Free CISI ICWIM Mock Exam Questions & Answers (2026 Practice Test)
Test your CISI ICWIM knowledge with these free practice questions and fully worked answers — including the calculation questions that decide the exam. See how ready you really are.
The best way to gauge your readiness for the CISI International Certificate in Wealth & Investment Management (ICWIM) exam is to test yourself with realistic questions — especially the calculations. Below are free ICWIM-style practice questions with detailed, worked explanations covering several of the 8 chapters.
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 100 questions in 2 hours with a 70% pass mark, and a significant share are calculations. Treat these as a sample — if the maths feels slow or unfamiliar, that is exactly where to focus your revision.
CISI ICWIM Practice Questions
Question 1 — Chapter 1: The Financial Services Sector
The term 'shadow banking' refers to:
A) A bank's internal audit function
B) Illegal offshore banks
C) Non-bank institutions providing bank-like services outside banking regulation
D) The central bank's reserve operations
Correct Answer: C) Non-bank institutions providing bank-like services outside banking regulation
Shadow banking covers non-bank entities that offer bank-like services (such as credit intermediation) outside the scope of normal banking regulation. It is not illegal, and it is unrelated to a bank's audit function or a central bank's reserve operations.
Question 2 — Chapter 5: Economics and Investment Analysis
A company has profit before interest and tax (PBIT) of $1.5m on sales of $5m. What is its profit margin?
A) 20%
B) 30%
C) 15%
D) 33%
Correct Answer: B) 30%
Profit margin = PBIT ÷ sales × 100.
= $1.5m ÷ $5m × 100
= 0.30 × 100 = 30%.
This is a classic ICWIM ratio question — know your margin, ROCE, gearing and liquidity ratios cold.
ExamPrep.ae's instant feedback and explanations help you understand each concept and improve your score.
Question 3 — Chapter 5: Economics and Investment Analysis
Shares in a sector trade on an average prospective P/E ratio of 8x. If a company's expected EPS is $0.30, what is the implied share price?
A) $0.30
B) $8.00
C) $3.75
D) $2.40
Correct Answer: D) $2.40
Implied share price = P/E ratio × expected EPS.
= 8 × $0.30
= $2.40.
Rearranging the P/E ratio to value a share is a common exam task. Practise moving between price, EPS and P/E in any direction.
ExamPrep.ae's Practice by Chapter mode lets you drill each of the 8 ICWIM chapters individually.
Question 4 — Chapter 6: Investment Management
A fund ends the period worth $18.75m, while the value attributable to its asset allocation alone is $18.25m. How much did stock selection contribute?
A) +$1.0m
B) −$0.25m
C) −$0.5m
D) +$0.5m
Correct Answer: D) +$0.5m
In performance attribution, the stock selection contribution is the difference between the actual result and the value explained by asset allocation alone.
= actual value − asset-allocation value
= $18.75m − $18.25m = +$0.5m.
Performance attribution and measurement (Sharpe, Sortino, Treynor) are core Chapter 6 topics — make sure you can decompose returns.
Question 5 — Chapter 4: Collective Investments
What is the difference between an open-ended fund and a closed-ended fund?
A) Only closed-ended funds can be authorised
B) There is no difference
C) An open-ended fund creates and cancels units on demand, while a closed-ended fund has a fixed number of shares traded on an exchange
D) An open-ended fund has a fixed number of shares while a closed-ended fund does not
Correct Answer: C) An open-ended fund creates and cancels units on demand, while a closed-ended fund has a fixed number of shares traded on an exchange
An open-ended fund (such as a unit trust, OEIC or UCITS) creates and cancels units on demand and deals at net asset value (NAV). A closed-ended fund (an investment company) has a fixed number of shares that trade on the secondary market, where the price can differ from NAV.
ExamPrep.ae's Performance by Chapter mode tracks your accuracy per chapter so you know exactly where you stand against the 70% pass mark.
How Did You Do?
- 4–5 correct: Strong start. Keep drilling full-length mocks — especially the calculations — to stay sharp across all 8 chapters.
- 2–3 correct: You have the foundations but gaps remain. Targeted practice, with a focus on Chapter 5's maths, 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 100, and the calculation questions in Chapter 5 (and elsewhere) are 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 a 43%-pass-rate exam you need to practise across all 8 chapters and master every calculation type — with worked, step-by-step explanations for each one.
👉 Start CISI ICWIM PracticeYour Next Steps
- Learn the full strategy — Read our complete guide to passing the CISI ICWIM exam
- Understand the format — Review the ICWIM passing score and exam format
- Know the difficulty — See why the ICWIM exam is difficult
- Choose your materials — Compare the best CISI ICWIM mock exams and study resources
Keep practising, and you will steadily push your score above that all-important 70% mark.
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