Use this syllabus as your coverage checklist for PDO. Topic weightings and exam structure are from CSI’s official Exam & Credits page; chapter mapping follows the official Curriculum page.
What’s covered
The Role of the Executive and Canada's Regulatory Environment (6%)
Practice this topic →
Chapter 1 - Risk and the Executive
- Define the executive registration category and identify typical roles that fall under it (partner, director, senior officer).
- Describe the core responsibilities of a registered executive in setting tone, supervising, and ensuring compliance.
- Explain how risk management supports the firm’s strategy, client protection, and regulatory obligations.
- Differentiate risk appetite, risk tolerance, and risk limits, and describe how executives approve and oversee them.
- Identify common risk categories relevant to securities firms (compliance, operational, market, credit, liquidity, reputational).
- Describe the basic elements of a risk management cycle (identify, assess, mitigate, monitor, report).
- Explain the essential nature of risk as a trade-off between opportunity and exposure (concept).
- Recognize how incentives and culture can drive risk-taking and control failures.
- Describe a culture of compliance and the behaviours executives should reinforce.
- Identify executive actions that strengthen compliance culture (policies, training, escalation paths, accountability).
- Describe how supervision and internal controls reduce misconduct and operational losses.
- Given a scenario, identify an appropriate executive response (document, escalate, remediate, or halt activity).
- Explain why clear documentation and audit trails are critical to executive oversight.
- Identify key management information executives should review (exceptions, complaints, AML alerts, capital, cyber incidents) at a high level.
Chapter 2 - Canada's Regulatory Environment and Basic Securities Law
- Describe the structure of securities regulation in Canada (provincial/territorial regulators and national instruments).
- Identify the role of self-regulatory organizations such as CIRO in oversight, rule-making, and enforcement for member firms.
- Explain how national instruments and firm policies translate into supervisory requirements for executives.
- Distinguish statutes, regulations, rules, and guidance, and recognize which are enforceable.
- Describe key themes of basic securities law: investor protection, market integrity, disclosure, and suitability/conflict management.
- Identify examples of offences under the Criminal Code of Canada relevant to securities activity (fraud, theft, forgery, money laundering) at a high level.
- Distinguish criminal proceedings from regulatory/administrative enforcement (burden of proof and penalties conceptually).
- Explain civil liability concepts relevant to firms and executives (negligence, misrepresentation, breach of duty) at a high level.
- Describe common law duties owed in client relationships (duty of care, honesty, confidentiality) at a high level.
- Recognize how internal policies, supervision, and documentation reduce legal and regulatory exposure.
- Given a scenario, identify whether an issue is primarily regulatory, civil, or criminal and why escalation matters.
- Explain how investigations and enforcement actions can affect a firm’s operations (restrictions, costs, reputation).
- Identify typical regulator expectations for complaint handling, disclosures, and recordkeeping.
- Describe the importance of training, supervision, and compliance reviews as proactive controls under basic securities law.
Industry Business Models (18%)
Practice this topic →
Chapter 3 - Private Client Brokerage Business
- Describe how the private client investment industry has evolved (technology, products, advice models, regulation).
- Compare common private client brokerage models (full-service advisory, managed/discretionary, discount, hybrid).
- Identify common account types and explain how account type affects KYC/suitability and service obligations.
- Identify common sources of revenue (commissions, fees, spreads, interest, asset-based fees) at a high level.
- Explain how compensation structures can create conflicts and how firms mitigate them (disclosure, supervision, controls).
- Describe key profitability drivers (assets, retention, cost structure, productivity) at a conceptual level.
- Identify major costs and risks in a brokerage business (technology, supervision, compliance, operational errors).
- Explain how client segmentation and service models affect profitability and risk.
- Describe client experience and value proposition drivers (trust, responsiveness, transparency, education).
- Recognize common conduct risks in private client brokerage (unsuitable recommendations, churning, misrepresentation, conflicts).
- Describe executive oversight actions that reduce conduct risk (monitoring, suitability reviews, complaint trends).
- Given a scenario, identify which business model risks are most relevant (leverage, concentration, vulnerable clients).
- Explain how supervision frameworks differ between advice and discretionary models (conceptual).
- Identify key metrics executives monitor: assets under administration, complaint rates, trade exceptions, supervision flags, and client retention.
Chapter 4 - Online Investment Business Models
- Identify business models providing online investment services (self-directed platforms, digital advice, hybrid advice).
