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Free AIF Practice Questions

10 free, exam-style Accredited Investment Fiduciary (AIF) practice questions with answers and explanations. No signup required. Work through them below, then take the full free AIF practice test to study every exam domain.

The AIF exam has 80 questions and runs 2 hours.

These 10 free AIF questions are organized by exam domain, so you can see how each part of the Accredited Investment Fiduciary blueprint is tested. Reveal the answer and explanation under each question.

Domain 1: Organize. Fiduciary Roles and Responsibilities Are Clearly Documented and Defined (24-30%)

Question 1

A plan sponsor hires an investment firm and grants it full discretionary authority to select, monitor, and replace the plan's investment options. Under ERISA, what is the sponsor's PRIMARY remaining fiduciary responsibility?

  1. The sponsor has fully transferred all fiduciary liability to the firm
  2. The sponsor must pre-approve each individual trade the firm makes
  3. The sponsor must prudently select and then monitor the firm
  4. The sponsor is now only a non-fiduciary service provider
Show answer & explanation

Correct answer: C - The sponsor must prudently select and then monitor the firm

Question 2

A consultant tells a committee, "I only make recommendations - the committee always votes, so I'm not really a fiduciary." The consultant is compensated for the advice. Which principle BEST evaluates this claim?

  1. Fiduciary status is determined by a person's function, not by title
  2. Anyone who avoids discretionary authority is exempt from fiduciary duty
  3. Only parties named in the plan document can be considered fiduciaries
  4. A consultant becomes a fiduciary only after signing a formal acknowledgment letter
Show answer & explanation

Correct answer: A - Fiduciary status is determined by a person's function, not by title

Question 3

An advisor identifies a material conflict of interest that cannot be avoided. Consistent with the duty of loyalty, what is the MOST appropriate course of action?

  1. Proceed, since identifying the conflict satisfies the advisor's duty
  2. Manage the conflict and fully disclose it to the affected client
  3. Disclose the conflict, which by itself resolves any loyalty concern
  4. Refer the matter to the custodian to decide how to handle it
Show answer & explanation

Correct answer: B - Manage the conflict and fully disclose it to the affected client

Question 4

A trustee manages assets held in a private, non-charitable trust that is silent on investment standards. Which body of law provides the DEFAULT prudent-investment standard governing the trustee's decisions?

  1. The Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA)
  2. The Uniform Prudent Management of Institutional Funds Act (UPMIFA)
  3. The Investment Advisers Act of 1940
  4. The Uniform Prudent Investor Act (UPIA)
Show answer & explanation

Correct answer: D - The Uniform Prudent Investor Act (UPIA)

Question 5

In the Prudent Practices framework, which term describes a person who has the LEGAL responsibility for managing investment decisions - such as a trustee or an investment committee member - rather than the professional hired to advise them?

  1. Investment Manager
  2. Investment Steward
  3. Investment Advisor
  4. Investment Custodian
Show answer & explanation

Correct answer: B - Investment Steward

Question 6

A retirement plan's governing document instructs the fiduciary to take an action that would conflict with a requirement of ERISA. How should the fiduciary proceed?

  1. Follow the plan document, because it reflects the sponsor's intent
  2. Follow whichever provision was adopted most recently
  3. Follow ERISA, because it governs where the two conflict
  4. Suspend all activity until the participants vote on the conflict
Show answer & explanation

Correct answer: C - Follow ERISA, because it governs where the two conflict

Domain 2: Formalize. The Investment Policy is Consistent with Objectives for the Portfolio and Risk and Return Assumptions (21-27%)

Question 7

An investment committee is drafting its Investment Policy Statement (IPS). Which standard BEST describes the level of detail the IPS must contain?

  1. Enough detail to satisfy the custodian's standard account-opening paperwork
  2. Enough detail to define, implement, and monitor the investment strategy
  3. Only the target rate of return the committee hopes to achieve
  4. A short mission statement kept intentionally broad for flexibility
Show answer & explanation

Correct answer: B - Enough detail to define, implement, and monitor the investment strategy

Question 8

Under the prudent investor rule as expressed in the Uniform Prudent Investor Act, what is identified as the "central consideration" for a fiduciary constructing a portfolio?

  1. Selecting the individual securities with the highest historical returns
  2. Minimizing the total number of holdings to reduce complexity
  3. The trade-off between risk and return within the overall portfolio
  4. Matching a well-known benchmark index as closely as possible
Show answer & explanation

Correct answer: C - The trade-off between risk and return within the overall portfolio

Question 9

A fiduciary broadens a portfolio across many asset classes and issuers. Diversification is MOST effective at reducing which type of risk?

  1. Systematic (market) risk that affects all securities
  2. Inflation risk arising from rising consumer prices
  3. Interest-rate risk embedded in fixed-income holdings
  4. Unsystematic risk specific to individual securities
Show answer & explanation

Correct answer: D - Unsystematic risk specific to individual securities

Question 10

A committee wants to add an asset class to its portfolio, but no appropriate benchmark or reliable data exists to evaluate it over time. Under the Prudent Practices, why is this a problem?

  1. Selected asset classes must be consistent with monitoring constraints
  2. Every fiduciary portfolio must hold at least five distinct asset classes
  3. Alternative asset classes are prohibited for all fiduciary-managed accounts
  4. Only the asset classes with the highest expected return may ever be selected
Show answer & explanation

Correct answer: A - Selected asset classes must be consistent with monitoring constraints

The rest of the AIF blueprint

The AIF exam also covers these domains. Drill them in the full free practice test:

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