In the United States, the investment company products/variable life contracts representative exam, is commonly referred to as the Series 6 exam. Individuals passing this multiple choice exam are licensed to sell a limited set of securities products:
This exam is administered by the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA, previously known as the NASD). In order to take the exam, an individual must be sponsored by a member firm of either FINRA or a self-regulatory organization (SRO). The cost of the exam is $40.00. Individuals are allowed 90 minutes to complete 50 multiple choice questions. The passing score is 70%, and those who fail this exam must wait thirty days before taking it again. In order to be registered with the Series 6, an individual must also pass the Securities Industry Essentials Exam (The SIE Exam).
The table below lists the allocation of exam questions for each main job function of an investment company and variable contracts products representative.
Job Functions
Number of Questions
Function 1 – Seeks Business for the Broker-dealer from Customers and Potential Customers
12
Function 2 – Opens Accounts After Obtaining and Evaluating Customers’ Financial Profile and Investment Objectives
8
Function 3 – Provides Customers with Information About Investments, Makes Suitable Recommendations, Transfers Assets and Maintains Appropriate Records
25
Function 4 – Obtains and Verifies Customers’ Purchase and Sales Instructions; Processes, Completes and Confirms Transactions
A stockbroker, share holderregistered representative, trading representative, or more broadly, an investment broker, investment adviser, financial adviser, wealth manager, or investment professional is a regulated broker, broker-dealer, or registered investment adviser who may provide financial advisory and investment management services and execute transactions such as the purchase or sale of stocks and other investments to financial market participants in return for a commission, markup, or fee, which could be based on a flat rate, percentage of assets, or hourly rate. Examples of professional designations held by individuals in this field, which affects the types of investments they are permitted to sell and the services they provide include chartered financial consultants, certified financial planners or chartered financial analysts, chartered strategic wealth professionals, chartered financial planners, and Master of Business Administration. The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority provides an online tool designed to help understand professional designations in the United States.
Variable universal life insurance is a type of life insurance that builds a cash value. In a VUL, the cash value can be invested in a wide variety of separate accounts, similar to mutual funds, and the choice of which of the available separate accounts to use is entirely up to the contract owner. The 'variable' component in the name refers to this ability to invest in separate accounts whose values vary—they vary because they are invested in stock and/or bond markets. The 'universal' component in the name refers to the flexibility the owner has in making premium payments. The premiums can vary from nothing in a given month up to maximums defined by the Internal Revenue Code for life insurance. This flexibility is in contrast to whole life insurance that has fixed premium payments that typically cannot be missed without lapsing the policy.
The Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) Program is a post-graduate professional qualification offered internationally by the American-based CFA Institute to investment and financial professionals. It has the highest level of global legal and regulatory recognition of finance-related qualifications. The program covers a considerably wide range of topics relating to advanced investment analysis and thus- security analysis, statistics, probability theory, fixed income, derivatives, economics, financial analysis, corporate finance, alternative investments and portfolio management - and provides a generalist knowledge of other areas of finance.
World Financial Group (WFG) is a multi-level marketing company based in Johns Creek, Georgia, a suburb of Atlanta, which sells investment, insurance, and various other financial products through a network of distributors in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It is wholly owned by Transamerica, a subsidiary of Aegon.
World Group Securities, Inc. (WGS), a member of the Dutch-owned AEGON Group, is the exclusive broker-dealer affiliate of World Financial Group (WFG).
In finance, securities lending or stock lending refers to the lending of securities by one party to another.
A financial adviser or financial advisor, is a professional who suggests and renders financial services to clients based on their financial situation. In many countries financial advisors have to complete specific training and hold registration with a State or the SEC to provide advice. In the United States, a financial adviser carries a Series 7 and Series 65 or Series 66 qualification examination. According to the U.S. Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA), qualification designations and compliance issues must be reported for public view. FINRA specifies the following groups who may use the term financial advisor: brokers, investment advisers, private bankers, accountants, lawyers, insurance agents and financial planners.
The Uniform Combined State Law Examination also called the Series 66 exam is designed to qualify candidates as both securities agents and investment adviser representatives in the United States. It was developed by North American Securities Administrators Association (NASAA) and operated by the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA).
