Free CISI GSO Mock Exam Questions & Answers (2026 Practice Test)
Test your CISI GSO knowledge with these free practice questions and fully worked answers — including a custody-fee calculation. See how ready you really are for the securities operations exam.
The best way to gauge your readiness for the CISI Global Securities Operations (GSO) exam is to test yourself with realistic questions. Below are free GSO-style practice questions with detailed explanations covering all 5 chapters — including a worked custody-fee calculation.
Try to answer each one before revealing the explanation. Be honest with yourself — this is how you find the gaps while you still have time to fix them.
📝 How to Use These Questions
The real exam has 50 questions in 1 hour with a 70% pass mark. Treat these as a sample — if any topic or the calculation feels unfamiliar, that is exactly where to focus your revision.
CISI GSO Practice Questions
Question 1 — Chapter 1: Main Industry Participants
The main role of an inter-dealer broker (IDB) is to:
A) Issue new securities on behalf of companies
B) Act as an intermediary between market makers while preserving their anonymity
C) Provide safekeeping of client assets
D) Execute trades for retail clients
Correct Answer: B) Act as an intermediary between market makers while preserving their anonymity
Inter-dealer brokers intermediate between dealer and market-maker firms, allowing them to trade with each other without revealing their identity. They do not issue securities, safekeep client assets, or execute for retail clients.
Question 2 — Chapter 2: Settlement Characteristics
A 'buy-in' occurs when:
A) The registrar reissues the certificate
B) The buyer pays a premium to keep the trade open indefinitely
C) The seller cancels the trade with no penalty
D) The buyer (or exchange/CCP) purchases the undelivered securities elsewhere, charging the extra cost to the failing seller
Correct Answer: D) The buyer (or exchange/CCP) purchases the undelivered securities elsewhere, charging the extra cost to the failing seller
If the seller fails to deliver, a buy-in sources the securities in the market and passes the additional cost back to the failing seller. It is a settlement-discipline mechanism, not a way to cancel or extend a trade.
ExamPrep.ae's instant feedback and explanations help you understand each concept and improve your score.
Question 3 — Chapter 3: Other Investor Services
A custodian charges a 20 basis point ad valorem fee on a US$2 million portfolio held in an emerging market. The annual custody fee is:
A) US$400
B) US$2,000
C) US$4,000
D) US$40,000
Correct Answer: C) US$4,000
20 basis points = 0.20% = 0.002.
Fee = US$2,000,000 × 0.002
= US$4,000.
Basis-point (ad valorem) custody fees are a classic GSO calculation — remember that 1 basis point is 0.01%, so 20 bps is 0.20%.
ExamPrep.ae's Practice by Chapter mode lets you drill each of the 5 GSO chapters individually.
Question 4 — Chapter 4: Aspects of Taxation
Under FATCA, a foreign financial institution (or account holder) that fails to comply is subject to:
A) A complete trading ban
B) A 0.5% transaction tax
C) An 8.75% dividend tax
D) A 30% withholding tax on a range of US-sourced income
Correct Answer: D) A 30% withholding tax on a range of US-sourced income
Non-compliance with FATCA triggers a 30% withholding tax on various US-source payments, including the gross proceeds of US securities sales. This is the key enforcement mechanism behind FATCA.
Question 5 — Chapter 5: Risk
The 1988 Basel Capital Accord introduced a system that requires firms to:
A) Set aside a percentage of capital to protect against the risks they face
B) Hold no capital against trading risk
C) Settle all trades on a T+1 basis
D) Report all transactions to the IRS
Correct Answer: A) Set aside a percentage of capital to protect against the risks they face
The 1988 Basel Accord required firms to hold capital against their risks — the greater the risk, the higher the capital charge. It is a cornerstone of prudential risk management.
ExamPrep.ae's performance-by-chapter analytics show exactly which GSO chapters are dragging your score down.
How Did You Do?
- 4–5 correct: Strong start. Keep drilling full-length mocks to stay sharp across all 5 chapters.
- 2–3 correct: You have the foundations but gaps remain. Targeted practice, especially on Chapter 3, will make the difference.
- 0–1 correct: Do not worry — you have found your weak areas early. Structured practice from here will turn these into strengths.
Remember, this is just a handful of questions. The real exam has 50, and the precise operations terminology is where many candidates lose the marks that separate a pass from a fail.
💡 Want Hundreds More Practice Questions?
These few questions are a taster. To pass GSO comfortably you need to practise across all 5 chapters and get used to the terminology — with clear explanations for every answer.
👉 Start CISI GSO PracticeYour Next Steps
- Learn the full strategy — Read our complete guide to passing the CISI GSO exam
- Understand the format — Review the GSO passing score and exam format
- Know the difficulty — See whether the GSO exam is difficult
- Choose your materials — Compare the best CISI GSO mock exams and study resources
Keep practising, and you will steadily push your score above that all-important 70% mark.
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