- Describe the role of algorithms and model portfolios in online advice and how governance should be applied.
- Identify key risks for online investment businesses (cybersecurity, privacy, fraud, model risk, suitability).
- Describe how onboarding and KYC processes differ online and what controls help ensure completeness and accuracy.
- Explain key success factors for online platforms (user experience, transparency, trust, low friction, education).
- Recognize operational dependencies (vendors, APIs, cloud services) and how third-party risk is managed.
- Describe how online platforms handle client communications, disclosures, and recordkeeping.
- Explain the importance of monitoring client outcomes and suitability drift in digital advice models.
- Identify measures used to assess online business performance (growth, engagement, conversion, churn, incident rates) at a high level.
- Recognize trends affecting online investing (mobile adoption, automation, AI, regulatory focus on digital channels).
- Given a scenario, choose an appropriate executive action after a cyber incident or service outage (contain, notify, remediate, document).
- Identify controls that reduce fraud and account takeover risk (MFA, alerts, transaction monitoring).
- Explain why transparency around fees, risks, and limitations is critical for digital advice.
- Describe how compliance and supervision adapt for online channels (surveillance, testing, and auditability).
Chapter 5 - Investment Banking Business
- Describe the structure of an investment bank and distinguish key divisions (front office, middle office, back office).
- Identify common front office functions (underwriting, sales and trading, research, M&A advisory) at a high level.
- Explain how underwriting brings securities to market conceptually and what risks arise for dealers.
- Identify typical conflicts of interest in investment banking and the role of information barriers and policies.
- Describe how client relationships and reputational considerations influence investment banking decisions.
- Recognize the importance of due diligence, disclosures, and documentation in investment banking activities.
- Identify key risks in investment banking: market, inventory, legal/regulatory, and operational risk.
- Describe the role of supervision and approvals for high-risk transactions.
- Explain trends and challenges affecting investment banking (fee pressure, competition, regulation, technology).
- Recognize how market volatility affects deal flow, underwriting risk, and capital usage.
- Given a scenario, identify appropriate escalation and approval steps for a transaction with heightened risk.
- Describe how compensation and incentives can affect behaviour and how governance mitigates it.
- Identify high-level metrics relevant to investment banking performance (deal pipeline, win rate, revenue mix, risk limits).
- Explain how conduct and compliance failures in investment banking can create broad firm impacts (sanctions, capital, reputation).
The Distribution of Securities (8%)
Practice this topic →
Chapter 6 - The Distribution of Securities
- Describe how securities are brought to market and distinguish between public offerings and private placements.
- Identify key steps in a public offering process (prospectus, due diligence, marketing, allocation, closing) at a high level.
- Explain the roles of issuers, underwriters, dealers, and regulators in distributions.
- Define exempt issues/exempt distributions and identify common exempt market concepts (investor qualification) at a high level.
- Recognize the compliance risks in exempt distributions (misclassification, inadequate disclosure, suitability).
- Describe ongoing obligations for maintaining publicly traded status (continuous disclosure and governance) conceptually.
- Explain how secondary market trading differs from primary distribution in objectives and controls.
- Identify special considerations for investment dealers participating in distributions (conflicts, allocation fairness, recordkeeping).
- Describe how stabilization and after-market support concepts may arise and the related conduct expectations.
- Given a scenario, identify which documentation is required for a distribution and why it matters.
- Recognize red flags in distribution activity (pressure selling, misleading marketing, missing risk disclosure).
- Explain how underwriting and distribution decisions interact with firm risk limits and capital.
- Describe how client suitability and KYC apply when selling new issues.
- Identify main sources of legal and reputational risk in securities distribution and how executives oversee controls.
Ethical Decisions and Corporate Governance (12%)
Practice this topic →
Chapter 7 - Making Ethical Decisions
- Define ethics in a securities firm context and distinguish ethical standards from minimum compliance.
- Describe how organizational culture, leadership, and incentives influence ethical behaviour.
- Identify common ethical issues in financial services (conflicts, mis-selling, confidentiality, market integrity).
- Explain why transparency and fair dealing are central to client trust and firm sustainability.
- Describe how ethical dilemmas arise when stakeholders, incentives, and rules conflict.
- Identify the stakeholders impacted by ethical decisions (clients, firm, market, regulators, employees).
- Apply a structured ethical decision-making framework (facts, options, consequences, duties, decision, document).