The Uniform Securities Agent State Law Examination, commonly referred to as the Series 63, is developed by North American Securities Administrators Association (NASAA) and is administered by the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA). The examination is designed to qualify candidates as securities agents in the United States; nearly all states require individuals to pass the Series 63 as a condition of state registration.
Uniform Investment Adviser Law Examination, also called the Series 65 exam, is a test taken by individuals in the United States who seek to become licensed investment adviser representatives. The exam covers topics necessary to provide investment advice to clients.
The Series 7 exam, also known as the General Securities Representative Exam (GSRE), is a test for entry-level registered representatives. The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) administers the exam. In the United States, financial professionals take this test to become qualified to purchase and/or sell security products such as: corporate securities, municipal fund securities, options, direct participation programs, investment company products and variable contracts.
The general securities principal exam, commonly referred to as the Series 24 exam, is administered by the U.S. Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) which qualifies a registered individual to supervise or manage branch activities such as corporate securities, REITs, variable contracts, and venture capital; a general principal may also approve advertising and sales literature, including communications regarding municipal securities. The exam covers topics such as supervision of investment banking, trading, customer accounts, and the primary/secondary markets.
A registered investment adviser (RIA) is a firm that is an investment adviser in the United States, registered as such with the Securities and Exchange Commission or a state's securities agency. The numerous references to RIAs within the Investment Advisers Act of 1940 popularized the term, which is closely associated with the term investment adviser. An investment adviser is defined by the Securities and Exchange Commission as an individual or a firm that is in the business of giving advice about securities. However, an RIA is the actual firm, while the employees of the firm are called Investment Adviser Representatives (IARs).
Securities research is a discipline within the financial services industry. Securities research professionals are known most generally as "analysts", "research analysts", or "securities analysts"; all the foregoing terms are synonymous. Research analysts produce research reports and typically issue a recommendation: buy ("overweight"), hold, or sell ("underweight"); see target price. These reports can be accessed from a number of sources, and brokerages will often offer the reports free to their customers. Research can be categorized by the security type, as well as by whether it is buy-side research or sell-side research; analysts further focus on particular industries. Although usually associated with fundamental analysis, research also focuses on technical analysis, and reports will often include both. See also Financial analyst #Securities firms.
In the United States, the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, Inc. (FINRA) is a private corporation that acts as a self-regulatory organization (SRO). FINRA is the successor to the National Association of Securities Dealers, Inc. (NASD) and the member regulation, enforcement, and arbitration operations of the New York Stock Exchange. It is a non-governmental organization that regulates member brokerage firms and exchange markets. The government agency which acts as the ultimate regulator of the securities industry, including FINRA, is the Securities and Exchange Commission.
A registered representative, also called a general securities representative, a stockbroker, or an account executive, is an individual who is licensed to sell securities and has the legal power of an agent in the United States.
Selling away in the U.S. securities brokerage industry is the inappropriate practice of an investment professional who sells, or solicits the sale of, securities not held or offered by the brokerage firm with which he is associated (affiliated). An example of the term expressed in a sentence is, "The broker was selling investments away from the firm." Brokers marketing securities must have obtained the appropriate securities licenses for various types of investments. Brokers in the U.S. may be "associated" with one or more Brokerage firms and must obtain licenses by passing standardized Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) exams such as the Series 6 or Series 7 exam. See List of Securities Examinations for types of securities licenses in the U.S.
The Limited Representative – Investment Banking Exam, commonly referred to as the Series 79, is an examination administered by the U.S. Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) for investment banking professionals. The examination is designed to qualify candidates for a limited scope of activities as investment bankers, without the full requirements of the General Securities Representative Exam.
Securities market participants in the United States include corporations and governments issuing securities, persons and corporations buying and selling a security, the broker-dealers and exchanges which facilitate such trading, banks which safe keep assets, and regulators who monitor the markets' activities. Investors buy and sell through broker-dealers and have their assets retained by either their executing broker-dealer, a custodian bank or a prime broker. These transactions take place in the environment of equity and equity options exchanges, regulated by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), or derivative exchanges, regulated by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC). For transactions involving stocks and bonds, transfer agents assure that the ownership in each transaction is properly assigned to and held on behalf of each investor.
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