The Series 79 top 5 topics to know will not be surprising for anyone who’s already taken the exam. That said, every exam is slightly different. In today’s post we report on recent feedback we’ve heard from students.
Series 79 Top 5 Topics to Know
At Professional Exam Tutoring we highly encourage a list of topics we recommend that you prioritize. Some we expect may come up often, while others are topics that have shown up for years.
1.Fairness Opinion
The fairness opinion is a report that’s usually put together by an investment bank, or advisory firm. It evaluates and offers an opinion on the fairness of the price offered for an acquisition or merger. There are a number of rules covered as it relates to the fairness opinion worth knowing. This is a topic that is highly likely to be tested based on feedback.
2.Regulation M
This regulation is one of the few that has to do with a primary offering but deals more with the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 than the SEC Act of 1933. The rule is extensively covered in the curriculum, and discusses price manipulation by underwriters involved in an offering. Testing around the subject, can include any one of the five rules associated with this regulation. As a result, be sure to thoroughly understand rules 101 through 105. All are totally fair game and some portion of this regulation seems likely to appear.
3.Investment Banking Process
Everything covered with the registration statement, the cooling down phase, and the effective date is fair game. Make sure you understand how fees from an offering work too. The manager’s fee is usually straight forward, but the syndicate fee, and concession can be confusing. Mostly due to the fact that they have several different names. Also be aware that these fees can be broken up into buckets, such as the “total takedown” which includes the concession and the syndicate fee.
4.M&A
There are likely to be at least several questions about mergers and acquisitions. Included in this might be the tender offer process. Know the appropriate filings that go with this process. On an analytical basis, know how to create a pro forma income statement as well. In short, you combine the income statement of the company being acquired, and the company doing the acquiring. Remember, on this exam although there could be somewhere around 40% of the questions as analytical, it’s quite possible that you only get somewhere in between 5 and 15 questions that end up being mathematical.
5.Analysis
Lastly, make sure to memorize as many formulas as possible. As mentioned, there’s likely to to be very little math on the exam. However, you still have to know the relationship of certain variables within a formula. For example, what happens to the dividend payout ratio when you increase net income? The answer is that the dividend payout ratio will decrease. Although that is not a mathematical question, that is the type of question you want to be prepared to answer.
You Can Do It!
Overall, this exam is definitely doable if you put the time in. We highly recommend Knopman Marks as the curriculum of choice for the Series 79 Exam. They have excellent questions, and detailed explanations that are very helpful. If you want some additional help however, and don’t have the time to put it in yourself, feel free to reach out to get a Series 79 Tutor. Good luck!