A practical PMT® 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.
PMT improves fastest when you train two skills in parallel:
CSI estimates 70 – 95 hours of study for PMT. A practical conversion:
| Hours per week | Timeline |
|---|---|
| 18–24 hrs/wk | ~30 days (intensive) |
| 9–12 hrs/wk | ~60 days (balanced) |
| 6–8 hrs/wk | ~90 days (part-time) |
Source: https://www.csi.ca/en/learning/courses/pmt/exam-credits
| Week | Chapters / topics | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ch. 1–3 (Regulation, ethics, institutional investor) | Build your “governance + duty” checklist; drill definitions and roles; start glossary. |
| 2 | Ch. 4–5 (Firm + operations) | Map trade lifecycle; learn front/middle/back responsibilities; drill controls + documentation cues. |
| 3 | Ch. 6–8 (Equity + fixed income) | Build formula pack; do daily mini-sets: style/benchmark/risk metrics + duration/curve strategies. |
| 4 | Ch. 9–12 (Derivatives, mandates, alternatives, reporting) | Drill permitted vs not; build “mandate template”; do 2 mixed timed sets and review misses. |
| Weeks | Chapters / topics | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ch. 1 (PM overview + registration/regulation) | Make a one-page “roles + rules” map; drill regulation language. |
| 2 | Ch. 2–3 (Ethics + institutional investor) | Practice “conflict → response” cues; learn governance roles and benchmark purpose. |
| 3 | Ch. 4 (Investment management firm) | Fees, mandates, org structure; connect incentives → conflicts → controls. |
| 4 | Ch. 5 (Front/middle/back offices) | Memorize trade workflow; practice “where does this problem go?” scenarios. |
| 5 | Ch. 6 (Equity portfolios) | Styles, ETF/derivative use, tax-aware basics; do short sets daily. |
| 6 | Ch. 7–8 (Fixed income portfolios) | Duration/curve/box trade concepts; high yield + bond ETFs; one timed set. |
| 7 | Ch. 9–10 (Derivatives in funds + mandates) | Regulations + permitted use; build mandate checklist; practice restrictions. |
| 8 | Ch. 11–12 (Alternatives + reporting/attribution) | Due diligence + unique risks; performance reporting/attribution; final mixed set + review. |
| Weeks | Chapters / topics | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ch. 1 | Roles + registration/regulation map; 2 short quizzes. |
| 2 | Ch. 2 | Ethics framework; conflicts + documentation cues. |
| 3 | Ch. 3 | Institutional investor types; governance roles; benchmark purpose. |
| 4 | Ch. 4 | Firm structure; mandates; fees; governance. |
| 5 | Ch. 5 | Trade lifecycle; middle/back office controls; operational risk. |
| 6 | Ch. 6 | Equity styles; ETFs; derivative overlays (concept). |
| 7–8 | Ch. 7–8 | Fixed-income operations + strategies; high-yield; bond ETF risks. |
| 9 | Ch. 9 | Derivatives in mutual funds: permitted use, advantages, risks. |
| 10 | Ch. 10 | New mandate design; guidelines/restrictions; launch readiness. |
| 11 | Ch. 11 | Alternatives: due diligence, risks, trends. |
| 12 | Ch. 12 + review | Reporting/attribution; two mixed timed sets; close gaps. |
✅ Next: open the Syllabus and begin Topic 1.
Sources: https://www.csi.ca/en/learning/courses/pmt/curriculum and https://www.csi.ca/en/learning/courses/pmt/exam-credits