CME-4B Exam for Asset Managers in Saudi Arabia: Guide | Hespah LLC [Skip to main content](#main-content)[![Hespah LLC](https://centralcdn.hespah.com/home_logolight_file2png.webp)](/en)Search More [Home](/en) [Learning Hub](/en/courses) [About us](https://hespah.com/who-we-are) [Blog](/en/blog) [Contact Us](/en/contact) Login[New Account](/en/register) 1. [Home](/en) / 2. [Blog](/en/blog) / 3. CME-4B Exam for Asset Managers: The Complete Guide CME-4B Exam for Asset Managers: The Complete Guide ================================================== 2026-10-17 / 1 week ago The current CME-4B workbook's validity window closes on 31 December 2026. Book now, postpone once, and you may face a different edition. What is the CME-4B exam, and who needs it? ------------------------------------------ CME-4B is a mandatory Capital Market Authority exam for anyone registering in a registrable function under the management activity: fund managers, portfolio managers, and their investment analysts. The Financial Academy delivers it with the Chartered Institute for Securities & Investment. It runs 30 minutes, the pass mark sits at 17, and the published fee is SAR 1,700. Its legal basis is paragraph (d) of Article 21 of the Capital Market Institutions Regulations: an applicant must pass the qualification exams the Authority requires unless it grants an exemption. So this is a registration condition, not a line that decorates a CV. CME-4B specification: 25 questions counted, not estimated --------------------------------------------------------- The exam page publishes three chapters and their weights: Investment Funds Regulations 56%, Real Estate Investment Funds Regulations (Public Real Estate Funds) 32%, and Market Conduct Regulations 12%. Most readers treat those as a rough guide. In fact they are exact question counts, because the official workbook closes with an "Examination Specification" table stating the split outright: Element Syllabus items Questions Published weight Investment Funds Regulations 22 14 56% Real Estate Investment Funds Regulations (Public Real Estate Funds) 11 8 32% Market Conduct Regulations 5 3 12% **Total** **38** **25** **100%** Likewise, the table caps that flexibility in its own words: "the number of questions tested in each element should not change by more than plus or minus 2". Therefore the weights describe hard boundaries, not a general tendency. ![CME-4B question split: 14, 8 and 3 with a pass mark of 17](https://centralcdn.hespah.com/uploads/emils/17922667220.jpeg "CME-4B question split: 14, 8 and 3 with a pass mark of 17") 88% of the CME-4B paper sits in the two funds regulations --------------------------------------------------------- Add 14 and 8 and you reach 22 of 25 — 88% of the paper in the two funds regulations. Market Conduct Regulations take three questions. The useful comparison appears here, since that same regulation carries 52% of the [CME-3B exam for securities brokers](https://hespah.com/en/blog/cme-3b-exam-saudi-brokers). One regulation, two very different weights, because the weight tracks the registrable function. Consequently anyone who passed 3B gains little here, as 88% of this paper lives in regulations that exam never touched. The conclusion: CME-4B tests funds regulations first and market conduct second, despite its generic title "Saudi Capital Market Rules and Regulations – Asset Managers". 38 syllabus items against a 25-question paper --------------------------------------------- The syllabus learning map at the back of the workbook lists 38 items: 22 in the first element, 11 in the second, 5 in the third. Meanwhile the paper carries 25 questions. Hence no question belongs to each item — unlike 3B, where both counts land on 25. So expecting one question per item fails. Even so, each chapter's share of questions tracks its item count precisely: 22 of 38 equals 57.9%, against a published weight of 56%. Accordingly the time rule is simple — split study hours by syllabus items, not page count. A pass mark of 17 out of 25, and 72 seconds per question -------------------------------------------------------- The published pass mark is 17 of 25, or 68% of the paper, leaving a margin of eight wrong answers. Divide 30 minutes by 25 questions and you get 72 seconds each. 72 seconds covers a question on a fund manager's duties. However it does not cover hesitation between two similar articles in two different regulations. Therefore the real risk is not difficulty but confusion between the two funds regulations, since both handle custody, valuation and reporting under different article numbers. ![CME-4A versus CME-4B: duration, pass mark, fees and retake rules](https://centralcdn.hespah.com/uploads/emils/17922667221.jpeg "CME-4A versus CME-4B: duration, pass mark, fees and retake rules") CME-4B and CME-4A: one track, two institutions, two policies ------------------------------------------------------------ Registration under the management activity requires two exams, not one, as the CMA guideline's table of registrable functions shows. Yet each exam has a different provider, and with it a different policy regime. Item CME-4B CME-4A Provider The Financial Academy CISI Duration 30 minutes 120 minutes Pass mark 17 70 Published fee SAR 1,700 SAR 2,100 Expected study hours 50 100 Chapters 3 8 Attempts 6 within 12 months 3, then a 6-week rest, then 3 more Result review Available for SAR 400 Not available Arrival before start 30 minutes 20 minutes Calculator No clause in Academy policy Explicitly banned The full track therefore costs SAR 3,800, demands 150 expected study hours, and keeps you in the hall 150 minutes. The heavier half is 4A by far: double the study hours, four times the hall time, eight chapters against three. So starting with CME-4B buys the quicker result, although it leaves the larger load ahead — the sequencing logic we set out