Chartered Institute for Securities & Investment · RQF Level 3
CISI Level 3 Extended Certificate in Investment Operations
You don’t just earn this. You learn to use it, one-to-one, on your own real work.
- LevelRQF Level 3
- Total credits32
- Guided learning60 hours
- Units in this qualification26
Awarded by Chartered Institute for Securities & Investment · on the Ofqual register
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Ten quick questions, one per Future Fluency, asked against this qualification rather than a generic one.
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What you’ll learn
What each unit actually teaches you to do
Investment Operations Certificate
These are the units Chartered Institute for Securities & Investment registers against this qualification. It is a catalogue, not a syllabus. Which of them you take depends on the combination the qualification requires, and that is set by the awarding body rather than by us. Every unit here is regulated, and every one you earn is yours to keep.
Administration of Settlement & InvestmentsReal unit · Chartered Institute for Securities & Investment
What you'll be able to do
- Understand the structure and operation of the retail investment sector
- Understand the regulations and procedures relating to Client Assets
- Understand the importance of accurate Data and Record Keeping in investment administration
- Understand the processes involved in Settlement of investment transactions
- Understand the administration of Corporate Actions affecting investments
- Understand the features and administration of Collectives and Tax Incentivised Savings schemes
- Understand the principles of Income Tax as it applies to investments
- Understand the different types of Client Account used in investment administration
- Understand the specific considerations for Overseas Investment
- Understand the procedures for Closing Accounts
Asset ServicingReal unit · Chartered Institute for Securities & Investment
What you'll be able to do
- Understand the different types of capital instruments and transactions that occur within asset servicing.
- Describe the complete life cycle of a corporate event from announcement to completion.
- Explain the characteristics and processing requirements of mandatory corporate events.
- Explain the characteristics and processing requirements of voluntary corporate events.
- Describe the process and implications of Initial Public Offers (IPOs).
- Explain the purpose and mechanics of proxy voting in relation to share ownership.
- Understand the tax implications associated with asset servicing activities and transactions.
- Identify the roles and responsibilities of key participants involved in the asset servicing process.
- Recognise the legal and compliance issues relevant to asset servicing operations.
- Identify and describe the different types of risk encountered in asset servicing.
Client Money and AssetsReal unit · Chartered Institute for Securities & Investment
What you'll be able to do
- Understand the importance of client assets within financial institutions.
- Understand how client assets must be adequately protected under the Financial Conduct Authority's client assets regime.
Collective Investment Schemes AdministrationReal unit · Chartered Institute for Securities & Investment
What you'll be able to do
- Know the reasons for the introduction of Collective Investment Schemes and how they are utilised by investors.
- Understand the UK regulatory and legislative environment that governs Collective Investment Schemes.
- Understand the fundamental principles of preventing financial crime within the context of Collective Investment Schemes.
- Know the purpose and key requirements of relevant EU Directives pertaining to Collective Investment Schemes.
- Know the rights and protections afforded to Unit/Shareholders in Collective Investment Schemes.
- Understand the legal and operational constitution of a Collective Investment Scheme.
- Understand the roles and responsibilities of key parties involved in Collective Investment Schemes, including the Authorised Fund Manager, Depositaries, Trustees, Custodians, and Auditors.
- Understand the investment and borrowing powers available to Collective Investment Schemes.
- Understand the processes involved in investor transactions within Collective Investment Schemes.
- Understand the registration and settlement procedures for transactions in Collective Investment Schemes.
- Understand the procedures for the distribution of income within Collective Investment Schemes.
- Understand the content and purpose of investor communications, including annual and half-yearly reports and accounts.
- Understand the taxation implications for Collective Investment Schemes and their investors.
Combating Financial CrimeReal unit · Chartered Institute for Securities & Investment
What you'll be able to do
- Explain the background and nature of financial crime in the UK and the international context, and the different approaches to combating it.
- Explain the nature of predicate offences.
- Explain money laundering in both the UK and the international context, and the measures in place to combat it.
- Explain the nature of terrorist financing in its global context, and the measures in place to combat it.
- Explain the nature, significance and impact of corruption, and the measures in place to combat it.
- Explain the nature of bribery and the measures in place to combat it in the UK and the United States.
