It's the question every aspiring Financial Adviser in Singapore asks before they even open the SCI registration portal:

"Do I take M9 and M9A separately — or just register for CM-LIC and knock it all out in one shot?"

Let's be direct:

the format you choose will affect your total cost, your stress levels, and your career timeline more than your actual study hours will.

Get this wrong and you could easily end up paying two to three times what you budgeted. Not because you weren't smart enough. Because you picked the wrong exam structure.

Before we compare, let's get everyone on the same page.

M9 — Life Insurance and Investment-Linked Policies I

This is the heavy-lifting paper. It covers life insurance product fundamentals, premium calculations, MAS regulations, the law of agency, and wills and trusts.

The textbook alone is close to 300 pages. It is a memory and comprehension paper — broad, dense, and unforgiving if you skip chapters.

M9A — Life Insurance and Investment-Linked Policies II

Don't be fooled by description of being the thinner textbook. M9A is arguably the harder conceptual paper.

50 questions. 60 minutes. Derivatives, structured products, ILP mechanics, and market risk. Every single question is worth 2% of your total score. You can only afford 15 mistakes before you fail.

CM-LIC — The Combined License (M8 + M8A + M9 + M9A)

CM-LIC is the all-in-one combined examination. It bundles all four papers — Collective Investment Schemes I & II, plus Life Insurance I & II — into a single 200-question, 4-hour sitting.

You need to hit 70% on every part independently. If you fail any single part, you retake the entire paper and repay the full fee.

The Hidden Risk of CM-LIC Nobody Tells You About

Here's the brutal maths of the combined format.

Imagine you study hard. You go in confident. You score 85% on M9. You score 78% on M8. 75% on M8A.

Then M9A's derivatives chapter trips you up. You finish on 68%.

That's two questions short of the passing mark.

You fail CM-LIC entirely.

You forfeit the SCI exam fee. You re-register, repay, and resit all 200 questions from scratch.

This is not a hypothetical. It is the most common complaint from first-time CM-LIC candidates. M9A has earned a reputation as the silent killer of the combined paper — not because it is impossible, but because candidates consistently underestimate it after clearing the bulkier M9.

Taking M9 and M9A separately costs more in SCI registration fees upfront. But it is a far cheaper strategy than a failed CM-LIC retake — financially and psychologically.

So When Does CM-LIC Actually Make Sense?

There are legitimate scenarios where going straight for CM-LIC is the right call.

• You're experienced across all four modules. If you've worked in financial services for years and have been informally applying this knowledge daily, a structured sprint through all four topics can be efficient.

• Your firm covers the SCI registration fee. Some agencies register their reps directly for CM-LIC. If your company absorbs the cost and the retake risk, the calculus changes.

• You've already passed some modules individually. If M9 and M9A are locked in and you only need M8 and M8A to complete your CM-LIC requirement, you go in with a clearer picture of your own strengths.

For everyone else — especially new entrants to the industry — the separate-papers approach is the lower-risk, smarter path.

Where RealisedGains Comes In

Whether you sit CM-LIC directly or build toward it paper by paper, preparation is non-negotiable.

The quality of your study materials will determine whether you walk out of the exam centre with a pass — or a retake bill.

M8 Prep Kit — Collective Investment Schemes I 50 MCQs | 1 Hour | S$39

Get the M8 Prep Kit →

M8A Prep Kit — Collective Investment Schemes II 50 MCQs | 1 Hour | S$39

Get the M8A Prep Kit →

M9 Prep Kit — Life Insurance and Investment-Linked Policies I 100 MCQs | 2 Hours | S$39

Get the M9 Prep Kit →

M9A Prep Kit — Life Insurance and Investment-Linked Policies II 50 MCQs | 1 Hour | S$39

Get the M9A Prep Kit →

CM-LIC Master Prep Kit — All Four Modules Bundled 200 MCQs | 4 Hours | S$129

The complete preparation package for candidates targeting the full combined licence. Covers M8, M8A, M9, and M9A with a module-by-module question bank, deep answer rationales, and high-yield cheat sheets — built around the exact structure the exam uses to mark you.

Get the CM-LIC Master Prep Kit →

The Verdict

Take the papers separately if you are new to the industry, want to lock in each pass before moving on, and want to protect yourself from a catastrophic combined retake.

Go for CM-LIC if you are experienced, confident across all four syllabi, and have a strategic reason to hold the full combined licence quickly.

Either way — prepare properly.

The exams are not impossible. But they are not forgiving. M9A's derivatives, M9's premium calculations, M8A's complex fund structures — these are not topics you want to encounter for the first time inside the exam room.

Don't leave your certification to guesswork.