CMFAS RES5 Part I vs Part II: What's Tested

RES5 is one exam with two parts, and the names undersell how differently they behave. Part I — Rules & Regulations is 110 of the 150 questions, drawn from 13 syllabus topics that are largely named MAS Notices and Guidelines you have to recall precisely. Part II — Ethics & Skills is only 40 questions, but SCI spreads them across 14 topics — more subject areas than Part I — and sets the higher pass mark. This guide maps every topic to its part, works through what the two thresholds actually cost you, and shows how to split your study time between them.

The split SCI publishes

Both parts sit inside the same computer-screen, multiple-choice paper — 150 questions over 3 hours — so the mechanics are identical. What differs is the content, the share of the paper, the number of topics it is drawn from, and the bar each part has to clear on its own:

For the full mechanics — timing, on-screen format and what happens on the day — see our RES5 exam format guide.

The counter-intuitive bit: Part II covers more ground on fewer questions

Most candidates read “110 versus 40” and conclude Part II is the small, easy afterthought. Compare the topiccounts and the picture inverts: SCI draws Part II's 40 questions from 14 numbered topics, one more than Part I's 13.

Two consequences follow, and they shape how you should study each part.

• Part I has high-yield topics; Part II does not. With about eight questions behind an average Part I topic, mastering one dense block — the MAS Notices topics, say — visibly moves your score. Part II has no equivalent lever. No single ethics or financial-planning topic is worth farming, because on average none of them is worth more than a handful of marks.
• A Part II blind spot is disproportionately expensive. Skip one Part II topic and, on average, you have spent roughly three of the eight wrong answers you were allowed — before you have made a single genuine mistake anywhere else. Skip two and you are effectively sitting the part needing near-perfection on what remains. The same reasoning does not bite in Part I, where 27 wrong answers absorb a lot of unevenness.

What is actually in Part I (topics 1–13)

Part I is the regulatory backbone. Notice its shape: six of the thirteen topics — 3, 4, 6, 8, 9 and 10 — are essentially lists of named MAS Notices and Guidelines. That is why Part I rewards precise recall of which instrument governs what rather than a general feel for good conduct.

• 1–2. Financial Advisers Act 2001 and the FA Regulations — financial advisers and representatives; conduct of business, powers of authority and offences. FAA & representatives, conduct of business
• 3, 4 & 6. MAS Notices, Parts I–III — FAA-N16, FAA-N03 and FAA-N11; FAA-N02, FAA-N10, FAA-N12, FAA-N14, FAA-N20 and FAA-N26; then FAA-N17, FSM-N23, FAA-N19 and FSM-N24. notice reference map, suitability & Balanced Scorecard
• 5. MAS Notice FAA-N06 — AML/CFT — prevention of money laundering and countering the financing of terrorism. CDD, EDD & PEPs, STRs & tipping-off
• 7. MAS Notice 307 — investment-linked policies.
• 8–10. MAS Guidelines, Parts I–III — including FAA-G01, FSG-G01, FAA-G04, FAA-G05 and Circular CMI 01/2011; FAA-G09, FAA-G10, FSG-G04 and FAA-G14; FAA-G13, FAA-G15, FAA-G16, CMG-G02 and FSG-G02. Fair Dealing guidelines
• 11–13. Three self-contained blocks — the Revised Code on Collective Investment Schemes; securities dealing and market conduct; and the Central Provident Fund. the CIS Code, CPF

Because Part I is dense with look-alike instruments and roles, the failure mode is passive reading. Distinctions such as which obligation binds the licensed firm versus the individual representative only stick once you have tested yourself on them and seen how the exam phrases the trap.

What is actually in Part II (topics 14–27)

The name “Ethics & Skills” is literally a seven-and-seven split in the syllabus: topics 14–20 are the ethics block, and topics 21–27 walk the financial planning process end to end.

The ethics block — topics 14–20

• 14–17. Why professional ethics matter; professionalism; ethical behaviour; unethical behaviour. professional ethics, ethical vs unethical behaviour
• 18–20. Conflict of interest; fair dealing; ethical marketing and sale of financial products. conflicts, ethical marketing

The skills block — topics 21–27

• 21–23.Developing client–representative relationships; fact finding and needs analysis; analysing and evaluating a client's financial status. fact finding, needs analysis
• 24–27.Developing appropriate strategies and solutions; presenting analysis and solutions to clients; reviewing clients' portfolios; the basic financial planning guide. strategies & reviews, the planning process

Read as a list, this looks like common sense. It is not marked as common sense. Part II questions typically place a duty inside a client scenario and ask what the representative should do — so the mark turns on applying the rule to those particular facts. Our worked scenario questions guide shows the method.

Which part is harder?

The useful answer is that they are hard in different senses: Part I is harder to learn, Part II is harder to pass.

Part I carries the memory load. Dozens of individually named notices and guidelines, several of which sound alike, and a syllabus that expects you to know which one governs which subject. That is a real number of hours, and it is where most candidates' study time honestly goes.

But hours are not where candidates get caught. Part II's 80% threshold across just 40 questions leaves room for eight wrong answers— against 27 across Part I's 110. A patchy grasp that would be comfortably survivable at Part I's bar will fail you at Part II's.

For a realistic look at the overall difficulty topic by topic, see how hard RES5 really is.

How to prepare for both

Treat the two parts as related but distinct campaigns — different time budgets, and different standards.

1. Give Part I the hours, but give Part II the standard

Part I is 110 of 150 questions and the densest material, so it earns the majority of your study hours. Work through the regulatory topicsin SCI's published order — the later ones assume the earlier ones. What Part II needs is not necessarily more hours but a higher hit rate: do not stop drilling it at “mostly right”, because 80% is the bar it has to clear.

2. In Part I, drill the look-alike instruments until they separate

3. In Part II, sweep all 14 topics rather than deep-diving a few

Because the average Part II topic carries only about three questions and you can only miss eight, even coverage beats depth. Go through the ethics block and the planning-process block in turn and make sure none of the 14 is a blank — the planning-process topics (21–27) are the ones candidates most often leave until it is too late, because they feel less like “rules” and more like process.

4. Judge readiness per part, not on an overall score

In the final stretch, sit full timed mocks in the real format — but read the result the way SCI does, as two separate hurdles. An overall percentage can hide a Part II that is quietly below 80%. Try a free timed mock first, with no sign-up, to see where you stand.

For the full study plan covering both parts, read how to pass RES5, and for the materials themselves see our RES5 study options guide.

The bottom line

Part I and Part II sit in one paper but test opposite ends of the job: 13 topics of precise regulation against 14 topics of applied ethics and client-facing process. Part I carries the weight, so it earns the bigger share of your hours — drill its named notices and guidelines until they separate. Part II carries the higher threshold across more topics and fewer questions, so it needs even coverage and a higher hit rate, and you should judge your readiness per part rather than on an overall mock score. Create a free account and start practising today — the first 15 questions in every topic are free.