CySEC Certifications: Basic, Advanced and AML
All Cyprus Investment Firms (CIFs) must employ professionals with the necessary qualifications for their roles within the regulated entity, which offers investment and related services.
A person currently holding or seeking such a position within a CIF is required to obtain a Professional Competence Certificate by CySEC, demonstrating their capability to perform these activities. The purpose of these CySEC certification exams is to ensure candidates can apply a level of knowledge and understanding appropriate for individuals engaged in the services delivered by Investment Firms.
In this article, the SALVUS Education team provides insights on the CySEC Certifications as below:
1.Basic Financial Services Legal Framework Examination
2. Advanced Financial Services Legal Framework Examination
3.Anti-Money Laundering Compliance Officers (AMLCO) Examination
1. The CySEC Basic Financial Services Legal Framework Examination
The purpose of the examination is stated as follows by CySEC “The objective of the examination is to ensure candidates can apply a level of knowledge and understanding appropriate for individuals engaged in the reception, transmission and execution of client orders and the marketing of Collective Investment Schemes.”
The persons required to obtain the basic financial framework examination are individuals providing or performing the below investment services:
- Reception and transmission of orders
- Execution of orders
- Individuals who work in a UCITS Management Company or a VCIC that manages UCITS and provides the service of marketing the units
The examination consists of 50 multiple-choice questions to be completed within 60 minutes. Individuals must score at least 70% to pass the certification. In the below table we indicate the content of the CySEC Basic Syllabus along with the indicative questions per chapter.
| Chapter | Questions |
|---|---|
| Chapter 1 - Investment Services and Activities And Regulated Markets Laws (MiFID II) (2017) Scope/ Powers/ Offences | 4 |
| Chapter 2 - Cypriot Investment Firms (CIF) | 12 |
| Chapter 3 - Investment Services and Activities and Regulated Markets Laws Cypriot Investment Firms and Banks | 8 |
| Chapter 4 - Markets in Financial Instruments Regulation (2014) (MiFIR) | 5 |
| Chapter 5 - Insider Dealing and Market Manipulation Regulation (2016) | 8 |
| Chapter 6 - Open-Ended Undertakings for Collective Investment Laws (2012-2016) | 5 |
| Chapter 7 - Alternative Investments | 6 |
| Chapter 8 - The Prevention And Suppression Of Money Laundering And Terrorist Financing Laws Of 2007-2017 | 2 |
| Total | 50 |
* The number of questions tested in each element should not change by more than plus or minus 2.
At SALVUS, we offer The Most Complete™ CySEC Basic Certification self-study course by SALVUS to help professionals prepare for the examination. Follow the instructions to register for the CySEC Basic examination.
When candidates obtain the CySEC Basic Certification, they shall complete annually 10 hours of CPD-relevant seminars.
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2. Advanced Financial Services Legal Framework Examination:
The purpose of the examination is stated as follows by CySEC “To provide (I) a test to ensure candidates can apply a level of knowledge and understanding appropriate for individuals engaged in the reception, transmission and execution of client orders and those engaged in the marketing of collective investment schemes and (II) a higher-level test for those individuals: dealing on a proprietary basis; managing portfolios; offering investment advice or underwriting financial instruments; performing the activities of collective portfolio management and risk management for collective investment schemes (either UCITS or AIFs).”
The advanced certificate is required for the following individuals:
1. Persons providing or performing the investment services of:
a. Dealing on own account
b. Portfolio management
c. Investment advice
d. Underwriting or placing financial instruments with or without a firm commitment
2. Persons employed in a UCITS Management Company or a VCIC and provide the following services:
a. UCITS Investment Management
b. Investment management
c. Investment advice
3. Persons employed to an AIF Manager or self-managed AIF and provide the following services:
a. Services described in section 6(5)(a) of AIFM Law and section 6(1)(a) of AIF Law
b. Marketing of AIF units
c. Management of a portfolio of investments d. All other services described in section 6(b) of the AIFM Law
The examination consists of 70 multiple-choice questions to be completed within 90 minutes. Individuals must score at least 70% to pass the certification. In the below table, we indicate the content of the CySEC Advanced Syllabus along with the indicative questions per chapter.