- Given a scenario, choose an ethical course of action and justify it with principle-based reasoning.
- Explain the role of policies, codes of ethics, and training in supporting ethical choices.
- Describe how to handle conflicts of interest ethically (disclose, avoid, mitigate, obtain informed consent).
- Recognize when to escalate an ethical concern (supervision, compliance, whistleblowing channels).
- Explain why documentation is part of ethical decision-making (defensibility and audit trail).
- Identify common rationalizations that lead to poor ethical choices (normalization of deviance, “everyone does it”).
- Describe how executives can reinforce ethical behaviour (tone at the top, accountability, consistent consequences).
Chapter 8 - Corporate Governance
- Define corporate governance and explain its purpose in aligning management actions with stakeholder interests.
- Identify core elements of governance systems (board, committees, policies, controls, reporting, oversight).
- Describe common governance principles (accountability, transparency, fairness, independence, responsibility).
- Explain the roles and responsibilities of a board of directors versus management.
- Identify key board committees and their typical mandates (audit, risk, governance/compensation) at a high level.
- Describe how governance expectations apply to investment companies (oversight of portfolios, valuation, fees) conceptually.
- Describe governance considerations specific to investment dealer firms (conduct risk, supervision, capital management).
- Explain how corporate governance interacts with risk management (risk appetite approval and oversight).
- Recognize governance red flags (weak independence, poor reporting, unclear accountability, unmanaged conflicts).
- Describe how governance in Canada compares at a high level with other jurisdictions (principle-based variations).
- Given a scenario, identify governance mechanisms that should prevent or detect an issue (committee oversight, controls, escalation).
- Explain the importance of clear policies for conflicts of interest and related-party transactions.
- Describe how disclosure and reporting support governance and stakeholder confidence.
- Identify how governance failures can lead to regulatory action, litigation, and reputational damage.
Senior Officer and Director Liability (16%)
Practice this topic →
Chapter 9 - Senior Officer and Director Liability
- Describe the nature of a corporation as a separate legal entity and how that affects responsibility and liability.
- Identify core duties of directors (duty of care and duty of loyalty) at a high level.
- Explain how officers’ responsibilities differ from directors’ responsibilities in governance and operations.
- Describe financial governance responsibilities: approving financial statements, controls, and oversight of capital and liquidity.
- Identify examples of statutory liabilities that can apply to directors and senior officers (disclosure failures, regulatory breaches) at a high level.
- Explain the concept of a due diligence defence and what evidence supports it (process, documentation, oversight).
- Recognize how inadequate supervision and weak controls can increase personal liability exposure.
- Describe how delegation works and what accountability remains with directors and officers.
- Given a scenario, identify actions that reduce liability risk (seek expertise, document decisions, insist on controls, escalate).
- Explain why conflicts of interest and related-party transactions heighten director and officer liability risk.
- Identify the importance of board minutes, policies, and reporting in demonstrating oversight.
- Describe how governance failures can lead to civil claims, regulatory sanctions, and reputational harm.
- Recognize the role of insurance and indemnification (conceptual) and its limitations.
- Explain how compliance culture and risk management frameworks support directors’ and officers’ oversight duties.
Risk Management in the Securities Industry (12%)
Practice this topic →
Chapter 10 - Risk Management in the Securities Industry
- Explain the objectives of risk management in securities firms (client protection, firm stability, regulatory compliance).
- Identify key components of a risk management framework (governance, policies, limits, monitoring, reporting).
- Describe risk identification techniques (risk registers, process mapping, incident reviews) at a conceptual level.
- Explain risk assessment concepts: likelihood, impact, and velocity (how fast losses materialize).
- Describe risk responses: avoid, reduce, transfer, accept, and monitor.
- Identify common types of risk in the securities industry (market, credit, liquidity, operational, compliance, reputational).
- Describe how risk limits and escalation thresholds are set and monitored.
- Explain how stress testing and scenario analysis support risk oversight (conceptual).
- Describe how risk reporting should be structured for executives and boards (exceptions, trends, and key indicators).
- Recognize the importance of independent oversight (risk/compliance) and segregation of duties.
- Given a scenario, select the most appropriate control to mitigate a stated risk.
- Describe how new products and business changes introduce risk and require risk assessments.
- Explain the relationship between conduct risk and other risk types (financial loss, capital, and reputation).
- Identify common risk management failures (inadequate controls, poor reporting, ignoring early warnings).
