Review a compact Portfolio Management Techniques (PMT) cheat sheet for institutional portfolio process, regulation, operations, equity and fixed-income management, derivatives use, mandates, alternatives, performance attribution, and reporting traps before Finance Prep practice.
Use this PMT cheat sheet as a portfolio-management checklist before mixed practice. The exam usually rewards the answer that protects the mandate, applies the right asset-class decision rule, respects controls, and explains performance in a way the client can use.
| Item | PMT cue |
|---|---|
| Provider | CSI |
| Exam | Portfolio Management Techniques |
| Format | 100 multiple-choice questions in 3 hours |
| Main practice behavior | portfolio mandate management, operations, equity and fixed-income decisions, alternatives, derivatives use, performance attribution, and client reporting |
| Finance Prep status | live practice available |
| Area | What to know | Common trap |
|---|---|---|
| Regulation and ethics | fiduciary-like expectations, policies, conflicts, disclosure, client interest | treating compliance as separate from portfolio decisions |
| Institutional process | objectives, constraints, governance, IPS, benchmark, implementation | changing investments without mandate authority |
| Organization and operations | controls, trade workflow, model portfolios, records, supervision, valuation | ignoring operational readiness |
| Equity portfolios | style, factor exposure, sector risk, active/passive decisions, risk controls | choosing the best stock story instead of the mandate fit |
| Fixed-income portfolios | duration, credit, curve exposure, liquidity, immunization, income needs | chasing yield without checking risk and horizon |
| Derivatives in funds | permitted use, hedging, leverage, disclosure, risk limits | treating derivatives as pure return tools |
| New mandates | discovery, constraints, benchmark, objectives, documentation, onboarding | accepting a vague objective as an investable mandate |
| Alternatives | liquidity, valuation, fees, correlation, transparency, suitability | assuming alternatives always diversify |
| Reporting and attribution | benchmark, attribution, performance explanation, client reporting, follow-up | reporting performance without explaining drivers and limits |
After each PMT set, classify misses as regulation, mandate, operations, equity, fixed income, derivatives, alternatives, attribution, or reporting. If the correct answer preserved a control or mandate boundary, drill process and operations before more asset-class questions.