FIA Cheat Sheet 2026

The 30 highest-yield FIA facts, distilled from real exam questions. Print it, save it as a PDF, or study it here — free, no sign-up.

1. An AML compliance officer at a broker-dealer receives a subpoena from law enforcement requesting customer account records. The correct first step is to: → Contact legal counsel and follow firm procedures before producing any records
2. The SEC's Market Access Rule (Rule 15c3-5) requires broker-dealers to implement risk management controls before providing customers with: → Direct market access or sponsored access to trade in securities
3. What does 'systemic risk' refer to in financial regulation? → Risk of collapse of an entire financial system due to interconnected failures
4. Which regulation focuses on data privacy? → GDPR
5. A bank's leverage ratio under U.S. regulatory requirements is calculated as Tier 1 capital divided by: → Total average assets
6. Which of the following is a leading economic indicator? → Stock market performance
7. What does IPO stand for in the context of capital markets? → Initial Public Offering
8. Which of the following best describes a 'know your customer' (KYC) obligation under FINRA Rule 2090? → Using reasonable diligence to know the essential facts about every customer and account
9. A commodity producer who sells futures contracts to lock in a future sale price is engaging in: → A short hedge to protect against falling prices
10. The SEC's Regulation S-P primarily governs: → Privacy of consumer financial information held by broker-dealers
11. Why is competitor analysis important? → To improve strategic positioning
12. The Dodd-Frank Act's whistleblower program, administered by the SEC, incentivizes individuals to report securities violations by offering: → Monetary awards between 10% and 30% of sanctions exceeding $1 million
13. What does 'triangular arbitrage' involve in the FX market? → Exploiting price discrepancies among three currency pairs to earn a risk-free profit
14. What is the 'basis' in commodity futures trading? → The difference between the local cash (spot) price and the futures price
15. Which cybersecurity framework is most commonly adopted by US financial institutions for managing information security risk? → NIST Cybersecurity Framework
16. Which of the following is a key function of the Securities Investor Protection Corporation (SIPC)? → Protecting investors if a brokerage firm fails
17. What does the term 'spot rate' refer to in the foreign exchange market? → The rate for currency exchange settled immediately or within two business days
18. What is the role of consumer confidence index? → Shows consumer optimism
19. Under the Bank Secrecy Act (BSA), a Currency Transaction Report (CTR) must be filed for cash transactions exceeding: → $10,000 in a single day
20. The cost-of-carry model for commodity futures pricing includes all of the following EXCEPT: → Dividend yield on the underlying asset
21. Which provision of the Dodd-Frank Act restricts proprietary trading by banks? → Volcker Rule
22. The Liquidity Coverage Ratio (LCR) requires banks to hold enough high-quality liquid assets to cover: → 30 days of net cash outflows under a stress scenario
23. Which term describes the risk that a counterparty in an FX transaction will fail to deliver the agreed currency? → Settlement risk (Herstatt risk)
24. Which of the following is classified as a 'soft commodity'? → Coffee
25. What is a recession? → Economic decline
26. Which regulation requires public companies to disclose financial information accurately? → Sarbanes-Oxley Act
27. What is 'tokenization' in the context of payment security? → Replacing sensitive card data with a non-sensitive substitute value
28. The Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) imposes which of the following duties on plan fiduciaries? → Acting solely in the interest of plan participants and beneficiaries
29. Which exchange rate regime allows the currency's value to be determined entirely by market supply and demand? → Free float (clean float)
30. What does a country's 'current account deficit' indicate about its currency trade flows? → The country imports more goods and services than it exports