Managing Risk in the Financial Sector (12%)
Practice this topic →
Chapter 11 - Managing Significant Areas of Risk
- Describe how to create an effective risk management system (governance, policies, controls, monitoring).
- Identify internal control policy elements (approvals, reconciliations, segregation of duties, exception handling).
- Describe key requirements for opening new accounts (KYC completeness, authority, documentation discipline) at a high level.
- Explain how suitability and ongoing supervision connect to account opening information.
- Describe account supervision practices (trade surveillance, suitability reviews, branch oversight) at a conceptual level.
- Identify recordkeeping and reporting requirement themes (accuracy, retention, accessibility, auditability).
- Explain why strong recordkeeping reduces legal and regulatory exposure and supports dispute resolution.
- Describe an AML/ATF program at a high level (risk-based approach, monitoring, reporting, escalation).
- Identify common AML red flags in securities businesses (unusual transactions, source-of-funds concerns) at a high level.
- Explain privacy obligations conceptually and how to protect client information through policies and controls.
- Identify cybersecurity risks specific to financial firms (account takeover, phishing, data breaches) and basic mitigation controls.
- Given a scenario, choose appropriate next actions for suspected AML, privacy breach, or cyber incident (escalate, document, contain).
- Describe how third-party vendors and outsourcing affect operational risk and required oversight.
- Explain how periodic testing and audits validate that controls are working and identify remediation actions.
Financial Compliance and the Consequences of Noncompliance (16%)
Practice this topic →
Chapter 12 - Financial Compliance and Capital Requirements
- Explain why regulators impose minimum capital requirements on dealer firms (client protection and systemic stability).
- Describe the concept of risk-adjusted capital and how it differs from simple accounting capital (conceptual).
- Identify high-level components that typically affect capital calculations (assets, liabilities, haircuts, risk charges) conceptually.
- Explain why capital is a constraint on business activity (inventory, underwriting, leverage, growth).
- Describe the purpose of a capital formula at a high level and how it supports consistent measurement.
- Explain the early warning system concept and how thresholds trigger supervisory attention.
- Identify common early warning indicators executives monitor (capital trend deterioration, concentration, liquidity stress).
- Describe actions a firm may take when approaching capital constraints (reduce risk, raise capital, restrict activities, remediate controls).
- Explain the consequences of failing to maintain adequate risk-adjusted capital (restrictions, supervision, potential wind-down).
- Recognize how operational errors and compliance failures can translate into capital impacts (fines, reserves, restitution).
- Given a scenario, identify appropriate executive actions when capital metrics breach thresholds (escalate, notify, implement a plan).
- Describe governance expectations around capital management (board oversight, reporting cadence, approvals).
- Explain the link between risk management and capital adequacy (risk choices drive capital needs).
- Identify documentation and reporting practices that support capital compliance (policies, sign-offs, audit trails).
Chapter 13 - Consequences of Non-Compliance
- Describe a disciplined complaint-handling process for dealer members (intake, escalation, investigation, resolution).
- Identify documentation expectations for client complaints and why clear records matter for regulators and litigation.
- Explain how internal investigations are initiated, scoped, and conducted at a high level.
- Recognize when issues require escalation to compliance, legal counsel, senior management, or the board.
- Describe how external reviews and investigations can occur (regulators, auditors, law enforcement) at a conceptual level.
- Distinguish civil proceedings from criminal proceedings and identify typical outcomes (damages, sanctions, penalties) conceptually.
- Explain how regulatory enforcement actions can impact a firm’s operations (restrictions, supervision, reputational harm).
- Identify common root causes of non-compliance events (weak supervision, poor controls, incentive misalignment).
- Describe remediation steps after a compliance failure (containment, client communication, control fixes, training).
- Explain how disciplinary actions and consequences reinforce compliance culture (consistency and accountability).
- Given a scenario, select appropriate first actions after discovering a compliance breach (preserve evidence, stop harm, escalate).
- Describe how to manage communications during investigations (accuracy, confidentiality, regulator coordination).
- Recognize the importance of restitution and client harm remediation where applicable (conceptually).
- Describe how ongoing monitoring and testing prevents recurrence after an incident (lessons learned into controls).
Tip: When in doubt, choose the answer that improves documentation quality, strengthens supervision, and escalates appropriately.
Sources: https://www.csi.ca/en/learning/courses/pdo/curriculum and https://www.csi.ca/en/learning/courses/pdo/exam-credits