RES5 mock paper: 5 scenario questions with worked answers

Here's a short RES5 mock paper: five scenario questions with the answer, the rule behind it and the trap in the wrong options. Each one rests on a MAS notice in the RES 5 syllabus, mostly Notice FAA-N16 on recommending investment products, so you can check every answer against the source. A full mock paper is 150 questions in 3 hours, and these show the style that costs most marks: a client situation where the helpful-sounding option breaks a rule.

How the real RES 5 paper is marked

RES 5 has two pass marks. Part I's 110 questions need 75%, and Part II's 40 need 80%, in the same sitting. On Part II that's 32 right, so 8 wrong answers is your whole margin.

SCI doesn't release its exam questions, so nobody can sell you the real ones. What you can do is practise the reasoning. Answer each question below before you read the explanation, and be honest about which option you picked first. Our guide to the RES 5 pass marks shows how the two lines work together.

Question 1: the client who won't share his finances

Mr Lim, 45, wants the investment-linked policy his colleague bought. You ask about his income, his commitments and his dependants. He says that's private and asks you to just process it.

What should you do?

• A) Refuse to transact until he gives you the information.
• B) Proceed with his request, document his decision, and highlight to him in writing that it's his responsibility to make sure the product suits him.
• C) Fill in a moderate risk profile for him so the form is complete.
• D) Report him to the Suspicious Transaction Reporting Office.

Answer: B. FAA-N16 lists what an adviser should collect before recommending: objectives, risk tolerance, employment, finances, income, commitments, current investments and, for life policies, dependants. If a client won't provide it, the notice lets you go ahead with his request. You have to document his decision and tell him in writing that suitability is now his responsibility.

The trap is A. Refusing feels like the strict, safe answer, and the notice doesn't require it. C is worse: inventing a profile is the kind of misconduct the rules exist to stop. D mistakes privacy for money laundering.

Question 2: the client who picks a different plan

You recommend a regular-premium endowment to Ms Tan after a full needs analysis. She thanks you, then says she'd rather buy a different policy she read about online, one you didn't recommend.

What must you do if you go ahead?

• A) Nothing more, since she's an adult making her own choice.
• B) Refuse, because you can only sell what you recommended.
• C) Document her decision and highlight to her in writing that it's her responsibility to ensure the policy she chose suits her.
• D) Redo the needs analysis until it supports her choice.

Answer: C. FAA-N16 treats a client who rejects your recommendation the same way as one who won't give information. You may proceed with her request, but you document her decision and put the suitability warning in writing.

A is the trap. "She's an adult" is true, and it doesn't remove the paperwork. D is the one that gets representatives into trouble in real life, because it reverse-engineers an analysis to fit a sale.

Question 3: the unlisted structured product and the missing CV

Mr Ong wants an unlisted structured product, a Specified Investment Product. Your firm runs a Customer Knowledge Assessment, but Mr Ong won't say what he studied or what work and investment experience he has.

How should the assessment come out?

• A) Pass him, since he says he understands the product.
• B) Leave it incomplete and let him transact anyway.
• C) Deem him not to have the knowledge or experience for the product.
• D) Ask a family member to answer for him.

Answer: C. FAA-N16 says that where a client doesn't provide information on his education, investment experience or work experience, the adviser shall deem him not to possess the knowledge or experience. You then tell him the outcome. If he still wants to go ahead, you must give him advice that takes account of his objectives, finances and needs, and the outcome of the assessment.

A is tempting because confident clients often do understand. The notice doesn't care how confident he sounds.

Question 4: the client who passes and wants no advice

Ms Ng passes the Customer Knowledge Assessment for an unlisted Specified Investment Product. She tells you she knows what she wants and doesn't need advice.

Which is correct?

• A) You can skip offering advice, because she passed the assessment.
• B) You still offer advice. If she declines, you document her decision, highlight in writing that suitability is her responsibility, warn her in writing that she can't rely on section 27 of the Financial Advisers Act to file a civil claim, and confirm in writing that she wants to proceed without advice.
• C) You offer advice verbally and proceed if she declines. Nothing needs to be in writing.
• D) You must refuse, because a client can't decline advice on a Specified Investment Product.

Answer: B. A positive assessment doesn't let you skip the offer: FAA-N16 says you shall still offer advice. If she turns it down, every step in B has to happen, and most of them in writing.

C catches people who remember the steps but not the format. On this rule, "in writing" is the point.

Question 5: the recruit whose RES 5 pass lapsed

Daniel passed RES 5 in March 2022, took a job outside the industry, and was never appointed as a representative. Now, in October 2026, a financial adviser firm wants to appoint him.

What does he need?

• A) Nothing. A RES 5 pass never expires.
• B) To sit RES 5 again, because his pass lapsed when he didn't start as an appointed representative within three years.
• C) A letter from SCI confirming the old pass.
• D) Only the product papers, since RES 5 is already done.

Answer: B. Under MAS Notice FAA-N26, a RES 5 pass stops being valid if the person doesn't start as an appointed representative within three years of passing. Daniel's three years ran out in March 2025, so he has to sit and pass RES 5 again.

A is the assumption most people carry. It's worth knowing for your own timing too: book RES 5 close to the date your firm plans to appoint you.

What the five have in common

Every question here punishes the answer you'd give from habit and pays the one you'd give from the notice. These checks help under time pressure:

• When a client refuses something, the question is usually about what you must document and put in writing.
• A client who insists sets off a procedure, and the paperwork still follows.
• "Unlisted" and "Specified Investment Product" in the same question point to the Customer Knowledge Assessment rules.
• If an option says "verbally", check whether the rule says "in writing".

What a full RES5 mock paper should look like

A mock that prepares you for the real thing matches its shape: 150 questions in 3 hours, 110 from Part I's chapters 1 to 13 and 40 from Part II's chapters 14 to 27, with your two part scores checked against 75% and 80%. It should be written to the current study text, the 1st Edition, Version 1.3, which applies to exams from 22 September 2026. Before you pay for any set, read our comparison of RES 5 practice paper options.

Sit your first full mock about two weeks before your date, which leaves time to fix whatever chapters it exposes; our RES 5 study plan maps all four weeks.

Practise the rest

Five questions show you the style. Clearing 32 of 40 on Part II takes many more. Our RES 5 bank has 700+ questions across all 27 chapters, an explanation on every answer and full timed mocks in the real format. After each mock, your results point to up to three chapters below the pass mark, and a retest brings back the questions you missed. See what's covered on the RES 5 page or start RES 5 as a single paper.

Sources

• MAS, Notice FAA-N16 on recommendations on investment products, read 11 October 2026
• MAS, Notice FAA-N26 on competency requirements for representatives of financial advisers, read 11 October 2026
• SCI, RES5 exam details and contents, read 11 October 2026
• SCI, release of new versions of study texts for regulatory examinations, read 11 October 2026