Most candidates meet these two papers as codes on a compliance email — M6 and M6A — and assume the split is administrative, one paper being the sequel to the other. It is not. The line between them is a regulatory line about product complexity, and it runs through Singapore’s retail distribution rules. Understand why it exists and both syllabuses stop looking like arbitrary product lists.
In one line
M6 is now CM-EIP and M6A is now CM-SIP. The split is not "basic versus advanced" — it mirrors a regulatory classification that decides what a firm must do before a customer is allowed to deal in a product.
The codes changed in 2024, and the new names carry the syllabus
When the new CMFAS examinations took effect on 1 April 2024, the product knowledge modules were renamed to reflect the securities and derivatives product classifications under the Securities and Futures Act. The IBF announcement implementing the change sets out the mapping directly:
- Module 6 — Securities Products and Analysis became CM-EIP — Capital Markets, Excluded Investment Products: Securities, Collective Investment Schemes (EIP) and Foreign Exchange.
- Module 6A — Securities and Futures Product Knowledge became CM-SIP — Capital Markets, Specified Investment Products: Derivatives and Collective Investment Schemes (SIP).
- A new combined examination, CM-CMP, covers securities, derivatives, collective investment schemes and foreign exchange in one paper.
Notice what changed. The old titles described a subject area; the new ones name a classification — the most useful thing to take from the rename, because it tells you the organising principle of each syllabus. If you are still working out which papers apply to you, the role-by-role breakdown in which CMFAS modules do I need covers the full rename table and the mapping from regulated activity to module list.
How this shows up on the paper: the scope of each exam is bounded by its own name. A question about a product that sits outside a paper’s classification is far more likely to be a distractor than a legitimate item.
Why the EIP and SIP split exists at all
Singapore’s framework starts from a plain observation: some investment products can be understood from ordinary investing experience, while others cannot. An investor who has bought shares before has a reasonable basis for understanding another share, and no particular basis for understanding an instrument whose payoff depends on an embedded derivative, a barrier condition or a leverage multiple.
Rather than banning the second category, the regulatory response was to put a competence gate on both sides of the transaction. On the customer’s side, the firm must check whether that customer has the knowledge or experience for this kind of product. On the representative’s side, the gate is the exam you are sitting — you should not be distributing complex products you cannot explain.
That is why CM-SIP exists as a separate paper rather than a longer chapter inside CM-EIP. The two are not tiers of difficulty. They are two sides of a classification that carries different legal consequences.
How this shows up on the paper: questions rarely ask “what is a SIP” in the abstract. They give you a product and a customer, and ask what follows.
What each paper broadly covers
| Comparison point | CM-EIP (formerly M6) | CM-SIP (formerly M6A) |
|---|---|---|
| Classification | Excluded Investment Products | Specified Investment Products |
| Broad product territory | Securities, certain collective investment schemes, foreign exchange | Derivatives and certain collective investment schemes |
| Typical distinguishing feature | Structure and risks reasonably understandable from ordinary experience | Complexity commonly arising from derivative elements, leverage or conditional payoffs |
| Customer-side consequence | Generally no SIP-specific knowledge assessment | Knowledge or experience assessment generally required before dealing |
| Where candidates slip | Assuming “familiar” always means excluded | Assuming “risky” always means specified |
Read the last row twice. Both papers punish the same instinct — reasoning from how a product feels rather than from how it is classified.
Never memorise a product list as authority
The table above is deliberately broad. Which specific products fall on which side of the EIP/SIP line is set by the regulator and applied through your firm's compliance policies, and both the classification and the surrounding requirements have been revised over time. Study the reasoning, then take the current classification from the official syllabus, MAS materials and your compliance team — not from a list copied off a forum.
Customer knowledge assessment: the rule these papers serve
If you learn one linkage between syllabus and practice, make it this one. Where a customer wants to deal in specified investment products, the distributor is generally required to assess first whether that customer has the relevant knowledge or experience. Two forms of that assessment are commonly referenced: a Customer Knowledge Assessment (CKA) for unlisted SIPs, and a Customer Account Review (CAR) for listed SIPs.
The assessment is not a formality that ends when the form is signed. What matters for the exam is what the representative does with the outcome — a customer who does not meet the criteria is not simply turned away in silence, and one who does meet them has not thereby been given advice. This is where product knowledge meets the conduct obligations in the rules papers, which is why the two halves of your module list reinforce each other. The CMFAS exam guide explains that rules-versus-product structure.
Worth knowing: MAS has consulted on changes in this area, including how the CKA and CAR criteria are framed. Treat the mechanics as live and confirm the current position rather than relying on older notes.
How this shows up on the paper: expect scenario items that turn on whether the product was listed or unlisted, and on what the representative did after the assessment result — not on reciting the assessment’s name.
The four boundaries that catch people out
Collective investment schemes sit on both sides. The single most confused point, and it is visible in the module names: “Collective Investment Schemes” appears in the full title of both CM-EIP and CM-SIP. A CIS is not automatically one or the other — its characteristics decide.
