values
- Reading exchange rates: base and quote currencies
- Leveraged foreign exchange trading and margin mechanics
- Financial statement analysis: the three core statements
- Equity ownership: rights and claims of shareholders
- Bond pricing and the inverse price-yield relationship
- Coupon yield, current yield and yield to maturity
- ETFs: structure, tracking and trading characteristics
- Unit trusts and collective investment schemes: pooling, NAV and costs
- REITs: property income through a listed vehicle
- Warrants: leverage and time decay
- Technical versus quantitative analysis
- Three uses of derivatives: hedging, speculation and arbitrage
- Futures: margin, marking to market and daily settlement
- Forwards versus futures: customisation versus standardisation
- Interest rate swaps: exchanging fixed for floating
- Hedging an equity portfolio with index futures
- Option payoffs at expiry: calls and puts
- Option premium decomposition: intrinsic and time value
- Structured warrants and daily leveraged certificates
- Barrier options: knock-in and knock-out features
- Binary options and callable contracts
- Structured deposits: what principal protection really means
- Structured notes and issuer credit risk
- Contracts for differences: leverage and financing costs
- Cross-cutting product risks: liquidity, counterparty, leverage and complexity
- Suitability, customer knowledge assessment and disclosure
Product classification and regulatory framework
1. EIP versus SIP product classification
Singapore's regime sorts investment products into Specified Investment Products (SIP), such as derivatives, structured notes and CFDs, and Excluded Investment Products (EIP), such as plain shares, most unit trusts and straight bonds. Classification depends on the product's legal features and complexity, not simply how risky it feels, and it determines which safeguards, such as customer knowledge checks, apply before a representative deals with a client.[1]
Common mistake: Judging classification by perceived risk or familiarity rather than by the product's legal and payoff characteristics.
Risk, return and time value of money
2. The risk-return trade-off
Investors require higher expected return to compensate for higher risk, so expected returns rise along a spectrum from deposits to bonds to equities to leveraged derivatives. The principle concerns expected, not guaranteed, returns: a higher-risk product can underperform a low-risk one over any given period. Comparing products without adjusting for risk is a common analytical error.[1]
Common mistake: Equating historically high realised returns with a promise of future returns, ignoring that risk means outcomes may fall short.
Risk, return and time value of money
3. Future value and compounding
Money available today can be invested to earn returns, so a dollar today is worth more than a dollar later. Future value grows as the principal multiplied by (1 plus the periodic rate) raised to the number of periods; more frequent compounding produces more growth at the same nominal rate. Exam questions typically test single-sum compounding or discounting under clearly stated assumptions.[1]
Common mistake: Adding simple interest when the question assumes compounding, or miscounting the number of periods.
Risk, return and time value of money
4. Present value and discounting
Discounting runs compounding backwards: a future cash flow divided by (1 plus the rate) raised to the number of periods gives its value today. Higher discount rates or longer horizons shrink present values. This underpins bond pricing, comparing lump sums against instalments, and valuing projects, so it is one of the most reusable calculations across the syllabus.[1]
Common mistake: Discounting at a nominal rate when cash flows are expressed in real terms, or forgetting to raise the discount factor to the correct power.
Portfolio management
5. Systematic versus unsystematic risk and the limits of diversification
Unsystematic risk is specific to a company or industry and can be reduced by holding many uncorrelated assets. Systematic risk, such as economy-wide interest rate or growth shocks, affects all assets and cannot be diversified away. A diversified portfolio still falls when the whole market falls; diversification improves the consistency of returns, it does not eliminate losses.[1]
Common mistake: Telling clients that diversification makes a portfolio safe, when it only removes the company-specific component of risk.
Key drivers of market movements
6. How interest rates and macro factors drive asset values
Interest rates are the gravity of finance: rising rates raise discount rates, lowering the present value of future cash flows, which presses down bond prices and, often, growth-stock valuations. Inflation, economic growth, currency movements and sentiment interact with rates. Understanding the direction of these linkages lets you reason through scenario questions rather than memorise outcomes.[1]
Common mistake: Assuming all equities fall when rates rise; rate rises also signal conditions that can accompany strong earnings, so the net effect varies by company.