- Describe governmental and quasi-governmental approaches to combating financial crime.
- Explain the role of the private sector in combating financial crime.
Combating Financial CrimeReal unit · Chartered Institute for Securities & Investment
What you'll be able to do
- Understand the regulations designed to combat financial crime within the financial services industry
- Understand the practices employed to prevent and detect financial crime
- Understand the reporting requirements related to suspected financial crime
Derivative OperationsReal unit · Chartered Institute for Securities & Investment
What you'll be able to do
- Understand the characteristics of Exchange-Traded Derivatives
- Understand the characteristics of Over-The-Counter Derivatives
- Understand the administration processes associated with Exchange-Traded Derivatives
- Understand the administration processes associated with Over-The-Counter Derivatives
Exchange-Traded DerivativesReal unit · Chartered Institute for Securities & Investment
What you'll be able to do
- Understand the history and development of derivative markets, including key milestones and influential factors.
- Understand the characteristics of futures contracts, including standardisation and delivery mechanisms.
- Understand the basic principles of pricing futures contracts, including cost of carry and expectations.
- Understand the characteristics of options contracts, including calls, puts, and strike prices.
- Understand how derivatives are used for hedging, speculation, and arbitrage.
- Understand the role of a derivative exchange in facilitating trading and ensuring market integrity.
- Understand the role of the clearing house in guaranteeing trades and managing risk.
- Understand the concept of margin in derivative trading, including initial margin and maintenance margin.
- Understand the concepts of clearing and settlement in derivative markets, including the processes involved.
- Understand derivative regulation and compliance requirements, including relevant legislation and industry standards.
- Understand the main characteristics of credit risk associated with derivatives.
- Understand the main characteristics of market risk associated with derivatives.
- Understand the main characteristics of operational risk associated with derivatives.
Global Financial ComplianceReal unit · Chartered Institute for Securities & Investment
What you'll be able to do
- Understand the key aspects of the international financial services regulatory environment.
- Understand the international approach to financial regulation and its objectives.
- Understand the purpose and key responsibilities of the compliance function within a financial organisation.
- Understand how the risk of financial crime is identified, assessed, and managed within a global context.
- Understand the importance of ethics, integrity, and fairness in financial services and the role of compliance in promoting these values.
- Understand the role of compliance in the context of corporate governance and risk management frameworks.
Global Securities OperationsReal unit · Chartered Institute for Securities & Investment
What you'll be able to do
- Understand the different types of securities, their issue methods, and the fundamental principles of securities trading.
- Understand the roles and responsibilities of the main industry participants involved in securities operations.
- Understand the key settlement characteristics for various types of securities.
- Understand the range of other investor services related to securities operations.
- Understand the key aspects of taxation relevant to securities and their investors.
- Understand the various types of risk associated with securities operations and how they are managed.
ISA AdministrationReal unit · Chartered Institute for Securities & Investment
What you'll be able to do
- Understand the definition and purpose of an Individual Savings Account (ISA).
- Understand the regulatory framework and authorisation requirements for ISA providers.
- Understand the process of investor applications for ISAs, including eligibility and documentation.
- Understand the investment rules and restrictions applicable to ISAs.
- Understand how account income is treated within an ISA and the process for claiming tax relief.
- Understand the rights and protections afforded to ISA account holders.
- Understand the charges and expenses that account managers can levy on ISAs.
- Understand the procedures for withdrawals, account closure, and the handling of ISAs upon the death of an investor.
- Understand the process for transferring ISAs between providers.
- Understand the requirements for submitting Returns of Information to HMRC and the process for HMRC inspections.
IT in Investment OperationsReal unit · Chartered Institute for Securities & Investment
What you'll be able to do
- Understand the role of IT in the securities industry, including its impact on efficiency and risk management.
- Understand how IT supports the functional flow of financial instruments, from trading to settlement.
- Understand the role of IT in the front office, including trading platforms and order management systems.
- Understand the role of IT in the pre-settlement phase, including trade confirmation and reconciliation.
- Understand the role of IT in the settlement and post-settlement phases, including clearing and custody.
- Understand the impact of IT on Financial Control, including reporting and audit trails.
