CIRE Final Cleanup

The last 48 hours before your CIRE attempt. Drill these corrections, sleep, write. Each block targets high-yield gotchas. No new content. No new chapters. Lock in what you already know.

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Regulatory Framework

IIROC and the MFDA amalgamated on Jan 1, 2023 and the new SRO took the name CIRO on June 1, 2023. CIRO is the SRO; provincial commissions remain the statutory regulators.
CIPF coverage = $1M for all general accounts combined, plus $1M for registered retirement accounts and $1M for RESPs, per member firm. It covers missing property on insolvency, not market losses. CDIC = $100K per depositor, per category, per insured institution. Same institution, different branch = NOT separate CDIC coverage.
OBSI compensation recommendation cap = $350,000. OBSI is not binding on the firm but reputational pressure is real.
NI 31-103 governs registration categories. CIRO IDPC Rule 2600 covers proficiency. IDPC Rule 1400 = standards of conduct.

Client Account Management

CIRO IDPC Rule 3202 = KYC obligation. KYC information must be reviewed at least every 36 months (every 12 months for managed and discretionary accounts), and updated after a significant change.
Suitability (IDPC 3402, from the Client Focused Reforms in force since 2021) must weigh the impact of costs on the client's returns and a reasonable range of alternative actions, and put the client's interest first.
CIRO IDPC Rule 3700 = complaint handling. Acknowledge within 5 business days; substantive response within 90 days. The response must list the client's options, including OBSI.
CIRO IDPC Rule 3816 = trade confirmations. Content + delivery timing are prescriptive. Client statements are separately prescribed (3808).

Fixed-Income Gotchas

Bond prices and yields move in OPPOSITE directions. If rates rise, prices fall. If rates fall, prices rise.
YTM uses years REMAINING to maturity, not the original term. Recompute as time passes.
Bond sale proceeds = sale price + accrued interest. Accrued interest runs from the last coupon date to settlement.
Long bonds and low-coupon bonds are MORE price-volatile. Duration is the rough multiplier.
Equity and long-term debt trades settle T+1 (since May 27, 2024). Government of Canada T-bill auctions also settle T+1.
Semi-annual bond math: divide annual rate by 2, double the number of periods.

Equity & Margin Edge Cases

Long margin tiers: $2.00+ = 50%, $1.75–1.99 = 60%, $1.50–1.74 = 80%, under $1.50 = 100%.
Short-sale margin: $0.25–1.49 = 100% of market value. Under $0.25 = $0.25 per share. SHORT sales must be DECLARED at the time of the trade.
If a long margin position gains value, loan value rises and excess margin appears (can be withdrawn or used).
Day orders expire at the end of the trading day.
"Buy at $4.85 or less" = limit BUY order. No time specified = default DAY order.
Ex-dividend date = record date (post-2024 change). Last cum-dividend day = business day before record date.

Derivatives Quick Hits

1 stock option contract = 100 shares. Total premium = premium × 100 × contracts.
Call breakeven = strike + premium. Put breakeven = strike − premium.
Covered call = own the shares + write a call. Generates income, caps upside, downside still exists.
Protective put = own the shares + buy a put. Downside insurance on a long position.
Naked call = unlimited loss potential. Cash-secured put = obligation to buy at the strike if assigned.
Exchange-traded derivatives = standardized + clearinghouse-backed + easier to offset. OTC = customized + counterparty (default) risk.
Need long-dated protection = consider a LEAP put (long-term option).
Need to buy later and worried prices rise = buy futures NOW to lock the price.

Disclosure & Prospectus

Preliminary prospectus (red herring) = pre-receipt document. Cannot complete sales yet, but can solicit expressions of interest.
Right of withdrawal window = 2 business days after receipt (or deemed receipt) of the prospectus, or after the purchase agreement if that is later (NI 41-101 s.2A.4).
Material fact = a fact that could significantly affect the market price or value of the security.
Fund Facts (mutual funds) and ETF Facts are the key disclosure documents the CIRE syllabus names for these products.
Greenshoe / over-allotment option max = 15% of the base offering (NI 41-101).

Corporate & Insider Thresholds

Private issuer exemption (NI 45-106) = no more than 50 beneficial owners, not counting employees. Public corporation can offer shares to the public.
Early-warning threshold = 10% or more of a class of voting or equity securities. News release by the opening of trading on the next business day; report within 2 business days (NI 62-104 s.5.2).
Take-over bid threshold = 20% or more of a class, counting the offeror's own securities (NI 62-104).
Holding more than 10% of the voting rights makes a person an insider.
Annual audited statements within 90 days (non-venture issuers, e.g. TSX) or 120 days (venture issuers, e.g. TSXV). Interim reports within 45 or 60 days (NI 51-102).

Economy & Monetary Policy

Bank of Canada inflation target band = 1% to 3% (2% midpoint).
Bank of Canada acts as fiscal AGENT for the federal government (manages its funds).
Monetary policy takes six to eight quarters to have its full effect on inflation.
Repo = BoC INJECTS cash, rates go DOWN. Reverse repo = BoC DRAINS cash, rates go UP.
Drawdown = cash MOVES FROM chartered banks to BoC; rates rise. Redeposit = cash moves FROM BoC to chartered banks; rates fall.
Coincident indicators up + leading indicators down = expansion now, recession risk ahead.

Final Memory Hooks

Registrant Prep · CIRE 2026

→Bond rates up = prices DOWN
→YTM uses years REMAINING
→Stocks and long-term bonds settle T+1
→Option contract = 100 shares
→Call BE = strike + premium
→Different branch, same bank = one CDIC limit
→Ex-div = record date (post-2024)
→Greenshoe = 15%
→Early warning = 10%
→Complaints: 5 biz days / 90 days

You are protecting the pass now. Review this, then rest.

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