Foreign exchange
7. Reading exchange rates: base and quote currencies
A currency pair quotes how much of the quote currency buys one unit of the base currency. When the number rises, the base currency strengthens. Cross rates link pairs that are not directly quoted, and the same pair can be quoted from either side. Questions often flip the base currency to test whether you can convert between quote conventions correctly.[1]
Common mistake: Reversing the direction of appreciation: an increase in the quoted number means the base currency got stronger, not weaker.
Foreign exchange and margin
8. Leveraged foreign exchange trading and margin mechanics
Leveraged FX lets a client control a currency position larger than their deposited margin. Gearing magnifies both gains and losses, so a small adverse percentage move in the exchange rate can consume the entire margin. Positions may be subject to margin calls when losses erode required margin, and positions can be closed out. Dealing in leveraged FX is one of the activities for which CM-CMP serves as product knowledge under the official module framework.[1]
Common mistake: Describing margin as a fee; it is collateral securing the leveraged position, and losses are calculated on the full position size.
Company analysis
9. Financial statement analysis: the three core statements
The income statement shows profitability over a period, the balance sheet shows assets, liabilities and equity at a point in time, and the cash flow statement shows actual cash generated and used. Profit on an accrual basis can coexist with weak cash generation, so analysts check all three. Ratios translate raw figures into comparable measures of profitability, efficiency, liquidity and leverage.[1]
Common mistake: Treating accounting profit as cash in hand; accruals and timing differences can make profit and cash flow diverge materially.
Equity securities
10. Equity ownership: rights and claims of shareholders
Ordinary shareholders own the company, vote on major matters, and have a residual claim on assets after all creditors, ranking last in liquidation. Dividends are discretionary and not guaranteed, so total return depends on price change plus any distributions. Pre-emptive rights issues may allow existing holders to maintain their proportional ownership, usually at a price below market.[1]
Common mistake: Assuming dividends are contractual obligations like coupon payments; a company can reduce or skip dividends without defaulting.
Fixed income securities
11. Bond pricing and the inverse price-yield relationship
A bond's price is the present value of its coupons and principal discounted at the prevailing market yield. When market yields rise, existing fixed coupons become less valuable, so prices fall, and vice versa. Longer-dated and lower-coupon bonds are more price-sensitive to a given yield change. This inverse relationship is the single most examined fixed-income mechanism.[1]
Common mistake: Saying bond prices and yields move together; for a plain fixed-coupon bond they move inversely.
Fixed income securities
12. Coupon yield, current yield and yield to maturity
The coupon yield is the fixed annual coupon as a percentage of face value; the current yield is the coupon divided by the current market price; and the yield to maturity is the single rate that discounts all remaining cash flows to today's price, assuming the bond is held to maturity and payments are made as scheduled. A bond trading below par has a current yield above its coupon yield.[1]
Common mistake: Interpreting yield to maturity as a guaranteed return; it is a holding-to-maturity measure contingent on timely payments.
Pooled investment products
13. ETFs: structure, tracking and trading characteristics
An exchange-traded fund holds a basket of assets designed to track an index or theme and trades on an exchange throughout the day at market prices. Its return differs from the index by tracking difference and by trading frictions such as bid-ask spreads and premiums or discounts to net asset value. ETFs provide instant diversification, but costs, liquidity and structure vary between products.[1]
Common mistake: Assuming an ETF always trades exactly at its net asset value; market pressure can push the traded price to a premium or discount.
Collective investment schemes
14. Unit trusts and collective investment schemes: pooling, NAV and costs
A unit trust pools investors' money into a portfolio managed under a trust deed; investors hold units valued at net asset value per unit. Returns come from distributions and unit price movement, minus costs such as sales and management fees that compound over time. Funds differ by mandate, asset class and risk, so classification and fees must be checked per fund rather than generalised.[1]
Common mistake: Ignoring recurring fees when comparing funds; small annual differences compound into large gaps over years.
