What to Practise in CSC Calculations
CSCprep includes 150+ dedicated calculation questions. The goal is not formula memorization in isolation; it is recognizing which inputs matter and interpreting the result.
Fixed income
Coupon payments, current yield, accrued interest, bond pricing relationships, yields and return measures.
Equities & corporations
Dividend yield, earnings and valuation ratios, rights, leverage and financial-statement relationships.
Portfolio analysis
Expected return, risk measures, Sharpe-style comparisons, asset allocation and rebalancing.
Managed products & taxation
NAV/unit calculations, costs, returns, distributions, capital gains and real-return thinking.
Worked example: A $100,000 face-value bond has a 4.25% annual coupon and trades at $96,500. Annual coupon = $4,250. Current yield ≈ $4,250 ÷ $96,500 = 4.40%.
Exam Trap: coupon rate uses face value; current yield uses market price.
Two more CSC calculation examples with exam traps
1. Portfolio rebalancing
A $500,000 portfolio targets 60% equities and 40% fixed income. After a market move, equities are worth $340,000 and fixed income $160,000. Target equities = 0.60 × $500,000 = $300,000. Move approximately $40,000 from equities to fixed income to restore the target, before costs and other constraints.
Exam trap: use the current portfolio total, not the amount originally invested.
2. Dividend yield
A stock pays $1.20 per share annually and trades at $30. Dividend yield = $1.20 ÷ $30 = 4.0%. If the price rises to $40 with the dividend unchanged, the indicated yield becomes 3.0%.
Exam trap: an unchanged cash dividend does not mean an unchanged dividend yield when the market price moves.
How to review wrong CSC formula answers
For each miss, record: (1) what quantity the question asks for, (2) which inputs are relevant, (3) units and denominators, and (4) whether the result makes economic sense. For bonds, distinguish coupon rate, current yield and yield to maturity; they are not interchangeable. Explore the free CSC practice experience or the full course's 150+ calculation questions.