Study for the Series 6 Exam

Planning to take the Series 6 exam to qualify as a FINRA-registered representative able to sell investment companies and variable products? Then make sure you study the provisions of SEC Regulation D which governs the offerings of private placements. Oh? You did not think that the Series 6 would include questions on private placements? Then read on . . . Section 1.2 of  FINRA's Content Outline for the Series 6 includes a chunk on the provisions of Regulation D. This regulation sets forth conditions under which an issuer may offer a new issue privately, i.e., without making an offering available to the general public. Regulation D consists of nine sub-rules, 500 through 508, that establish conditions and definitions. Rule 506 is especially important because it lists the conditions for an unlimited amount of securities to be offered. It allows only a limited number of unaccredited investors, but does allow accredited investors to be unlimited in number. Therefore, Series 6 applicants

In my last post, I discussed why the Series 6 exam presents a challenge to applicants that is much harder than the former versions of the test. In this post, I want to continue with this theme, and describe additional elements appearing in FINRA's Content Outline. Section 1.2 of the Content Outline requires knowledge on bringing new issues of securities to market. The Content Outline indicates that the applicant need have familiarity with prospectus requirements, including timeliness of information, the workings of a preliminary prospectus, and the differences between preliminary and final prospectuses. Therefore, an applicant needs to study contents of prospectuses, plus concepts such as due diligence, underwriting agreements, blue-sky laws and procedures. Also required is knowledge of official statements, preliminary official statements, and municipal notices of sale. You can see why the Series 6 can pose problems for those taking it, especially if they go into the exam unp