Pooled investment products
15. REITs: property income through a listed vehicle
A REIT owns income-producing property and passes rental income to unitholders through distributions, so its appeal rests on occupancy, lease terms and property values. As a listed security, its price also moves with interest rates and market sentiment, and distribution levels depend on actual cash flows. REITs therefore blend equity-like price risk with bond-like income characteristics.[1]
Common mistake: Treating REIT distributions like bond coupons that are fixed regardless of property performance; distributions vary with realised rental income.
Warrants
16. Warrants: leverage and time decay
A warrant gives the holder the right, not the obligation, to buy (call) or sell (put) an underlying at a strike price before expiry, at a fraction of the underlying's cost. Company warrants are issued by the underlying company itself, whereas listed structured warrants are issued by third-party issuers, so settlement terms and issuer risk differ between the two types. This gearing amplifies percentage moves, but the warrant loses time value as expiry approaches, and can expire worthless even if the underlying merely moves too slowly. Liquidity and issuer terms matter as much as direction.[1]
Common mistake: Buying warrants purely for leverage without accounting for time decay and the possibility of total premium loss.
Technical and quantitative analysis
17. Technical versus quantitative analysis
Technical analysis studies price and volume patterns to gauge market sentiment and timing; quantitative analysis applies statistical models to identify relationships and value. Both are frameworks with assumptions and limits: patterns do not guarantee continuation, and models fail when underlying conditions change. The syllabus expects you to describe what each approach does and to recognise its constraints.[1]
Common mistake: Presenting technical signals as predictive certainties rather than probabilistic observations contingent on market conditions.
Overview of derivatives
18. Three uses of derivatives: hedging, speculation and arbitrage
A derivative's value derives from an underlying asset, rate or index. Hedgers use derivatives to reduce existing exposure, speculators take on exposure to profit from expected moves, and arbitrageurs exploit price inconsistencies between related markets to earn theoretically riskless returns. The same instrument serves all three purposes; the user's intent, not the instrument, defines the use.[1]
Common mistake: Labelling all derivative use as speculative; hedging is a legitimate, conservative use that reduces net exposure.
Futures, forwards and swaps
19. Futures: margin, marking to market and daily settlement
A futures contract is an exchange-traded obligation to buy or sell an underlying at a set price on a future date. Positions are secured by initial margin and settled daily through variation margin, with gains and losses credited or debited as the contract is marked to market. If margin falls below maintenance levels, the holder must top up or face liquidation, so futures carry ongoing cash obligations.[1]
Common mistake: Treating futures like a deferred settlement loan; daily marking means losses must be funded along the way, not at the end.
Futures, forwards and swaps
20. Forwards versus futures: customisation versus standardisation
Forwards are private, customised agreements negotiated directly between counterparties, carrying counterparty credit risk because settlement occurs at maturity. Futures are standardised, exchange-traded, margined and marked to market daily, which sharply reduces counterparty risk but removes flexibility on terms. Both fix a price today for a future transaction; their institutional plumbing differs fundamentally.[1]
Common mistake: Assuming forwards are always safer because they are simpler; the bilateral counterparty risk in forwards is precisely what daily margining in futures addresses.
Futures, forwards and swaps
21. Interest rate swaps: exchanging fixed for floating
An interest rate swap is an agreement to exchange interest payment streams, most commonly fixed for floating, on a notional principal that itself does not change hands. A party paying fixed and receiving floating benefits if rates rise; the payer of floating benefits if rates fall. Swaps are over-the-counter contracts, so they expose both parties to counterparty credit risk over the swap's life.[1]
Common mistake: Thinking the notional is exchanged at the start or end; only the interest differences are settled between the parties.
Futures strategies
22. Hedging an equity portfolio with index futures
A holder of an equity portfolio can hedge market risk by selling index futures, since losses on the portfolio are offset by gains on the short futures position as the index falls. The number of contracts depends on the portfolio's value, its sensitivity to the index, and the futures contract's specifications. The hedge removes most market-level risk but the portfolio can still underperform its benchmark through stock selection.[1]
Common mistake: Expecting a perfect hedge; basis movements, contract sizing and differing portfolio behaviour mean residual risk remains.
