Years of tutoring have given us a unique view of the Series 66 exam priorities that should be front and center. A little extra attention in these areas will significantly boost your odds of passing. In today’s post we take a look at where you should spend your time.
Series 66 Exam Priorities: A Tough Exam Needs a Good Strategy
The Series 66 Exam is a notoriously challenging exam. Not quite the Series 7 Exam, and certainly not as easy as the Series 63 Exam. There are many areas where this exam trips up the average student. Specifically the math and economics sections: IRR, NPV, present value, Rule of 72, etc.
Aside from the technical areas, the laws around registration, exemptions and non-exemptions are the most confusing. Here is where we recommend your prioritize. The core of this exam is truly understanding the state law, and requirements by NASAA and the Uniform Securities Act (USA).
Focus Areas
At Professional Exam Tutoring, years of experience have taught us that the core areas below remain the most challenging and where students should prioritize:
1. Exempt transactions vs. nonexempt transactions
2. Exempt securities vs. nonexempt securities
3. Registering securities (notice filing, qualification, coordination)
4. IA vs. IAR
5. State vs. federally covered IAs
6. Agent vs. BD
7. Administrator jurisdiction
Although there is plenty more to study, these areas represent almost 50% of the exam. We highly recommend that you spend a large majority of your time here.
Resources
When it comes to how you should study we also have our opinions (everyone does!). Again, from years of watching what works and what doesn’t we have some basic advice. First, get Kaplan. Kaplan by far is the best material to use because they are so detailed in their explanations and examples, and their QBank is the most robust – and accurate in terms of difficulty level. The Series 66 difficulty level is quite high relative to the SIE Exam and the Series 63 Exam. You’ll want to make sure you have the right resources and plan to have the right approach.
If you need more help an additional resource is always a Series 66 tutor. We know where you can find a good one (so feel free to reach out)! Good luck!