| Chapter | Questions |
|---|---|
| Chapter 1 - Investment Services and Activities And Regulated Markets Laws (MiFID II) (2017) Scope/ Powers/ Offences | 4 |
| Chapter 2 - Cypriot Investment Firms (CIF) | 8 |
| Chapter 3 - Investment Services and Activities and Regulated Markets Laws Cypriot Investment Firms and Banks | 8 |
| Chapter 4 - Open-Ended Undertakings for Collective Investment Laws (2012-2016) | 6 |
| Chapter 5 - Alternative Investments | 6 |
| Chapter 6 - The Business of Credit Institutions Laws of 1997-2016 | 2 |
| Chapter 7 - The Prevention And Suppression Of Money Laundering And Terrorist Financing Laws Of 2007-2017 | 5 |
| Chapter 8 - Markets in Financial Instruments Regulation (2014) (MiFIR) | 4 |
| Chapter 9 - Capital Adequacy Requirements | 8 |
| Chapter 10 - European Market Infrastracture Regulation (EMIR) | 4 |
| Chapter 11 - Recovery and Resolution Laws | 5 |
| Chapter 12 - Prospectus Law (2012-2016) | 2 |
| Chapter 13 - Transparency Law | 3 |
| Chapter 14 - Insider Dealing and Market Manipulation Regulation (2016) | 5 |
| Total | 70 |
*The number of questions tested in each element should not change by more than plus or minus 2.
At SALVUS, we offer The Most Complete™ CySEC Advanced Certification self-study course by SALVUS to help professionals prepare for the examination. Follow the instructions to register for the CySEC Advanced examination.
When candidates obtain the CySEC Advanced Certification, they shall complete annually 15 hours of CPD-relevant seminars.
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3. The Anti-Money Laundering Compliance Officers (AMLCO) Examination
The purpose of the examination, in accordance with CySEC, is to ensure that the professionals who are appointed as AMLCO carry the necessary knowledge, and can fulfil their assigned duties with competence.
The purpose of the examination, in accordance with CySEC, is to ensure that the professionals who are appointed as AMLCO carry the necessary knowledge, and can fulfil their assigned duties with competence.
This exam covers the below:
- Prevention and Suppression of Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing Laws
- CySEC’s Directive for the Prevention and Suppression of Money Laundering
- the Risk Factor Guidelines of the European Supervisory Authorities
The AMLCO certificate is required for the following individuals:
- All individuals who are appointed or are interested in being appointed as AMLCO at Cyprus Investment Firms regulated by CySEC
- Are already employed or appointed as AML compliance officers in CySEC-regulated entities
The examination consists of 40 multiple-choice questions to be completed within 60 minutes. Individuals must score at least 70% to pass the certification. In the below table, we indicate the content of the CySEC AML Syllabus along with the indicative questions per chapter.
| Chapter | |
|---|---|
| Chapter 1 | Introductory Provisions |
| Chapter 2 | Understanding Money Laundering, Terrorist Financing and Sanctions |
| Chapter 3 | Legal and Regulatory Requirements |
| Chapter 4 | The AML Compliance Culture |
| Chapter 5 | Assessing and Managing Risks |
| Chapter 6 | Know Your Customer (KYC) and Customer Due Diligence (CDD) |
| Chapter 7 | Transaction Monitoring & Suspicious Reporting |
| Chapter 8 | Crypto Asset Service Providers |
*The number of questions tested in each chapter is not specific, yet from our own experience, most of the questions are split between Chapters 2,5,6 and 7.
At SALVUS, we offer The Most Complete™ CySEC AML Certification self-study course by SALVUS to help professionals prepare for the examination. Follow the instructions to register for the CySEC Advanced examination.
When candidates obtain the CySEC Certification, they shall complete annually 10 hours of CPD-relevant seminars.
Annual CPD requirements:
Holders of CySEC Certifications are required to complete on an annual basis CPD hours to renew their Certificates.
- CySEC Basic Certification: 10 Hours CPD per year
- CySEC Advanced Certification: 15 Hours CPD per year
- CySEC AML Certification: 10 Hours CPD per year
- CySEC Basic &AML Certification: 15 Hours CPD per year
- CySEC Advanced & AML Certification: 20 Hours CPD per year
Renewal of Certificates shall be completed by the end of February every year through CySEC website.
We look forward to being of value in covering your training needs. Contact us at education@salvusfunds.com for more information.