Options
23. Option payoffs at expiry: calls and puts
A long call's expiry payoff equals the underlying price minus the strike, floored at zero, and produces a net profit only once the underlying finishes above the breakeven, which is the strike plus the premium paid. A long put's expiry payoff equals strike minus underlying price, floored at zero, with a net profit only below the strike minus the premium. The buyer's maximum loss is the premium paid; the seller collects the premium but faces potentially large losses.[1]
Common mistake: Forgetting to subtract the premium when reporting profit, or confusing the long call's limited loss with a short call's limited profit.
Options
24. Option premium decomposition: intrinsic and time value
An option premium equals intrinsic value plus time value. Intrinsic value is what the option would be worth if exercised now; time value reflects the chance of further favourable movement before expiry and shrinks toward zero as expiry nears. Premium is also sensitive to the underlying price, strike, volatility and time to expiry, so two options on the same underlying can be priced very differently.[1]
Common mistake: Assuming a rising underlying always raises an option's price proportionally; time decay and volatility changes can offset the directional gain.
Structured warrants and DLCs
25. Structured warrants and daily leveraged certificates
Structured warrants are listed, issuer-issued instruments giving leveraged exposure to an underlying. Daily leveraged certificates (DLCs) aim to deliver a fixed multiple of the underlying's daily return and reset every day, so their performance compounds: in choppy, directionless markets, successive opposite-day moves can erode value substantially even if the underlying ends where it started. DLCs are designed for short-term tactical views, not buy-and-hold.[1]
Common mistake: Holding a DLC expecting the multiple to apply over a long period; the stated leverage applies to daily returns only.
Barrier and binary options
26. Barrier options: knock-in and knock-out features
A barrier option's existence or termination depends on the underlying touching a barrier level. A knock-out option expires early if the barrier is breached; a knock-in only becomes active after the barrier is touched. Because the payoff can be cut short or never activated, barrier options are cheaper than equivalent plain options, but buyers can lose their entire premium even without the underlying finishing badly.[1]
Common mistake: Comparing a barrier option's price to a plain option without registering that the cheaper premium buys a payoff that can be extinguished.
Barrier and binary options
27. Binary options and callable contracts
Binary options pay a fixed amount if a condition is met at expiry and nothing otherwise, producing an all-or-nothing payoff rather than a proportional one. Callable contract structures, such as callable bull/bear contracts, resemble barrier products: if a call level is breached, the contract is compulsorily terminated and the holder receives a residual value determined by the contract terms. Direction must be right and, for these structures, path and barriers matter as much as the endpoint.[1]
Common mistake: Assuming the payoff varies smoothly with how far the underlying moves; binary payoffs jump discretely at the condition boundary.
Structured deposits and structured products
28. Structured deposits: what principal protection really means
A structured deposit combines a deposit component with a derivative-linked payoff tied to an underlying such as FX rates, indices or interest rates. Principal protection, where offered, is a contractual promise by the issuing institution and depends on that issuer meeting its obligations and on the specific terms and conditions; it is not an absolute guarantee independent of the issuer's solvency. Returns are conditional on how the underlying performs.[1]
Common mistake: Marketing a structured deposit to a client as risk-free because the word deposit appears; the linked payoff and issuer exposure carry real conditions.
Structured notes
29. Structured notes and issuer credit risk
Structured notes are unsecured obligations of the issuer whose returns are linked to an underlying. Holders face both the performance risk of the underlying and the credit risk of the issuer: if the issuer defaults, recovery depends on the holder's position among unsecured creditors, regardless of how the underlying performed. Features such as caps, participation rates and barriers shape the actual payoff the client receives.[1]
Common mistake: Analysing only the underlying's outlook and ignoring that the note's repayment hinges on the issuer's creditworthiness.