- Understand IT Management principles and practices within investment operations.
- Understand how to manage business change related to IT implementations and upgrades.
- Understand the Globalisation of IT Services and its implications for investment operations.
Introduction to Securities and InvestmentReal unit · Chartered Institute for Securities & Investment
What you'll be able to do
- Understand the financial services industry and the key investment distribution channels within it, distinguishing between retail and professional business.
- Understand the economic environment and its impact on financial markets.
- Understand Financial Assets and Markets, including their characteristics and functions.
- Understand how a company is formed and the differences between private and public companies.
- Understand the main types of bonds and the advantages and disadvantages of investing in different types of bonds.
- Understand the major types of derivatives and their uses.
- Understand the different types of investment funds and their investment strategies.
- Understand financial services regulation and its application to investment products and services.
- Understand investment wrappers, taxation and trusts and their implications for investors.
- Understand other retail financial products: loans, mortgages and life assurance and their features.
Managing Cyber SecurityReal unit · Chartered Institute for Securities & Investment
What you'll be able to do
- Understand the nature of cybercrime and its specific threats within the financial services industry.
- Analyse the associated risks stemming from cybercrime in the financial services sector.
- Evaluate methods for effectively managing cyber security risks within financial organisations.
OTC Derivatives AdministrationReal unit · Chartered Institute for Securities & Investment
What you'll be able to do
- Define terms relevant to derivatives trading in the context of the history of derivatives trading
- Understand forward rate agreements
- Understand swaps
- Understand the key characteristics of OTC options
- Understand other principal derivative products
- Understand the factors affecting the pricing of OTC derivatives
- Understand the basics of risk theory
- Understand the finance issues relating to OTC derivatives
- Understand the accounting issues relating to OTC derivatives
- Understand the regulatory issues relating to OTC derivatives
- Understand the operational context of OTC derivatives
Operational RiskReal unit · Chartered Institute for Securities & Investment
What you'll be able to do
- Understand the fundamental principles of risk management.
- Understand the nature and management of credit risk.
- Understand the nature and management of market risk.
- Understand the nature of operational risk within an organisation.
- Understand the causes, potential events, and impact of operational risk incidents.
- Understand the stages and components of the operational risk cycle.
- Understand the role of support and control functions in managing operational risk.
- Understand the objectives and challenges associated with Enterprise Risk Management (ERM).
- Understand the context and application of common standards and protection measures in operational risk management.
Pensions AdministrationReal unit · Chartered Institute for Securities & Investment
What you'll be able to do
- Understand the concepts required to administer various types of pension plans
- Understand the processes required to administer various types of pension plans
- Understand the concepts required to administer new pension plans
- Understand the processes required to administer new pension plans
- Understand the concepts required to administer existing pension plans
- Understand the processes required to administer existing pension plans
Platforms, Wealth Management and Service ProvidersReal unit · Chartered Institute for Securities & Investment
What you'll be able to do
- Understand the range of services offered by Platforms in the financial services industry.
- Understand the services provided by Wealth Managers.
- Understand the role and services of related Outsource Service Providers within the financial services sector.
Principles of UK Financial RegulationReal unit · Chartered Institute for Securities & Investment
What you'll be able to do
- Understand the key features and objectives of the UK financial regulatory environment.
- Explain the purpose, scope and implications of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000.
- Understand the relevant associated legislation and regulations that govern financial services in the UK.
- Interpret the key requirements of the FCA Conduct of Business Sourcebook (COBS) and rules relating to Client Assets.
Risk in Financial ServicesReal unit · Chartered Institute for Securities & Investment
What you'll be able to do
- Understand the fundamental principles of a risk management framework within financial services.
- Understand the role of corporate governance in overseeing and managing risk.
- Understand the key risk-related regulations and policies applicable to financial services organisations.
- Understand the nature and management of operational risk.
- Understand the nature and management of credit risk.
- Understand the nature and management of market risk.
- Understand the nature and management of investment risk.
- Understand the nature and management of liquidity risk.
- Understand the principles and application of Enterprise Risk Management (ERM).
