8.1 DFM corporate structure
▼Capital — AED 8 billion syllabus 8.1
The DFM has paid-up capital of AED 8 billion, divided into 8 billion shares of AED 1 each. 20% issued to the public at IPO; the remainder held by founders / Borse Dubai.
8.2 Client reports & failed settlement
▼Client statements — quarterly syllabus 8.2
DFM brokers must provide client statements at least quarterly (every 3 months). More frequent is permitted; quarterly is the regulatory floor.
Failed settlement — 1 working day syllabus 8.2
When a settlement fails, the broker must take corrective action within 1 working day of the settlement date. Beyond 1 day, escalation / forced buy-in / penalties typically apply.
Mistake adjustment — 30 minutes from session end syllabus 8.2
A broker may apply for trade mistake adjustment within 30 minutes after session end. The narrow window prevents retrospective unwinding of trades that have just moved against a party — reserved for genuine input errors discovered immediately.
Record retention — 10 years syllabus 8.2
DFM broker records of orders, trades and client communications: ≥ 10 years. Same as Ch 2 baseline.
8.3 Trading sessions
▼The three trading-day phases syllabus 8.3
Pre-opening lock-in — last 5 minutes syllabus 8.3
During pre-opening, the last 5 minutes are locked — no amendments to existing orders, only NEW orders may be entered. Prevents last-second manipulation of the opening auction price.
Settlement cycle — T+2 syllabus 8.3
Cash-market settlement: T+2 (2 business days after trade date). Aligned with the global standard, reducing counterparty exposure vs the older T+3 cycle.
8.4 Order types & priority
▼Day order — default time-in-force syllabus 8.4
If no time-in-force is specified, the order is a day order (expires at session end). This is the default — clients selecting more advanced TIF must specify it explicitly.
Time-in-force types syllabus 8.4
| Type | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Day | Expires at session end (default) |
| GTC | Good-til-cancelled |
| GTD | Good-til-date |
| IOC | Immediate-or-cancel (fill what's available now, cancel rest) |
| FOK | Fill-or-kill (fill in full immediately, or cancel) |
| FAK | Fill-and-kill (≈ IOC) |
| At-the-close | Execute at session close |
Order priority — price, then time syllabus 8.4
Orders are executed by:
- Best PRICE first (price priority)
- Then earliest TIME STAMP (time priority) — first received, first served
Largest-first and random-fairness are common distractors — both are wrong.
Amendments — what keeps / loses priority syllabus 8.4
Some amendments retain time priority (e.g. reducing quantity); others lose it (e.g. increasing quantity, changing price). Certain order fields are non-amendable entirely (require cancellation + new order).
8.5 Closed periods (recap from Ch 4)
▼The 10 / 15 day pair syllabus 8.5
8.6 Cheat sheet — all the numbers
▼Every Ch 8 threshold in one place exam day
| Topic | Threshold |
|---|---|
| DFM capital | AED 8 billion (8bn shares, 20% public) |
| Client statements | Quarterly |
| Failed settlement — broker action | 1 working day |
| Mistake adjustment window | 30 minutes from session end |
| Settlement cycle | T+2 |
| Pre-opening lock-in | Last 5 minutes |
| Record retention | 10 years |
| Closed period — material info | 10 days |
| Closed period — financial info | 15 days |
| Default time-in-force | Day order |
| Order priority | Best price, then earliest time |
The last chapter — light but precise
- 🎯 75 calibrated Ch 8 questions in the bank.
- 📊 Order-type definitions cluster on the exam — drill them all together.
- 🔄 Then run a full mock — you're ready.