Contracts for differences
30. Contracts for differences: leverage and financing costs
A CFD is a leveraged agreement to exchange the difference between the opening and closing price of an underlying. The client posts margin on the full position value, so percentage gains and losses are magnified relative to the outlay. Holding costs accrue, typically daily, based on the position's value, and adverse moves can trigger margin calls; losses can exceed the initial deposit. CFDs are classified as specified investment products in Singapore.[1]
Common mistake: Calculating profit and loss on the margin paid instead of on the full notional position value.
Key product and investment risks
31. Cross-cutting product risks: liquidity, counterparty, leverage and complexity
Beyond market risk, structured and derivative products carry liquidity risk (difficulty exiting at fair value, especially for bespoke structures), counterparty risk (the other party, including an issuer, failing to perform), leverage risk (magnified losses and margin calls) and complexity risk (payoffs clients misunderstand). Assessing a product means evaluating all of these together, since a product can be low-risk on the market dimension yet high-risk on credit or liquidity dimensions.[1]
Common mistake: Evaluating products on market risk alone while overlooking liquidity, counterparty and leverage exposures.
Suitability, disclosure and compliance
32. Suitability, customer knowledge assessment and disclosure
Because specified investment products carry elevated risk features, Singapore's regulatory framework requires intermediaries to assess whether a client has the knowledge or experience to deal in them, and to apply prescribed safeguards and disclosure, including clear product information, before transacting. The classification of a product (EIP or SIP) drives which checks apply. Case-study questions test whether you can match product complexity, client profile and required process correctly.[1]
Common mistake: Skipping the classification step: applying EIP-style processes to a SIP product, or vice versa, is exactly the compliance error case studies probe.
How to revise for CM-CMP
1. Stage 1: Build your source map from the two official study guides
Because CM-CMP has no standalone study guide, download the latest CM-EIP and CM-SIP guides from your IBF Portal account after registering, note their version dates against the IBF study guide update list, and reorganise the combined topic list (12 EIP areas plus 12 SIP areas) into a single master checklist so nothing falls between the two guides.
2. Stage 2: Drill the quantitative core until it is automatic
Practise present/future value, bond pricing and yield comparisons, exchange rate conversion, option payoff calculations and margin-loss arithmetic with hypothetical numbers. These mechanics recur across both halves of the syllabus, so secure them before moving to descriptive topics; verify every calculation by restating the formula before substituting.
3. Stage 3: Master product mechanics category by category with payoff sketches
Work through futures, forwards, swaps, options, warrants, DLCs, barrier and binary structures, CFDs, structured notes and structured deposits in sequence, drawing the payoff profile and noting who bears issuer/counterparty risk for each product. Doing the EIP products (equities, bonds, funds, REITs, ETFs) the same way keeps both halves consistent.
4. Stage 4: Consolidate the risk and suitability framework
Create one comparison table mapping every product to its liquidity, counterparty, leverage and complexity risks, then overlay the EIP/SIP classification and the customer knowledge and disclosure processes. Many questions combine a product feature with a risk or process step, so this table is your integration tool.
5. Stage 5: Practise in case-study mode
Both source syllabi include case studies, so write your own mini scenarios: a client profile plus a product, then answer what classification applies, what risks dominate, what safeguards are needed and what the payoff outcome would be under stated price moves. Rotate through products you find weakest rather than rehearsing comfortable ones.
6. Stage 6: Run a full timed simulation and close gaps against the latest versions
Simulate the official conditions: 80 MCQs in 2.5 hours, targeting the 70% pass mark with buffer. Review every error back to the study guide paragraph it came from, checking that your guides are the current versions, then retest only the failed topics. Confirm registration-day logistics (computer-based format, result display on screen, result slip via the Portal the next business day) so nothing administrative distracts you.
Test your understanding
These original learning scenarios are for revision; they are not official examination questions.
1. A client bought a hypothetical fixed-coupon bond at par when the market yield was 4%. Market yields for similar bonds subsequently rise to 5%, and the client asks why the bond's quoted price fell even though the issuer remains financially sound and will pay all coupons. What is happening?
