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PDO Study Plan (30 / 60 / 90 Days)

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.

On this page

PDO improves fastest when you train executive decision habits:

  • identify the risk and exposure theme
  • choose the first correct action (document / supervise / escalate / remediate / restrict)
  • explain why the alternative options are risky or noncompliant

How long should you study?

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

30-Day Intensive Plan (4 weeks)

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.

60-Day Balanced Plan (8 weeks)

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.

90-Day Part-Time Plan (12 weeks)

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.

How to integrate the Mastery Securities app

  • Use Syllabus topic buttons to open targeted drills.
  • Keep a miss log with three fields: cue, rule/theme, first correct action.
  • Once a week, do a timed mixed set and review until you can justify the best “next step” answer in one sentence.

✅ 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

Overview
Syllabus