Series 7 exam

Dear All, Has anybody here taken the Series 7 Exam? Compared with CFA Level I, is it easier or more difficult? What’s the equivalent of Analyst Forum for Series 7 preparation? Many thanks.

i took a practice series 7 online and scored a 90% without even studying. so yeah i think its much easier. howerver there are laws in the series 7 that are not covered in the cfa. any hack can pass the 7.

cfa and series 7 are 2 different beasts… series 7 is a joke compared to cfa level1 as a matter of fact they should not even be talked about in the same sentence

If it takes you more than a weekend to pass Series 7 with a >90% score, than LI is going to be rough…

I agree with everything said here. The thing I found interesting after I took it was how many people around me failed it. It should be an easy pass with a little bit of studying…

The series 7 is a joke compared to this. The only thing you would (possibly) need to study is some of the Municipal Bond rules and regs, because that is a big section. That would take you all of one hour, max. The rest of it you could breeze through. Options are a big topic on there, and you will laugh at how easy that stuff is compared to the CFA material. And the series 7 ethics section can be boiled down to “if it sounds bad, it is”. Seriously.

I took Series 7 in October 2006 and seriously feel it’s a joke compared to the CFA (now that I have taken L1). It requires an absolute maximum of 1 month’s study and the actual exam questions are very similar to the 6-7 sample exams in the back of the prep material. I wouldn’t worry about it at all. Btw I studied for 3 weeks, was out 1.5 hours before end time and scored an 88% and I don’t consider myself a genius by a long shot, so that should give you some perspective.

Budfox is spot on. Apart from Municipal bonds, you will have to focus on taxes and self-regulatory organizations as well if I may add. A weekend is not enough. A week minimum, but again, questions are the key. When I was doing it, the questions helped eliminate so many of the silly mistakes one can make. Do the 7 before beginning the CFA studying, as then you will have a decent foundation on which to build the CFA knowledge.

nikko0355 Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > cfa and series 7 are 2 different beasts… > series 7 is a joke compared to cfa level1 > as a matter of fact they should not even be talked > about in the same sentence So true!!!

a quick/silly question: in order to register you need to be sponsored by a financial company who is a member of the NASD. Do I have to be an employee of that firm? or I can ask someone else to be a sponsor?

Pretty sure you have to be employed by one, because your license needs to be “housed” at a financial institution. they have come down on firms that keep licenses there for non-employees in the past. I remember they did that back in the early part of the decade.

So you’re Bud Fox, you sound intelligent. Where did you get these?

I have a connection at the airport.

Which one? Guatemala?

I just had to Bud! All seriousness though, is there any way to prevent a Series 7 from expiring? Mine will expire in August. Is there any independent/work at home/part time type of employment one could do in order to hold license? Granted the test is not very hard, I simply want to keep it as a credential for future endeavors.

KJH. Look into Primerica. I believe it is Citi’s investment division. It’s basically a pyramid skeem the way they have it set up, but if you act interested, I’m sure they would hold your license.

I have heard of Primerica. They would not look the greatest on my U4. But, do you know how they work exactly? I know its a part time type of gig. But what if one does not produce anything? Is there a franchise fee to start up or anything?

I’m not sure all of the details on it. I remember a friend of a friend trying to talk me into signing up since I was already licensed. I was thinking about it just to keep my license since I wasn’t in a related position at the time. I ended up not doing it though.

They would not be a bad company if their fees were lower. Their philosophy is buy term life and invest the difference. However the advisors fees eat up most of the client’s returns from the B Share mutual funds. My insurance license expired, perhaps I could at least get them to ‘ping’ my Series 7 so I have another 2 years until it expires.

I worked for a small RIA and we used a BD (Investors Capital Corp out of the Boston area) that specializes in independent reps to hold our licenses. They usually have around a 90% payout for commissions and take care of your operations and compliance stuff. However, you’re responsible for the annual fees and E&O insurance which I think was around $2,000 total.