A practical PDO study plan you can follow: 30-day intensive, 60-day balanced, and 90-day part-time schedules aligned to official topic weightings and a repeatable syllabus → practice loop.
PDO improves fastest when you train executive decision habits:
CSI estimates 50 – 65 hours of study for PDO. A practical conversion:
| Hours per week | Timeline |
|---|---|
| 14–18 hrs/wk | ~30 days (intensive) |
| 7–9 hrs/wk | ~60 days (balanced) |
| 4–6 hrs/wk | ~90 days (part-time) |
Source: https://www.csi.ca/en/learning/courses/pdo/exam-credits
| Week | Focus | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Executive role + regulatory environment (Ch. 1–2) | Build a “supervision + escalation” checklist; drill enforcement and liability themes; start glossary. |
| 2 | Business models + distribution (Ch. 3–6) | Compare brokerage/online/IB models; learn distribution red flags; do short daily quizzes. |
| 3 | Ethics + governance + liability (Ch. 7–9) | Practice dilemma → decision framework; board/committee duties; due diligence defence cues. |
| 4 | Risk management + capital + consequences (Ch. 10–13) | Build the risk framework map; drill AML/privacy/cyber and capital early warning; finish with timed mixed sets. |
| Weeks | Chapters / topics | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ch. 1 (Executive role + compliance culture) | Build your executive dashboard list; learn “tone + controls + reporting” language. |
| 2 | Ch. 2 (Regulatory environment + basic law) | Drill enforcement vs civil vs criminal themes; write 10 “when to escalate” rules. |
| 3 | Ch. 3 (Private client brokerage) | Business model map + profitability drivers; identify conduct-risk hotspots. |
| 4 | Ch. 4–5 (Online + investment banking) | Platform risk/cyber/model risk; IB conflicts and information barriers. |
| 5 | Ch. 6 (Distribution) | Prospectus vs exempt; documentation and red flags; one timed mini-set. |
| 6 | Ch. 7–8 (Ethics + governance) | Ethical decision framework; board roles/committees; governance red flags. |
| 7 | Ch. 9–10 (Liability + risk framework) | Duties/liabilities + risk governance; convert rules into “first action” habits. |
| 8 | Ch. 11–13 (Significant risks + capital + consequences) | AML/privacy/cyber + capital early warning + investigations; final mixed set + review. |
| Weeks | Chapters / topics | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ch. 1 | Executive role, compliance culture, risk fundamentals. |
| 2 | Ch. 2 | Regulators, enforcement themes, civil vs criminal concepts. |
| 3 | Ch. 3 | Brokerage models, revenue, conduct risks, supervision cues. |
| 4 | Ch. 4 | Online models, cyber/privacy, suitability drift controls. |
| 5 | Ch. 5 | Investment banking structure, conflicts, approvals. |
| 6 | Ch. 6 | Distribution workflow, exempt issues, red flags. |
| 7 | Ch. 7 | Ethical dilemmas and decision framework. |
| 8 | Ch. 8 | Corporate governance principles, committees, special considerations. |
| 9 | Ch. 9 | Director/officer duties, liabilities, due diligence defence cues. |
| 10 | Ch. 10 | Risk management objectives, framework, types of risk. |
| 11 | Ch. 11 | Controls, supervision, AML, privacy and cybersecurity. |
| 12 | Ch. 12–13 + review | Capital requirements + consequences; two mixed sets and close gaps. |
✅ Next: open the Syllabus and begin Topic 1.
Sources: https://www.csi.ca/en/learning/courses/pdo/curriculum and https://www.csi.ca/en/learning/courses/pdo/exam-credits