Show answer and explanation
The bond's price is the present value of its fixed coupons and principal. Discounting the same cash flows at a higher 5% market yield produces a lower present value, so the price must fall until a new buyer earns the going rate. The issuer's creditworthiness is unchanged; the drop reflects the inverse price-yield relationship, not deterioration in the bond itself.[1]
2. An investor hypothetically buys a call option with a strike of 40 for a premium of 3 and holds it to expiry, when the underlying closes at 38. Another investor instead buys a 5x daily leveraged certificate on the same underlying, which rises 1% then falls 1% on consecutive days. What is each investor's outcome, and what principle does the DLC result illustrate?
Show answer and explanation
The call expires out of the money (38 is below the 40 strike), so its payoff is zero and the investor loses the full premium of 3, which is the maximum possible loss on a long option. The DLC, despite the underlying being nearly flat over two days, ends lower than its start because daily reset and compounding magnify the sequence of opposite moves. This shows DLC leverage applies to daily returns and erodes value in choppy, directionless markets.[1]
3. A client proposes to use a structured deposit because it is described as protecting principal, while also opening a CFD position with 10% margin. As the representative, what risk points must you raise before proceeding, and what process applies given the products' classification?
Show answer and explanation
For the structured deposit, explain that any principal protection is a contractual commitment dependent on the issuer meeting its obligations and on the specific terms, and that the linked return is conditional on the underlying. For the CFD, explain that losses accrue on the full notional, so a hypothetical 4% adverse move costs roughly 40% of the 10% margin, plus financing charges, and margin calls are possible. Both are specified investment products, so customer knowledge assessment and prescribed disclosure safeguards must be completed before dealing.[1]
Frequently asked questions
Is there a separate study guide for the CM-CMP exam?
No. The official IBF examination details state that CM-CMP is a combined module of CM-EIP and CM-SIP, and there is no separate CM-CMP study guide. Candidates should study the CM-EIP and CM-SIP study guides, using the latest versions, which IBF updates at intervals and provides as PDFs through the IBF Portal to registered candidates, with access expiring on the exam day.[1][2]
What is the format, duration and pass mark of the CM-CMP exam?
According to the IBF examination details, CM-CMP consists of 80 multiple-choice questions taken on computer over 2.5 hours, with a pass mark of 70%. Results are displayed on screen after the exam, and result slips can be printed from the IBF Portal account on the next business day. Confirm current details with IBF when you register.[1]
How is CM-CMP different from RES 1A, and do I need both?
They are different types of modules. RES 1A is a Rules, Ethics and Skills module for securities exchange dealers, while CM-CMP is a product knowledge module covering securities, derivatives, collective investment schemes and foreign exchange. For dealing in securities or units in collective investment schemes for a principal that is an SGX-ST member, the official module framework pairs a rules module such as RES 1A with a product knowledge module such as CM-EIP, CM-SIP or CM-CMP. Check the specific module combination required for your role with IBF.[1]
Can I get an exemption from CM-CMP based on other qualifications?
Unlike the RES modules, which have no exemptions because they are Rules, Ethics and Skills exams, CM-CMP exemptions are governed by MAS Notice SFA 04-N22, which the IBF examination page directs candidates to. Because exemption lists change, you should verify your eligibility directly against the current MAS notice rather than relying on secondary sources.[1]
Does passing CM-CMP give me a licence or authorisation to conduct regulated activities?
No. Passing CM-CMP satisfies only the product knowledge component for the relevant activity. The IBF states that after successfully completing the relevant CMFAS examination modules, candidates must lodge a notification with the Monetary Authority of Singapore before they can carry out regulated activities. Check the full licensing pathway for your role with MAS and your employer before assuming any authorisation.[1]
Official sources and review notes
Public IBF and SCI sources were checked on 16 September 2026 for syllabus scope and assessment details, with additional primary references where listed. References identify the relevant syllabus or subject source; explanations and examples are original teaching material. This guide selects important concepts and does not replace the full official study text. Confirm the applicable edition and any updates with the administrator before your assessment.