What is the CMFAS M8 exam?
Module 8 (M8), Collective Investment Schemes, is one of the Capital Markets and Financial Advisory Services (CMFAS) examinations run by the Singapore College of Insurance (SCI). It tests whether you understand the funds you will be recommending: unit trusts, ETFs, REITs, money market funds and other collective investment schemes (CIS), plus the investment theory and the rules behind them. Representatives of financial advisers who want to advise on CIS need the relevant CIS module under MAS Notice FAA-N26, together with the relevant rules and regulations module (SCI pairs M8 with Module 5, Rules and Regulations for Financial Advisory Services). Your compliance department will tell you exactly which modules apply to you.
TestReady SG is an independent practice platform and is not connected to SCI, IBF or MAS. Our questions are original practice questions written from the Securities and Futures Act, the Code on Collective Investment Schemes, MAS notices and MAS MoneySense guides, not past exam questions.
Exam format
| Item | M8 |
|---|---|
| Questions | 50 multiple-choice questions |
| Time | 1 hour |
| Pass mark | 70%, so at least 35 out of 50 |
| Marking | One mark per correct answer, no marks lost for wrong or blank answers |
| Mode | Closed-book computer screen exam in English |
| Result | Result slip only, no certificate |
There is no limit on resits. Because wrong answers are not penalised, never leave a question blank. With 50 questions in 60 minutes you have 72 seconds a question, so leave time for the calculation questions.
M8, M8A and CM-CIS: how they fit together
SCI also runs M8A, Collective Investment Schemes II, which covers structured products, derivatives and structured funds. It is also 50 questions in 1 hour with a 70% pass mark. CM-CIS combines the two: 100 questions in 2 hours, split into Part I (the M8 chapters) and Part II (the M8A chapters), and you need at least 70% in each part. This page and our question bank cover the M8 syllabus, which is also Part I of CM-CIS. They do not cover the structured products and derivatives content of M8A.
What the M8 syllabus covers
SCI lists eight chapters for M8. We group them into four practice sections:
- Investment Assets and Financial Markets (Chapters 1 to 3): shares, bonds, money market instruments, credit ratings, alternative investments, primary and secondary markets, OTC trading and the forms of market efficiency.
- Risk, Return and Time Value of Money (Chapters 4 to 6): holding period and compound returns, standard deviation, beta, CAPM, the Sharpe ratio, correlation and diversification, modern portfolio theory, present and future values, annuities, inflation, time horizon and asset allocation.
- Unit Trusts: Structure, Pricing and Charges (Chapter 7): the roles of the manager and trustee, NAV and unit pricing, bid and offer versus single pricing, sales and redemption charges, TER, performance fees, dealing, suspension, valuation errors and reports to unitholders.
- Fund Products and CIS Regulation (Chapter 8 and the rules): authorised and recognised schemes, the prospectus and Product Highlights Sheet, the Code's investment and borrowing limits, money market funds, capital guaranteed funds, index funds and ETFs, REITs, and the CKA and CAR rules for Specified Investment Products.
Calculations to practise
Expect simple calculations. The ones that come up most in our bank are NAV per unit, offer price and units allocated after a sales charge, redemption proceeds after a charge, holding period return, CAPM, the Sharpe ratio, portfolio expected return, future and present values, annuities, effective annual rates, REIT leverage and interest coverage. Check SCI's calculator policy before exam day.
How to prepare
- Learn the Code's key limits. For example: 10% single entity and 20% group limits, borrowing for no more than one month and 10% of NAV, redemption proceeds within T+7 business days, one month's notice of significant changes, and 50% leverage with 1.5 times interest cover for REITs.
- Know who does what. Many questions turn on whether a duty belongs to the manager, the trustee, the distributor or the investor.
- Work every calculation twice. Most wrong answers in calculation questions come from a missed step, such as forgetting a distribution or a sales charge.
- Practise under time pressure. Full timed mocks show you your pace and your weak sections.
- Use the official study text. SCI provides the M8 eBook. Use our questions to test yourself, not as a replacement for it.
Rules change: our questions follow the Securities and Futures Act and the Code on Collective Investment Schemes (revised 2 July 2026) as in force on 6 October 2026. If your exam is much later, check SCI's page and the eBook's version control record for updates.
Three worked examples
One question from different sections of the full pack, with the answer and explanation.
An investor who holds ordinary shares in a company is best described as:
- A part-owner of the company
- A lender to the company
- A creditor with a fixed coupon
- A guarantor of the company's debts
You buy units at $1.20, receive a distribution of $0.05 per unit and later sell at $1.30. What is your holding period return, ignoring charges?
- 8.3%
- 12.5%
- 11.5%
- 4.2%
Which statement about unit trusts and funds is correct?
- Every fund sold in Singapore must be a unit trust
- A unit trust is a company whose investors are all registered as its ordinary shareholders
- A unit trust always includes life insurance cover
- A unit trust is a fund that uses a trust structure, but not every fund does