in [the difference between CME-1A and CME-1B](https://hespah.com/en/blog/cme-1a-vs-cme-1b). Two official fee figures, and support that skips half a track ------------------------------------------------------------- The CMA guideline's fee table quotes SAR 900 for the asset managers exam and 1,600 for the international certificate, totalling SAR 2,500. The exam page, on the other hand, publishes 1,700 and 2,100, totalling SAR 3,800. The practical rule: the registration page governs the moment you pay, since that is what the system charges. Hadaf support, in turn, requires passing both exams and submitting the qualification certificate; it never applies to one alone. In money terms: SAR 3,800 stays at risk until a candidate clears CME-4B and the international certificate together. So book both under one plan. Retake and review rules for CME-4B ---------------------------------- 1. **Six attempts within 12 months**, counted from the first attempt date, not from the start of the calendar year. 2. **No waiting period from the first attempt to the third**, then a mandatory two calendar weeks between attempts four to six. 3. **Once attempts run out**, an electronic exception request goes to the professional certificates committee, which may grant one more. 4. **Absence consumes the full fee**, yet it does not count as an attempt. Challenging a result follows an equally precise route: a review request within three working days of the exam, a SAR 400 fee by certified cheque, a full refund if an error turns up, and a decision within 20 working days. Furthermore the candidate must have commented on the disputed question inside the exam system itself — the step people skip and regret later. The rule we explained in [objecting to ZATCA decisions](https://hespah.com/en/blog/zatca-objection-appeal-process) applies here too: your objection starts before the result lands. The current workbook window closes on 31 December 2026 ------------------------------------------------------ The official workbook states that it is the first edition, published October 2022, covering exams between 1 February 2023 and 31 December 2026. The copyright page also declares each language edition: 1.2 (June 2024) for Arabic and 1.10 (August 2026) for English. Meanwhile the rescheduling policy allows postponement within six months of the previous booking. Combine the rules: book CME-4B in the final quarter of 2026, postpone once, and the new date can fall outside the workbook window. The accredited institute's section treats that case plainly, charging the full fee when the new date coincides with the release of an updated edition, "as it is a new exam". One policy sentence settles it: "exams are built on the exam specification and not on the books or the contents of training programmes". Hence the specification table and the syllabus map rule, not any training centre's slides. How do you split 50 hours across the three chapters? ---------------------------------------------------- 1. **Investment Funds Regulations** — the lion's share: fund manager duties, custody, public fund investment limitations, specialised funds, pricing and redemption. 2. **Real Estate Investment Funds Regulations** — organisational structure, fund assets and custody, general restrictions, valuation, and traded funds. 3. **Market Conduct Regulations** — five items only: how an institution acts on suspected manipulation or insider trading, direct against indirect trading, liability for the actions of others, and publishing recommendations. Because every item points to a specific article in a specific regulation, read the article text on the Capital Market Authority site beside the workbook explanation. That step settles the confusion between the two regulations, and most candidates skip it. Frequently asked questions about the CME-4B exam ------------------------------------------------ ### Do I need a prior certificate or training programme before registering? No. The CME-4B exam page states that no prior certificate, training programme or registration requirement applies. The policy does, however, block anyone who already passed the same exam. ### Which language can I sit the exam in? Arabic or English, and the material exists in both. Even so, each edition carries a different version number, so Arabic readers should match every article against its text on the Authority site. ### Is CME-4B enough for registration under the management activity? No. The table of registrable functions names two exams, and Hadaf support arrives only after both pass and the certificate requirements complete. ### How many questions does the exam contain? 25 questions: 14 on the Investment Funds Regulations, 8 on the Real Estate Investment Funds Regulations, and 3 on the Market Conduct Regulations. Each element's count holds within plus or minus two questions. ### When can I retake the exam after a fail? Immediately, if this is your second or third attempt, since no waiting period separates them. After the third the candidate waits two calendar weeks up to the sixth. For anyone starting from scratch: [the map of professional certifications in Saudi Arabia](https://hespah.com/en/blog/professional-certifications-saudi), and [the CME-1B exam guide](https://hespah.com/en/blog/cme-1b-guide). Official sources ---------------- - [CME-4B exam page — The Financial Academy](https://fa.gov.sa/Services/ExamDetails/4d3a61e8-8ec3-4bc2-ae3b-af0d00b40f4b) - [Guideline for Capital Market Authority qualification exams — CMA](https://cma.gov.sa/AboutCMA/CME/Documents/CMEExamsGuidelineAR.pdf) - [Professional examination policy — The Financial Academy](https://fa.gov.sa/exams-policies) - The official workbook "Saudi Capital Market Rules and Regulations – Asset Managers", by the Chartered Institute for Securities & Investment. 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