Risk in Financial ServicesReal unit · Chartered Institute for Securities & Investment
What you'll be able to do
- Understand the general principles of business risk management
- Understand the key risks that arise within the financial services industry
- Understand the approaches used to identify risks in financial services
- Understand the approaches used to manage risks in financial services
- Understand the approaches used to reduce risks in financial services
Technology in Investment ManagementReal unit · Chartered Institute for Securities & Investment
What you'll be able to do
- Describe the role of technology in investment management.
- Understand the regulatory framework governing the use of technology in investment management.
- Explain how technology supports the functional flow of financial instruments.
- Describe the role of technology in trade capture processes.
- Explain the role of technology in the pre-settlement phase of investment transactions.
- Explain the role of technology in the settlement and post-settlement phases of investment transactions.
- Analyse the impact of technology on financial control within investment management firms.
- Understand the principles of technology management in an investment management context.
- Describe the key considerations in managing business change related to technology implementation.
- Understand the process of technology services procurement in the investment management industry.
Transfer Agency Administration and OversightReal unit · Chartered Institute for Securities & Investment
What you'll be able to do
- Describe the Transfer Agency (TA) Framework
- Describe the Regulatory Framework relevant to Transfer Agencies
- Identify the different Products offered by Transfer Agencies
- Explain how to manage the Risk of Financial Crime within a Transfer Agency
- Describe how to manage TA Operations
- Explain Distribution, Front and Ongoing Charges related to Transfer Agency services
- Describe Customer and Investor Relations within a Transfer Agency
- Explain Compliance and Oversight within a Transfer Agency
Transfer Agency Administration and OversightReal unit · Chartered Institute for Securities & Investment
What you'll be able to do
- Describe the Transfer Agency (TA) Framework
- Describe the Regulatory Framework relevant to Transfer Agencies
- Identify the different Products offered by Transfer Agencies
- Explain how to manage the Risk of Financial Crime within a Transfer Agency
- Describe how to manage TA Operations
- Explain Distribution, Front and Ongoing Charges related to Transfer Agency services
- Describe Customer and Investor Relations within a Transfer Agency
- Explain Compliance and Oversight within a Transfer Agency
Transfer Agency Administration and OversightReal unit · Chartered Institute for Securities & Investment
What you'll be able to do
- Understand the overall framework within which a Transfer Agency (TA) operates.
- Understand the range of products and services offered by a Transfer Agency.
- Understand the key processes involved in managing Transfer Agency operations effectively.
- Understand the regulations and procedures relating to Client Money & Assets within a Transfer Agency.
- Understand the processes involved in registration and settlement of transactions within a Transfer Agency.
- Understand the dealing processes undertaken by a Transfer Agency.
- Understand the handling of distributions and corporate actions by a Transfer Agency.
- Understand the importance of investor relations and communication within a Transfer Agency.
- Understand the key risks and controls associated with Transfer Agency operations.
UK Financial RegulationReal unit · Chartered Institute for Securities & Investment
What you'll be able to do
- Understand the financial services regulatory environment in the UK
- Understand the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000
- Understand Associated Legislation relevant to financial services
- Understand Regulation relevant to financial services
- Understand the FCA Conduct of Business Sourcebook
- Understand the regulations relating to Client Assets
- Understand the procedures for handling Customer Complaints
- Understand the processes for Customer Redress
The honest bit
You’ve started things before
Most courses were built for a room full of people who aren’t you. A cohort moves on whether or not your week allowed it, and by the third week the thing you’re behind on becomes the reason you stop opening it.
There’s no cohort here, and no timetable to fall behind. Before anything starts, Zavmo asks when you’re sharpest and how long you can realistically sit down for, then builds the sessions around those answers. A bad fortnight changes your pace. It doesn’t put you behind.
And you only pay once you start learning. Searching and planning are free, and you can cancel any time — so the cost of finding out is an afternoon, not a year.
Your passport
Every credit is a stamp you keep
Level 3 credits are regulated. They don’t vanish when a subscription ends or a website closes. They travel to any employer, and Zavmo keeps the map of what you’ve earned and what’s next.
Each stamp is a real unit registered against this qualification.
Who’d teach you this

The Evidence Evaluator
Assessor
Helps you show what you can actually do, gathering the evidence that proves it as you learn.
