Modern portfolio theory distinguishes between systematic risk and unsystematic risk. Systematic risk is market-wide risk that affects most assets, such as recession risk, inflation shocks, or broad interest rate changes. This type of risk cannot be eliminated simply by holding more securities because it is driven by common economic factors. Unsystematic risk, also called specific or idiosyncratic risk, relates to individual companies, sectors, or issuers, such as management failure, product issues, litigation, or a single borrower default. Effective diversification reduces unsystematic risk because the negative impact of one holding is offset by other holdings that are not perfectly correlated. As the number of holdings increases and exposures are spread across sectors and issuers, the portfolio's specific risk is diluted, leaving the investor primarily exposed to systematic risk. CISI questions often test this exact distinction and the implication that diversification is a risk-reduction tool, but it does not remove market risk. The operational and inherent risk options are distractors and do not describe the core MPT risk decomposition.

Because the interest is credited at the end of each year and left in the account, the investor earns compound interest. The correct approach is to apply the compound interest formula: future value equals principal multiplied by one plus the annual rate raised to the number of years. Here, the principal is €1,000, the annual interest rate is 3% or 0.03, and the term is 5 years. The calculation is €1,000 × 1.03^5. Step-by-step, 1.03^2 is
1.0609, 1.03^4 is 1.0609^2 = 1.12550881, and multiplying once more by 1.03 gives 1.1592740743.
Multiplying by €1,000 gives €1,159.2740743, which rounds to €1,159.27. The main exam trap is using simple interest, which would add €30 each year and give €1,150 after five years, but that ignores interest-on-interest.
Therefore, the correct option is €1,159.27.

Assessing health protection priorities aims to identify and measure the client's exposure to financial loss from illness or injury and to determine the scale and urgency of any protection gap. The adviser considers the client' s income dependence, existing sick pay or business cover, emergency savings, ongoing commitments, dependants, and the impact of reduced earning capacity. The outcome is not the automatic creation of a new policy, because product selection only follows once needs and constraints are clear and affordability has been tested. It also does not remove the need to address other planning areas such as retirement, debt management, or investment objectives, because financial planning is holistic and priorities must be balanced. While good planning and accurate disclosure can reduce underwriting surprises, an assessment cannot ensure exclusions will not be imposed, since exclusions depend on medical underwriting and insurer terms. The most realistic and syllabus-aligned outcome is a quantified picture of whether the client should act, how much cover may be needed, and which risks are most material so informed decisions can be made.

A central counterparty reduces counterparty credit risk by becoming the buyer to every seller and the seller to every buyer. This process, often described as novation, means each trading participant faces the CCP rather than facing the original counterparty directly. By interposing itself between counterparties, the CCP centralises and manages default risk through mechanisms such as margining, default funds, netting of exposures, and robust risk controls. This structure lowers the risk that the failure of one market participant will cascade through the system, because the CCP's risk management framework is designed to absorb shocks and ensure trades can still be settled. Delivery versus payment is an important settlement risk control, but it is not the defining CCP feature in this question because DvP can exist without a CCP. Electronic book entry and dematerialisation relate to how securities are recorded and transferred, not to the core credit risk reduction mechanism of central clearing. The key risk reduction feature is that the CCP stands in the middle of the trade, replacing bilateral exposures with a centrally managed exposure.

* Long Futures Contract Defined
* A long futures contract represents a commitment to buy an underlying asset at a set price on a future date.
* Closing Out the Position
* If the holder sells the contract before expiry, they are said toclose out the position, effectively negating their obligation to take delivery of the underlying asset.
* Why the Answer is B
* Selling ahead of expiry removes the obligation, hence closing the position.
* Why Other Options are Incorrect
* A. Exercised: Applies to options, not futures.
* C. Taken delivery: Happens only if the contract is held to maturity.
* D. Delivered: Applies to the short position, not the long holder.
* ICWIM Study Guide, Chapter on Derivatives: Explains closing out futures contracts.
* Futures Market Principles: Discusses position management in futures trading.
References