- Dec 30, 2025
Updated: 12 hours ago
The ACI Dealing Certificate is widely regarded as a practical qualification — yet many capable candidates fail or underperform for reasons that have nothing to do with intelligence or experience.
After decades of training market professionals, I see the same exam mistakes repeated again and again. If you’re preparing for the ACI Dealing Certificate, avoiding these errors can make the difference between a comfortable pass and an expensive resit.
1. Studying the textbook instead of the exam
The official ACI material is comprehensive — but the exam is selective.
A common mistake is treating the qualification like an academic course. The exam rewards:
Familiarity with question style
Recognition of conventions
Speed and accuracy under pressure
Successful candidates study how questions are asked, not just the theory behind them.
2. Ignoring market conventions
This is one of the biggest mark-killers in the entire exam.
Typical convention errors include:
Incorrect spot dates
Wrong day-count conventions
Confusing base and variable currencies
These topics appear repeatedly and are easy marks when properly learned — yet many candidates lose them through assumption rather than knowledge.
3. Mixing up bid and offer
Under time pressure, even experienced market participants make avoidable bid/offer mistakes.
Common errors:
Buying at the offer when the question implies selling
Adding FX points when they should be subtracted
Always slow down when reading bid/offer questions — one word can change the entire answer.
4. Overthinking simple questions
The ACI exam is not designed to trick candidates with unnecessary complexity.
Many lost marks come from:
Turning definition questions into calculations
Looking for “hidden meaning” that doesn’t exist
If a question looks simple, it probably is. Take the mark and move on.
5. Poor time management
The exam gives roughly one and a half minutes per question. (70 questions in 2 hours).
A frequent mistake is spending too long on early calculations, then rushing:
Straightforward theory questions
Risk and applications sections
Best practice is to:
Answer what you know instantly
Skip longer calculations
Return with remaining time
6. Weak formula familiarity
Knowing formulae is not the same as being able to use them quickly.
Candidates often fail because they:
Try to re-derive formulas in the exam
Forget signs or conventions
Panic under time pressure
Formulas should be automatic, not reconstructed.
7. Poor FX logic — even when the maths is right
Some candidates calculate correctly but interpret incorrectly.
Typical mistakes include:
Forgetting that higher interest rate currencies trade at a forward discount
Producing answers that make no market sense
If the result contradicts basic FX logic, revisit the question before moving on.
8. Not using educated guesses
There is no negative marking in the ACI exam — yet candidates still leave questions unanswered.
Effective candidates:
Eliminate obviously wrong options
Make educated guesses
Never leave questions blank
This alone can add several percentage points to a final score.
9. Neglecting applications and risk sections
Candidates often over-focus on FX and interest rates, then underperform in:
Risk management
Market structure
Financial Markets Applications
These areas are high-scoring and less calculation-heavy, making them valuable pass-boosters.
10. Treating the exam as academic rather than practical
The ACI Dealing Certificate is set by market practitioners through the ACI Financial Markets Association.
The correct mindset is not:
“What does the textbook say?”
But:
“What would a dealer or treasury professional do in this situation?”
That practical lens is what the exam is designed to test.
Final thoughts
Most candidates who fail the ACI Dealing Certificate do not fail through lack of knowledge. They fail through:
Poor exam technique
Weak understanding of conventions
Inadequate time management
Mock exams, focused revision, and exam-specific preparation consistently outperform endless reading.
Prepare the ACI exam the way dealers think
Swapskills provides exam-focused ACI preparation designed around real exam behaviour, not theory alone.
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