Series 6 Exam

If your potential career path involves transacting business in variable contracts and insurance premium funding programs – among other things – the FINRA Series 6 exam may be in your future.

Introduction to the Series 6 Exam

More specifically, the Series 6 exam – the Investment Company Products/Variable Contracts Limited Representative exam – is required if you wish to become a Registered Representative with the qualifications to work in redeemable securities for companies registered under the Investment Company Act of 1940.  You may also handle securities of closed-end companies during the time they originally distribute their securities, and deal with variable contracts and insurance premium funding programs (except contracts that are exempt to Section 3(a)(8) of the Securities Act of 1933).  

NOTE – Passing the Series 6 exam does not allow a representative to deal with corporate securities, municipal securities, options products, or direct participation programs.  If you wish to handle any of these, you'll need to register in one or more other categories or qualify as a General Securities Registered Representative.

Registering for the Series 6 Exam

There is no prerequisite to take the Series 6 exam.  However, you must be sponsored to take the exam by a qualified FINRA representative or firm, and you'll have to pay a $75 examination fee for each time you take the test.  Given this, it's in your best interest to prepare well for the exam in the first place to avoid any costly re-takes.

Series 6 Exam Questions

The Series 6 exam contains 100 multiple choice questions in the following categories, according to the FINRA website:

• Securities Markets, Investment Securities and Economic Factors (8 questions)
• Securities and Tax Regulation (23 questions)
• Marketing, Prospecting and Sales Presentation (18 questions)
• Evaluation of Customers (13 questions)
• Product Information, Investment Company Securities and Variable Contracts (26 questions)
• Opening and Servicing Customer Accounts (12 questions)

You'll have 135 minutes to complete the test.  To pass, you must correctly answer 70% of all questions asked, or 95 questions out of the 135 on the exam.  Incorrectly answered or skipped questions will not count against you, so it may be to your advantage to guess on a question if you don't know the answer.  No resource materials may be used, but the test administrator will provide you with scratch paper and a basic calculator. 

Preparing for the Series 6 Exam

As mentioned previously, preparing adequately for the exam is crucial.  The FINRA website provides a detailed study guide that will be helpful – it contains details on the specific topics that will be covered, reference materials used on the exams and sample questions to help you become familiar with the format of the test.  Put some effort into studying these topics and – if possible – ask an associate at your firm to help you with your review.  The better prepared you feel, the less stressed you'll be when you go to take the exam.