FP I is a financial planning fundamentals exam. Many questions are “best answer” process questions (what should you do next?) mixed with core math and terminology (budgeting, debt ratios, mortgage basics, tax logic, risk/return, retirement needs, and insurance basics).
Official exam snapshot (CSI)
- Exam format: Proctored (remote or in-person at a test centre)
- Exam duration: 3 hours
- Question format: Multiple-choice
- Questions per exam: 80
- Passing grade: 60%
- Attempts allowed: 3
- Hours of study (CSI guidance): 70 – 90 Hours
- Enrolment period: 1 Year
Source: https://www.csi.ca/en/learning/courses/fp1/exam-credits
Official topic weightings (FP I)
Because the exam has 80 questions, we convert CSI’s weightings into target question counts (they sum to 80).
| Topic (CSI) | Weight | Target questions | CSI chapters (curriculum) |
|---|
| Managing the Financial Planning Process | 20% | 16 | 1 |
| Budgeting, Consumer Lending and Mortgages | 15% | 12 | 2–3 |
| Taxation | 15% | 12 | 4 |
| Investments | 15% | 12 | 5 |
| Retirement | 10% | 8 | 6 |
| Wills and Power of Attorney | 15% | 12 | 7 |
| Risk Management and Life Insurance | 10% | 8 | 8 |
Curriculum source: https://www.csi.ca/en/learning/courses/fp1/curriculum
What FP I is really testing
FP I questions typically test whether you can:
- Run a clean planning workflow: facts → constraints → recommendation → documentation.
- Do basic client math: cash flow, debt capacity framing, affordability logic, and retirement “gap” reasoning (concept).
- Explain key differences: deductions vs credits, debt types, mortgage features, investment types, insurance types.
- Make prudent choices: match tools to time horizon, liquidity, and risk capacity.
- Recognize when legal/ethical risk is present (vulnerable clients, POA scope, incomplete instructions).
Common pitfalls
- Treating it like trivia instead of a process exam: missing the dominant constraint or next step.
- Mixing up deductions vs credits and using tax language incorrectly.
- Misreading mortgage/credit vocabulary (term vs amortization, open vs closed, payment frequency).
- Overcomplicating retirement questions: start with a simple “needs vs resources” gap.
- Confusing insurance intent: risk transfer vs investing.
A simple prep loop
- Use the Syllabus as your checklist.
- After each chapter, review the matching section in the Cheatsheet and write 5–10 “if you see X, think Y” rules.
- Do short, targeted Practice sets (untimed → timed).
- Keep a miss log: every miss becomes a definition, rule, or formula you didn’t truly own.
- End each week with a mixed set to force transfer across topics.
✅ Next: follow the Study Plan or jump to the Syllabus.