A practical DFOL study plan: 30-day intensive, 60-day balanced, and 90-day part-time schedules focused on payoff intuition, hedging logic, and repeated scenario drills.
DFOL prep improves fastest when you practice payoff reasoning until it’s automatic—then you layer in the operational topics that carry significant weight (accounts, margin, order entry, clearing/exchanges, and contract adjustments).
CSI’s official guidance is 95 – 135 hours of study for DFOL (your actual time depends on your background).
Source: https://www.csi.ca/en/learning/courses/dfol/exam-credits
Choose a timeline based on hours per week:
| Time you can commit | Recommended plan |
|---|---|
| 20–30 hrs/week | 30‑day intensive |
| 10–15 hrs/week | 60‑day balanced |
| 6–10 hrs/week | 90‑day part‑time |
Target pace: ~20–30 hours/week.
Goal: cover all sections once, then sharpen decision speed with mixed drills.
| Week | Focus (CSI sections/chapters) | What to do | Links |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sections 1–2 (Ch 1–5): Overview + futures | Build the derivative map; then drill futures pricing language, basis, hedging vs speculation. | Overview • Syllabus |
| 2 | Section 3 (Ch 6–8): Exchange‑traded options + OTC options | Become fluent in option terms, payoffs, moneyness, intrinsic/time value, and pricing drivers. | Cheatsheet • Practice |
| 3 | Sections 4–6 (Ch 9–20): Swaps + funds/structured + common strategies | Learn swap structure at a concept level; then master strategy intent and max gain/loss/breakeven logic. | Cheatsheet • Practice |
| 4 | Sections 7–9 (Ch 21–33): Accounts + market structure + adjustments + non‑equity options | Drill workflow topics: account opening, margin, order entry, clearing/exchanges; then contract adjustments and index/currency options. Finish with 2–3 mixed sets and close gaps. | Syllabus • Practice |
Target pace: ~10–15 hours/week.
Goal: repeated review so payoff logic and operational rules stick.
| Week | Focus | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| 1–2 | Section 1–2 (Ch 1–5) | Build futures intuition: cost of carry, basis, hedge types, leverage and margin. |
| 3–4 | Section 3 (Ch 6–8) | Options terms + payoffs + pricing drivers; redraw payoff sketches until automatic. |
| 5 | Section 4 (Ch 9–13) | Swaps overview + rate/FX/credit swap concepts. |
| 6 | Section 5 (Ch 14–17) | How funds/structured products use derivatives: mutual funds, PPNs, derivative‑based ETFs. |
| 7 | Section 6 (Ch 18–20) | Strategy risk/reward profiles; practice max gain/loss/breakevens and “best strategy” questions. |
| 8 | Sections 7–9 (Ch 21–33) + review | Account opening + margin + order entry + clearing/exchanges + adjustments; end with mixed sets and gap-closing. |
Target pace: ~6–10 hours/week.
Goal: steady repetition with frequent short drills.
| Week | Focus | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Section 1 (Ch 1) | Map derivative types, exchange vs OTC, and why derivatives are used. |
| 2–3 | Section 2 (Ch 2–5) | Futures mechanics, pricing intuition, hedging vs speculation; weekly mixed drill. |
| 4–5 | Section 3 (Ch 6–8) | Options terms + pricing drivers; redraw payoff diagrams from memory. |
| 6 | Section 4 (Ch 9–13) | Swaps overview; focus on structure and why used. |
| 7 | Section 5 (Ch 14–17) | Funds + structured product use of derivatives. |
| 8 | Section 6 (Ch 18–20) | Option strategy profiles; max gain/loss/breakevens. |
| 9–10 | Section 7 (Ch 21–26) | Accounts, conduct, margin, order entry, and tax concepts. |
| 11 | Section 8 (Ch 27–30) | Clearing/exchanges + listed options trading + market makers (concept). |
| 12 | Section 9 (Ch 31–33) | Contract adjustments + index/currency options risks (concept). |
| 13 | Final review | Mixed sets; close gaps; finalize one‑page formula pack + glossary. |
✅ Next: open the Syllabus and begin Topic 1.