What is the official exam structure?
According to CSI’s Exam & Credits page, AIS is:
- Exam format: Proctored (remote or in-person at a test centre)
- Question format: Multiple-choice
- Questions per exam: 75
- Duration: 2 hours
- Passing grade: 60%
- Attempts allowed per exam: 3
How long should I study?
CSI lists 60 – 80 hours of study as a guideline. Use the Study Plan to translate that into a 30/60/90‑day schedule.
What should I prioritize?
Most candidates improve fastest by prioritizing:
- Client constraints + allocation logic (risk capacity, horizon, liquidity, diversification)
- Equity + fixed-income drivers and valuation intuition
- Funds/solutions selection discipline (fees, turnover, mandate fit, monitoring)
- Alternatives + international frictions (liquidity/currency/tax)
What’s the best way to study AIS?
- Use the Syllabus as your coverage checklist.
- Build your personal formula sheet from the Cheatsheet and drill it.
- Do small topic sets until your accuracy is stable, then switch to mixed sets.
Sources: https://www.csi.ca/en/learning/courses/ais/exam-credits and https://www.csi.ca/en/learning/courses/ais/curriculum