PDO Overview — Exam Format, Weighting, and How to Study

PDO overview (official CSI structure): 80 multiple-choice questions in 2 hours, topic weightings, what gets tested, and a practical study strategy.

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Quick facts (official CSI exam structure)

PDO is less about calculations and more about executive judgment:

recognize regulatory and legal exposure quickly
understand business models (private client brokerage, online investing, investment banking) and their risk surfaces
apply ethical decision-making and governance expectations
understand director/officer responsibilities and liabilities (defensible oversight)
build and operate a risk management system (controls, supervision, reporting)
know what happens when compliance fails (complaints, investigations, sanctions)

Source: CSI PDO Exam & Credits page. Target questions are proportional to 80 questions (rounded).

Exam Topics	Weight	Target questions (out of 80)	Chapters (CSI curriculum)
The Role of the Executive and Canada’s Regulatory Environment	6%	5	1–2
Industry Business Models	18%	14	3–5
The Distribution of Securities	8%	6	6
Ethical Decisions and Corporate Governance	12%	10	7–8
Senior Officer and Director Liability	16%	13	9
Risk Management in the Securities Industry	12%	10	10
Managing Risk in the Financial Sector	12%	9	11
Financial Compliance and the Consequences of Noncompliance	16%	13	12–13

Use the Syllabus as your checklist by weighting.
Build your “executive playbook” from the Cheatsheet: escalation cues + documentation discipline.
Drill scenarios: “What is the risk?” → “What is the first correct action?” → “What must be recorded/escalated?”
Do weekly timed mixed sets; keep a miss log with: cue, rule/theme, next action.

✅ Next: open the Study Plan or jump into the Syllabus.