Series 7 Exam Prep Training Course & Study Materials

FINRA Series 7 Representative Level Qualification Exam Prep

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What is the Series 7 Top-Off exam and what will it do?

The Series 7 exam is designed to assess the competency of entry-level General Securities Representatives and is administered by the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA). The Series 7 exam seeks to measure the degree to which each candidate possesses the knowledge, skills and abilities needed to perform the critical functions of a General Securities Registered Representative. In order to obtain registration as a General Securities Representative, candidates must pass both the Series 7 exam and a general knowledge co-requisite, the Securities Industry Essentials (SIE) exam. For more information about the activities requiring registration as a General Securities Representative, see FINRA Rule 1220(b)(2).
VIEW FINRA SERIES 7 EXAM CONTENT OUTLINE

About the Series 7 Rep Level Exam

What are the topics covered on the Series 7 Rep Level Exam?

The Series 7 Rep Level exam is broken down into four parts (by job function). These topics include:

Seeks Business for the Broker-Dealer from Customers and Potential Customers
Opens Accounts After Obtaining and Evaluating Customers’ Financial Profile and Investment Objectives
Provides Customers with Information About Investments, Makes Suitable Recommendations, Transfers Assets and Maintains Appropriate Records
Obtains and Verifies Customers’ Purchase and Sales Instructions; Processes, Completes and Confirms Transactions

See below for more detailed breakdown or visit FINRA.

Seeks Business for the Broker-Dealer from Customers and Potential Customers

Standards and required approvals of public communications
Types of communications (e.g., retail, institutional, correspondence)
Seminars, lectures and other group forum requirements
Product specific advertisements and disclosures
Process of bringing new issues to market (e.g., due diligence, registration statement, preliminary prospectus, final prospectus, underwriting agreement, selling group agreement, blue-sky laws and procedures)
Regulatory requirements for initial public offerings (IPOs) (e.g., restrictions on prospecting or soliciting, allowable communications with the public)
Primary financing for municipal securities (e.g., competitive sale, negotiated sale, private offering, advance refunding)
Syndicate formation and operational procedures (e.g., purpose of syndicate bid, roles and responsibilities of underwriters, selling group concession and reallowance)
Pricing practices and components of underwriters’ spread and determination of underwriters’ compensation and selling practices
Prospectus requirements (e.g., timeliness of information, preliminary prospectus (red herring), final prospectus)
Information required in a registration statement and offering material on new issue (e.g., in pre-filing period, in cooling-off period, in post-registration period)
Official statements, preliminary official statements, notice of sale for municipal securities
Qualified institutional buyer (QIB) and accredited investor
Qualification requirements for Regulation A offerings (e.g., filing of abbreviated registration statement and offering circular
Regulation D offerings (e.g., exemption from SEC registration, access to capital markets, accredited investors)
Securities and transactions exempted from registration, including Section 3(a)(11) of the Securities Act of 1933 and Rule 147 thereunder (i.e., intrastate offering)
Regulatory requirements for private placements or resales
Nonregistered foreign securities sold to institutions qualified in the U.S.
Foreign securities prohibited from being sold to U.S. investors

Opens Accounts After Obtaining and Evaluating Customers’ Financial Profile and Investment Objectives

Types of accounts (e.g., prime brokerage, advisory or fee-based)
Account registration types (e.g., tenants in common (TIC), community property, sole proprietorship, partnership, unincorporated associations)
Requirements for opening customer accounts
Retirement plans and other tax advantaged accounts
Wealth events (e.g., inheritance)
Account registration changes and internal transfers
Customer screening (e.g., customer identification program (CIP), know your customer (KYC), domestic or foreign residency and/or citizenship, corporate insiders, employees of broker-dealers or self-regulatory organizations (SROs))
Information security and privacy regulations (e.g., initial privacy disclosures to customers, opt-out notices, disclosure limitations, exceptions)
Essential facts regarding customers and customer relationships
Financial factors relevant to assessing a customer's investment profile
Investment objectives (e.g., preservation of capital, income, growth, speculation)
Reasonable-basis suitability, customer-specific suitability and quantitative suitability
Investment strategies and recommendations to hold
Verification of investor accreditation and sophistication
Required review, approvals and documentation for account opening and maintenance
Physical receipt, delivery and safeguarding of cash or cash equivalents, checks and securities
Circumstances for refusing or restricting activity in an account or closing accounts

