How to Pass The Series 9 Exam, Win the Options Examination
In this blog post, I’ll walk you through how to pass the Series 9 Exam, and will discuss my experience with the exam, why I bought the book for this test on Ebay without having taken the test yet, and why this may actually be one of the simpler exams that you’ll take in the world of FINRA licensing. In terms of difficulty, from reading this book, it seems much easier than taking the Series 7 or the Series 66, in that the volume of content is a lot lower, and for the reason that is has 55 questions, compared to 130 questions for the 7 or 110 questions for the 66.
Options are something of a strong suit for me as well, so I think I would find this much easier than the generalized intelligence in Finance required for the Series 7, not that I’m a 90 pound lightweight in that area either. Read on for more study strategies and subscribe to our blog for additional details and information on all things Finance.
Other examinations we’ll be covering on this blog include:
The CFP Exam
The CPA Exam
The CFA Exam
Getting a BA in Accounting
The Series 7
Series 66
Series 24
Series 9
Series 10
Series 8
The 2-15 Exam
The 2-20 Exam
And a host of other licensing exams, read on or subscribe to our blog for additional details and information.
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How to Pass the Series 9 Exam, My Study Strategies for Passing on the First Attempt
So, I have a pretty well established resume in the field of Wealth Management at this point, and after having obtained the SIE, 7, 66, 2-15, and working towards the Enrolled Agent, CFP, CPA, 2-20, and the 9/10 exams probably sometime next year, if I’m not something of an expert on this topic, I am definitely heading in the right direction.
Passing the Series 9 exam looks much like passing the 7, 66, 24, Enrolled Agent designation, or any other type of licensing exam. While it’s not rocket science, it is very difficult, and it’s not something that you can pass inside of a few weeks either. I personally recommend a full 8 weeks of studying for each one of these exams.
This gives you 4 weeks to read the text book and build yourself up a framework so that you can understand the practice tests. From here, take 2-4 practice tests and review the tests diligently every single day for the last 4 weeks.
You should be comfortably in the 80-85% range at this point, and should be more than ready to knock that exam’s block off. It is rare to have someone practice testing in the 80-85% range on Kaplan or Training Consultants that does not pass the test, so do the above and you will be in plenty good shape!
Why The Series 9 Exam is So Important, The Path to Registered Options Principal
The Series 9 exam is so important on your Wealth Management journey, even if it is not the most difficult exam in the world, in that it is the first step on your path towards becoming 9/10 certified. The 9/10 certification, also known as the Series 8, the older version of the exam, is your way to becoming a ROP, you need this to become a manager, sign off on Correspondence, sign off on documents in the name of the firm, approve incoming or outgoing correspondence, and to pretty much do any major thing that you can imagine a Branch Manager or Admin Manager doing in their day to day activities in the field of Wealth Management.
A CSA with their 9/10 in the field, while not unheard of, is somewhat rare, and you typically need to be in the business for as much as 3-5 years before firms will even consider letting you take your management licenses (big firms, I’ve seen smaller firms that I won’t name on here let people take their Series 24 before they take their Series 7, while they’re still quite literally Freshman to the business, but I digress.) And so, that’s the gist of why passing the Series 9 Exam is so important, be sure to knock it out on the first try, it always looks really good if you do, and somewhat bad if you don’t.
Comparing the Series 9 Exam vs the Series 7, Series 66 and Series 10, How They Stack Up
So, in order of comparing the Series 9 Exam, the Series 10 Exam, The 7 and the 66 Exams, here’s the rankings I give these tests. From hardest to easiest (the answer might surprise you):
- Series 10 – Yes, the Series 10 is I think going to be the hardest exam when considering the 7,66 and the 9/10. The 66 is extremely difficult don’t get me wrong, and since it is almost (keyword almost) all words and securities legal jargon, it is very difficult to get through. But the Series 10 is literally ALL Securities and legal Jargon, and while it is closer to the difficulty of the Series 66 than you might imagine, I’d say it is about 30% harder overall.
- Series 66 – The Series 66, to many of your surprises no doubt, is a good bit harder than the 7 and the 9. It again is about 70% legalize and Securities law, and is very boring to get through. The rules are very difficult to learn and memorize, and the concepts are straight up brutal.
- Series 7 – The Series 7 is tough, but its not brutally tough. It was honestly harder than I thought it was going to be, and I thought I’d breeze through this test when I took it a few years ago right out of college, having just graduated with a BA in Finance. Boy was I wrong, it took me about 9 weeks to study for this behemoth, and even though I was fiercely good at the options, the Mutual Funds and Municipal Bond Sections really tripped me up, and I think I passed by the skin of my teeth.
- Series 9 – So yes, out of the main gamut of exams, the Series 9 is the easiest. I find it easy for two reasons, first off, Options is beatable. It is math not memorizing laws, so it is a concept you can learn instead of a book you can memorize. Secondly, it is the SHOREST examination on this list by far, and the only exam shorter is probably the Series 31, the Managed Futures license exam, which is extremely easy to pass.
Final Thoughts on How to Pass The Series 9 Exam, My Opinion on the Examination
For more information on the Series 9 and on all things business and Finance, be sure to comment down below and subscribe to our blog for additional details and information. The Series 9, while one of the easier Securities Examinations in my opinion, is no joke, and should not be taken lightly. Get yourself a good Training Consultants course catalog, or a Kaplan Quiz Bank, and be sure to give yourself a solid 8 weeks of studying in order to ensure passage on the first try. Best of luck, you’ll need it!
Cheers!
*Inflation Hedging.com
Sources:
https://www.bankrate.com/banking/cds/cd-rates/
https://money.cnn.com/data/markets/
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