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IFC Study Plan (30 / 60 / 90 Days)

A practical IFC study plan (30/60/90 days): weekly focus areas mapped to the official CSI blueprint and chapters, with a repeatable syllabus → drills → review loop.

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IFC prep improves fastest when you build a simple loop and repeat it:

Syllabus → drills → review misses → mixed sets → checkpoint.

How long should you study?

CSI’s official guidance is 90 – 140 hours of study for IFC (your actual time depends on your background).

Source: https://www.csi.ca/en/learning/courses/ifc/exam-credits

Choose a timeline based on hours per week:

Time you can commit Recommended plan
25–35 hrs/week 30‑day intensive
12–18 hrs/week 60‑day balanced
8–12 hrs/week 90‑day part‑time

30-Day Intensive Plan

Target pace: ~25–35 hours/week.
Goal: cover all chapters once, then harden decision speed with mixed practice.

Week Focus (CSI chapters) What to do Links
1 Ch 1–3: Marketplace + financial system + economics Build vocabulary and the “why”: the representative role, market basics, and economic intuition. Overview • Syllabus
2 Ch 4–6: KYC + behavioural finance + tax/retirement concepts Drill client fact-finding, constraints, and bias-aware communication. Cheatsheet • Practice
3 Ch 7–10: Products, portfolios, statements, modern mutual fund Classify products quickly; practice return/risk questions; learn mutual fund structure and regulation. Cheatsheet • Practice
4 Ch 11–18: Fund types + alternatives + performance + selection + fees + regulation/ethics Master fund categories, performance comparisons, selection steps, fees/services; finish with 2–3 mixed sets and close gaps. Syllabus • Practice

60-Day Balanced Plan

Target pace: ~12–18 hours/week.
Goal: steady learning with repeated review so terms and “best answer” reasoning stick.

Week Focus What to do
1 Ch 1–2 Role of the representative + market basics; start miss log.
2 Ch 3 Economics fundamentals; connect inflation/rates to portfolios (concept).
3 Ch 4 KYC and planning process; build a KYC checklist.
4 Ch 5–6 Behavioural finance + tax/retirement concepts; practice scenario language.
5 Ch 7–8 Products + portfolio construction; drill return/risk vocabulary.
6 Ch 9–10 Financial statements + modern mutual fund; learn NAV/fees language.
7 Ch 11–13 Mutual fund categories + alternative managed products; match products to client profiles.
8 Ch 14–18 + review Performance, selection, fees/services, regulation, ethics; finish with mixed sets and gap-closing.

90-Day Part-Time Plan

Target pace: ~8–12 hours/week.
Goal: consistent cadence with frequent short drills and spaced repetition.

Week Focus What to do
1 Ch 1 Build role/responsibility vocabulary and client-service priorities.
2 Ch 2 Market structure and regulatory framework (high level).
3 Ch 3 Economics: rates/inflation/business cycle intuition.
4 Ch 4 KYC + planning approach; practice fact-finding questions.
5 Ch 5–6 Behavioural finance + tax/retirement concepts (concept-first).
6 Ch 7 Products: fixed income, equity, derivatives, new issues.
7 Ch 8 Portfolios: diversification, risk/return, portfolio management (concept).
8 Ch 9–10 Financial statements + modern mutual fund basics.
9 Ch 11–13 Fund categories + alternatives; suitability and risk mapping.
10 Ch 14 Performance evaluation; benchmarks/universes and ranking (concept).
11 Ch 15–16 Selection process + fees/services; build a due diligence checklist.
12 Ch 17–18 + review Regulation + ethics; finish with mixed sets and close gaps.

A simple weekly routine (works for any plan)

  1. Review one syllabus topic.
  2. Read the matching section in the cheatsheet and rewrite the key terms in your own words.
  3. Do a short drill and review every miss.
  4. End the week with a mixed set to force transfer across topics.

✅ Next: open the Syllabus and begin Topic 1.

Overview
Syllabus