Provides Customers with Information About Investments, Makes Suitable Recommendations, Transfers Assets and Maintains Appropriate Records

Customer-specific factors that generally affect the section of products (i.e., customer's investment profile, including the customer's risk tolerance, investment time horizon and investment objectives, liquidity needs)
Portfolio of account analysis and its application to product selection (e.g., diversification, concentration, volatility, potential tax ramifications)
Portfolio theory (e.g., alpha and beta considerations, Capital Asset Pricing Model (CAPM))
Delivery of annual reports and notices of corporate actions (e.g., dividends, splits, odd lot tenders)
Fundamental analysis of financial statements and types of financial statements included in an annual report, importance of footnotes, material risk disclosures and key terms (e.g., assets, liabilities, capital, cash flow, income, earnings per share (EPS), book value, shareholders' equity, depreciation, depletion, goodwill)
Balance sheet and methods of inventory valuation: last-in, first out (LIFO), first-in, first-out (FIFO) and methods of depreciation
Income statement and calculations derived from an income statement: earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT); earnings before taxes (EBT); net profit; and earnings before interests, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA)
Principal tools to measure financial health
Types of stock
Characteristics of common stock
Characteristics of preferred stock
Rights and warrants: origination, exercise terms, relationship of subscription price to market price of underlying stock, anti-dilution agreement
Electronic exchanges or auction markets (e.g., electronic communications networks (ECNs), over-the-counter (OTC), dark pools of liquidity)
Types of characteristics of non-U.S. market securities (e.g., American Depositary Receipts (ADR's), corporate equity)
Tax treatment of equity securities transactions
Investment companies, exchange-traded funds (ETFs), unit investment trusts (UITs)
Variable life insurance/annuity contracts
Real estate investment trusts (REITs)
Direct participation programs (DPPs)
Listed options and their characteristics
Basic strategies
Advanced strategies
Profit and loss calculations, break-even points, economics of positions
Tax treatment of option transactions
Types of debt securities and money market instruments
Characteristics: structure, risks and rewards, call provisions
Structured products
Types and characteristics of non-U.S. market securities
Types of yields
Bond ratings
Tax implications of taxable debt securities, including original issue discount (OID) rules, interest, principal, premiums, discounts, and capital gain and losses
Types of corporate bonds
Convertible bond: general characteristics
General characteristics of municipal fund securities, methods of quotation, interest rate, payment periods, denominations, diversity of maturities and legal opinion
Analysis and diversification of municipal investments: geographical, type and rating
Analysis of general obligations (GO) bonds, including: characteristics of the issuer, nature of the issuer's debt, factors affecting the issuer's ability to pay, municipal debt ratios
Analysis of revenue bonds, including feasibility studies, sources of revenue, security (protective covenants of bond indenture), financial reports and outside audits, restrictions on the issuance of additional bonds, flow of funds, earnings coverage, sources of credit information, rating services, credit enhancements
Purpose of characteristics of specific types of municipal securities
Factors affecting the marketability of municipal bonds: rating, maturity, call features, interest (coupon) rate, block size, liquidity (ability to sell the bond in the secondary market), dollar /yield price, issuer name (local or national reputation), credit enhancement, credit and liquidity support, denominations
Pricing of municipal securities and other mathematical calculations: dollar price, accrued interest (regular coupon, odd first coupon), computations of accrued interest (30/360), amortization of premium, accretion of discount, relationship of bond prices to changes in maturity, coupon, various yield calculations (taxable equivalent yield, net yield after capital gains tax, current yield, YTC on premium bonds) value of basis point in default
Tax treatment of municipal securities: securities bought at a discount or premium in the secondary market, OID, federal income tax status, state and local tax status, computation of taxable equivalent yield, accrued interest, AMT, bonds, taxable bonds, band qualified bonds
Structure of hedge funds and fund of funds
Characteristics of hedge funds
Tax treatment of distributions
Collateralized mortgage obligations (CMOs)
Collateralized debt obligations (CDOs)
Characteristics of asset-backed securities
Treasury bills, notes bonds
Treasury receipts (Separate Trading of Registered Interest and Principal Securities (STRIPS)/zero coupon)
Treasury Inflation Protected Securities (TIPS)
Characteristics of U.S. Treasury Securities
Government National Mortgage Association (GNMA)
Federal National Home Loan Mortgage Association (FNMA)
Federal Home Loan Mortgage Association (SLMA)
Characteristics: types, maturities, denominations, primary dealers, distribution, issue form, quotations, pass-through, calculating a spread, pricing, payment of interest and principal
Required disclosures on specific transactions
Types of investment risks
Types of investment returns
Costs and fees associated with investments
Tax considerations
Market analysis considerations
Market analysis considerations for municipal securities, including Bond Buyer indexes
Technical analysis of basic chart patterns and key terms (e.g., trend lines, saucer/inverted saucer, head-and-shoulders/inverted head-and-shoulders, breakouts, resistance/support levels, moving averages, consolidation, stabilization, overbought and oversold)
Disclosure of material events affecting retail sales of municipal bonds
Customer confirmations and statements, including: components, timing, mailings to third parties, and exceptions
Account value, profits and losses, realized and unrealized
Withdrawals and tenders
Customer account records
Transferring accounts between broker-dealers
Books and records retention requirements
Account closure procedures