Meet all twelve tutorsWhere this connects
Where these credits take you
A qualification is never a dead end here. See the jobs its credits open, the national occupational standards its units map to, and the future skills they quietly build.
- Advise and guide staff in your organisation on anti-money laundering and countering terrorist financing
- Analyse and interpret individual or corporate client investment objectives
- Analyse and report investment implications of sector economics
- Analyse the risk and return profile of asset types
- Arrange the Settlement of Investment Transactions
- Assess business strategy and commercial risks that a Training and Competence Scheme must address
- Assess risks for a financial services organisation
- Assist in developing the compliance culture of your organisation
Where this can lead
Operational Risk Specialist
Your journey in operational risk can take you to the very top, helping to steer the entire company. It's a career that offers continuous challenge, significant impact, and the chance to become a true expert in keeping businesses safe and successful.
See the whole journey →Showing 6 roles, drawn from 576 job records mapped to this qualification.
Skills it covers
What the job actually needs. These are the standards the units are built against, in the words employers and awarding bodies already use for the work itself.
How you’ll actually learn this
One-to-one, on your own real work
A qualification is usually something done to you: sit the class, sit the exam, hope it sticks. Here it’s the opposite. You learn it one-to-one with a companion, on your own real work, and you keep going until you can use it, not just recall it.
Applied to your work in any of these jobs
Learners will understand the administration of settlement and investments in the retail investment sector. The unit covers sector structure, participant roles, client asset safeguarding regulations, data and record keeping, settlement procedures, corporate actions, and tax-incentivised savings.
- Remember
- Understand
- Apply
- Analyse
- Evaluate
- Create
Built for CISI Level 3 Extended Certificate in Investment Operations
22 units in this credential, in the order it lists them, awarded by Chartered Institute for Securities & Investment.
- Administration of Settlement & Investments
- Asset Servicing
- Client Money and Assets
- Collective Investment Schemes Administration
- Combating Financial Crime
- Derivative Operations
and 16 more in the full unit list below.
One to one, not one to many
No two people run this the same way
A course is written once and handed to everyone. This is assembled around you, and keeps changing as it learns you. Five things it reads, and what each one changes.
- Your actual work Every unit is taught against a live piece of your own work, not a worked example from a textbook.
- What you already know The first conversation finds your starting point, so you skip what you can already do and spend the time on what you cannot.
- The conditions you learn under Not a learning-styles quiz. The evidence does not support those. The dimensions the research does back, read once and used to shape the plan.
- How far you got last time It picks up mid-thought. The tutor knows what you said, what you struggled with, and what it asked you to try.
- Which tutor suits the moment Twelve of them, each for a different kind of thinking. The one who walks you through a first idea is not the one who stress-tests it.
See how you learn, free. Eight questions, no sign-up. A directional taster; the diagnostic inside Zavmo goes deeper and keeps adapting.
Why it sticks
Most courses stop at remembering
There’s a well-known ladder of how deeply you learn something, called Bloom’s Taxonomy. Most courses get you up the first two rungs: you remember some facts, you pass a test, you forget it. Real skill lives at the top. Judging, deciding, creating. And this isn’t a generic ladder: every rung has a named Zavmo tutor who walks you up it.
- 6CreateThe Creative Catalyst
- 5EvaluateThe Evidence Evaluator
- 4AnalyseThe Analyst
- 3ApplyThe Coach
- 2UnderstandThe Connector
- 1RememberThe Builder
Where most courses leave you Where Zavmo takes you
The value
Why the companion is worth £70 a month
You’re not paying for the units. They’re regulated, and the same wherever you earn them. You’re paying for the one thing that decides whether you actually get there: a companion that makes them stick, on your real work.
That is one-to-one on this qualification, every day, on the work you already do, for £70 a month. Your first module is free, so you can see the teaching before you pay for any of it. Billed monthly, cancel any time and billing stops.
Earned on your own work, taught to the top.
Everything you just read, learned one-to-one on the job you already do. Your first module is free, so you can see the teaching before you pay for any of it.
Build my plan, freeNo card. See how this qualification maps onto your role and meet the tutors who’d teach it, free. The learning begins when you subscribe. It’s £70 a month, billed monthly. Cancel any time and billing stops.