A practical CSC Exam 2 study plan: 30-day intensive, 60-day balanced, and 90-day part-time schedules with weekly focus areas, formula practice, and a repeatable syllabus → drills → review loop.
CSC Exam 2 rewards a different skill than Exam 1: portfolio decision-making under constraints, plus strong mechanics for mutual funds, ETFs, alternatives, structured products, tax concepts, and client workflows. Use this plan to turn the syllabus into a weekly routine:
Syllabus → drills → review misses → mixed sets → checkpoint.
CSI’s official guidance for the CSC course is 135 – 200 hours of study (the course includes two exams). Use that as a reality check, then choose a schedule that lets you cover Chapters 13–27 plus review.
Source: https://www.csi.ca/en/learning/courses/csc/exam-credits
Target pace: ~10–15 hours/week.
| Week | Focus | What to do | Links |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Chapters 13–14: Investment analysis | Fundamental vs technical; company analysis; build a one‑page metrics/ratios sheet. | Syllabus |
| 2 | Chapters 15–16: Portfolio approach + process | Diversification, allocation, IPS logic, rebalancing; start your formula + decision pack. | Cheatsheet |
| 3 | Chapters 17–19: Mutual funds + ETFs | Structure, pricing (NAV), trading mechanics, fees; practice “which product fits and why?” | Practice |
| 4 | Chapters 20–27: Alts/managed/structured + tax + accounts + client workflow | Alternatives/structured product risks; tax concepts; fee-based accounts; retail vs institutional client differences; finish with 2–3 mixed sets and close gaps. | Cheatsheet • Practice |
Target pace: ~6–9 hours/week.
| Week | Focus | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Chapter 13–14 | Investment analysis; summarize each chapter into a one‑page note. |
| 2 | Chapter 15–16 | Portfolio approach + process; build IPS “if X then Y” rules. |
| 3 | Chapter 17–18 | Mutual funds: structure, regulation, types, and features; drill terminology and fee mechanics. |
| 4 | Chapter 19 | ETFs: creation/redemption intuition, trading costs, premiums/discounts, tracking. |
| 5 | Chapter 20–21 | Alternatives: benefits/risks, strategies, and performance interpretation (concept). |
| 6 | Chapter 22–23 | Other managed + structured products; focus on payoff + credit/liquidity risks. |
| 7 | Chapter 24–25 | Canadian taxation concepts + fee‑based accounts; build an after‑tax/fee “mental model.” |
| 8 | Chapter 26–27 + review | Retail + institutional client workflow; finish with mixed sets and gap-closing. |
Target pace: ~3–5 hours/week.
| Week | Focus | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| 1–2 | Chapters 13–14 | Investment analysis; one concept block + one drill weekly. |
| 3–4 | Chapters 15–16 | Portfolio approach + process; build decision tables. |
| 5–6 | Chapters 17–18 | Mutual funds; fee mechanics + distribution vocabulary. |
| 7 | Chapter 19 | ETFs; trading and tracking logic. |
| 8–9 | Chapters 20–21 | Alternatives; benefits/risks and common strategies. |
| 10 | Chapters 22–23 | Managed + structured products; payoff and risk mapping. |
| 11 | Chapter 24 | Taxation concepts; focus on classification and after‑tax thinking. |
| 12 | Chapter 25 | Fee‑based accounts; fee math and suitability fit. |
| 13 | Chapters 26–27 + review | Retail vs institutional workflow; finalize formula sheet + glossary; do a full mixed review. |
✅ Next: open the Syllabus and begin Topic 1.