Obtains and Verifies Customers’ Purchase and Sales Instructions; Processes, Completes and Confirms Transactions

Orders, offerings, and transactions in customer accounts
Trade execution activities
Types of securities quotes
Types of orders
Short sale requirements and strategies
Securities lending
Best execution obligations
Information required on order ticket
Market making activities: role and functions of the designated market maker, listing requirements, limitations on trading during significant market declines, principal transactions, agency transactions, quotations
Use of automated execution systems
Regulatory reporting requirements
Delivery requirements
Good delivery
Settlement of transactions
Erroneous reports, errors, cancels and rebills
Requirements for addressing customer complaints and consequences of improper handling of complaints
Methods of formal resolution
Form U4 reporting requirements
Requirements and characteristics of margin accounts and required disclosures
Product of strategy specific requirements
Calculations in margin accounts
Initial margin: long market value, short market value, debit balance, credit balance, initial Regulation T margin requirement on long or short positions, Regulation T requirement for established accounts, loan value, excess equity, buying power of deposited securities
Maintenance: additonal purchases, sales (short or long), cash withdrawals, stock withdrawals, simultaneous purchases and sales, restrictions, liquidation to meet a margin/maintenance call, deposit of cash or securities required to meet a margin or maintenance call
Special memorandum account (SMA): balance, buying power, prohibited use of SMA, effect of excess equity, deposit of margin able securities, receipt of cash dividends and earned interest, liquidation of securities in the account, cash or securities withdrawals, new margin securities purchased or sold short
Other margin accounts

Additional Series 7 Study Materials

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Online ExamCenter
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FINRA Series 7 Rep Level Exam Details

The Series 7 Rep Level exam consists of 125 multiple-choice questions. Candidates will be given 3 hours and 45 minutes to complete the exam and must achieve a 72% to pass. The cost of the exam is $245.

Series 7 Exam Tips & Insights

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Series 7 FAQ

How long does it take to learn Series 7?
The time it takes to learn Series 7 varies from person to person. When you register for ExamFX’s Series 7 Training Package, you gain access to prep content for 90 days. This is typically plenty of time for candidates to adequately prepare for their exam.
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What is the best way to study for Series 7?
The best way to study for Series 7 is to utilize an online learning tool like ExamFX’s Series 7 course. This interactive training program includes all the study tools needed to pass your exam: live online training, practice tests, video lectures and more.
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Is Series 7 the hardest exam?
The Series 7 exam is often considered the most difficult securities licensing exam. But, if you prepare properly and utilize an online learning tool like ExamFX’s Series 7 course, you can approach the test with confidence and earn your Series 7 registration.
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Is Series 7 harder than CPA?
That is a matter of personal opinion, but many consider Series 7 less difficult than CPA because it covers less breadth of information, and is also considerably shorter.
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What is the ExamFX Readiness Exam?

ExamFX is so confident in our training program that we guarantee users who successfully complete the Readiness Exam will pass their licensing exam on their first attempt! If you do not pass your licensing exam within three days after scoring 80% or higher on the Readiness Exam, we will refund the cost of your course. It is that simple. Some restrictions may apply.

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