Listed versus unlisted is a different axis from EIP versus SIP. Whether a product is listed drives which form of customer assessment applies. It does not by itself determine the classification. Candidates routinely collapse the two axes into one and lose marks on both.
“Complex” in ordinary speech is not the classification. A product can be volatile, illiquid or capable of large losses and still not be specified. Risk and complexity are related in spirit, but they are not the same test.
The wrapper is not always the underlying. How an exposure is packaged can change the classification even when the economics look similar. Reason about the instrument in front of you, not the exposure behind it.
How to study a classification-heavy paper
Papers built on classification reward one habit: never learn a product in isolation, always learn it against its nearest neighbour. For every product, be able to say what it is classified as, what makes it so, and which similar product falls on the other side of the line. If you cannot state the neighbour, you have learned a label — and labels are exactly what well-written distractors attack.
Then drill. Reading produces recognition; answering questions produces retrieval, and only retrieval survives an exam hall. Review every wrong answer until you can say why each distractor was wrong, because on a classification paper the distractor usually encodes the confusion the examiner was hunting for. The mock questions and study plan sets out that loop, and the registration and exam day guide covers the logistics so admin does not eat your revision time.
One detail worth planning around: the IBF announcement implementing the new exams stated that passing marks were unchanged, at 75% for the RES and RESP modules and 70% for the product knowledge modules — the group CM-EIP and CM-SIP belong to. Confirm the current figure with the examination body before you sit.
Where these papers sit in a career
CM-EIP and CM-SIP are capital markets papers, administered on the IBF side rather than through the insurance and advisory route. If you are mapping a broader path into the industry, how to become a financial adviser in Singapore sets out how licensing, examinations and appointment fit together.
An honest note on what this site can and cannot help with. CMFAS KAKI provides original exam-style practice questions for the financial advisory and insurance modules — RES 5, M9, M9A and HI. It does not include a question bank for CM-EIP or CM-SIP. If those are your papers, prepare from the current IBF study guides; the study method above transfers, but our questions do not cover these two modules. If your list also includes the advisory or insurance papers, see what the app does cover.
Module names, formats and requirements can change — always confirm the latest details with the official CMFAS examination body before you register. Nothing here is investment advice or a licensing determination. CMFAS KAKI provides original practice questions and is not affiliated with MAS, IBF, SCI or any examination institute.
Quick answers
Frequently asked questions
Clear answers to the questions candidates usually need before choosing a paper or planning their study.
What are CMFAS M6 and M6A now called?
They were renamed when the new CMFAS examinations took effect on 1 April 2024. The IBF announcement implementing the new exams lists Module 6, Securities Products and Analysis, as becoming CM-EIP — Capital Markets, Excluded Investment Products, covering securities, collective investment schemes (EIP) and foreign exchange. Module 6A, Securities and Futures Product Knowledge, became CM-SIP — Capital Markets, Specified Investment Products, covering derivatives and collective investment schemes (SIP). A combined module, CM-CMP, was introduced alongside them. Search by the current codes when you buy study material.
What is the difference between EIP and SIP?
The distinction is a regulatory one about product complexity, not about risk level or returns. Excluded Investment Products are broadly those whose structure and risks a retail investor can reasonably be expected to understand without extra safeguards. Specified Investment Products are broadly those with features — commonly derivative elements, leverage or conditional payoffs — that warrant additional checks before a customer deals in them. The authoritative classification for any given product comes from the regulator and your firm's compliance function, and it can change, so never work from a memorised list.
Why does the customer knowledge assessment matter for these papers?
Because it is the practical consequence of the SIP classification, and the papers test consequences rather than labels. Where a customer wants to deal in specified investment products, a distributor is generally required to assess whether that customer has the relevant knowledge or experience first — a Customer Knowledge Assessment for unlisted SIPs and a Customer Account Review for listed ones. Exam questions typically give you a scenario and ask which assessment applies and what the representative must do about the outcome.
Do I need both CM-EIP and CM-SIP?
Not necessarily. Which examinations apply to you follows the regulated activity your firm intends to appoint you for, and the applicable CMFAS exams for each regulated activity are set out in MAS Notice SFA 04-N22. A representative whose scope is limited to excluded investment products has a different requirement from one dealing in the full range of capital markets products. Your compliance team confirms the scope; the examination body confirms which modules that scope requires. Check both before you register or pay for anything.
Does CMFAS KAKI have practice questions for M6 and M6A?
No. CMFAS KAKI covers the financial advisory and insurance side — RES 5, M9, M9A and HI — and does not currently include question banks for CM-EIP or CM-SIP, the modules formerly known as M6 and M6A. If you are preparing for the capital markets product papers, work from the current IBF study guides for those modules. The study method described across this site still transfers, but the practice questions in the app do not cover these two papers.