The Securities Industry Essentials (SIE) Exam is one part in a series of exams that is necessary to become a licensed financial advisor. The SIE exam is administered by FINRA, which is the government-authorized, non-profit organization responsible for administering all of the testing on behalf of the North American Securities Administrators Association (NASAA). According to FINRA, the SIE exam is an "introductory-level exam that assesses a candidate's knowledge of basic securities industry information including concepts fundamental to working in the industry" such as: The SIE was instituted by FINRA to fix two primary issues: The SIE is designed to test all introductory subjects and eliminate previous redundancy. Prior to the SIE, an individual would need to be sponsored by an employing brokerage in order to sit for any of FINRA's Series-specific exams. But, individuals can sit for the SIE exam before securing employment, allowing individuals to obtain a license prior to being employed by a firm. In order to become fully registered to work within the securities industry, an individual must pass the SIE exam and a "co-requisite" qualification exam appropriate for their desired industry—this is a Series-specific exam, such as the Series 7 General Securities Representative exam. To take one of the following qualification exams, the candidate must be sponsored by a FINRA member firm eligible to sponsor them.What Is the SIE ® Exam?
FINRA's Definition of the SIE ® Exam
How the SIE ® Exam Came About
Getting the necessary securities licenses required redundant testing. Existing licenses, such as Series 6, 7, and 63, tested the same introductory topics multiple times.
SIE ® License
Qualification Exams
Securities Industry Essentials (SIE) FAQs
The SIE Exam stands for the Securities and Industry Essentials Exam.
The Securities Industry Essentials (SIE) Exam is one part in a series of exams that is necessary to become a licensed financial advisor.
According to FINRA, the SIE exam is an “introductory-level exam that assesses a candidate’s knowledge of basic securities industry information including concepts fundamental to working in the industry,” such as capital markets, financial products and their risks, trading, customer accounts, prohibited activities, and regulatory frameworks
In order to become fully registered to work within the securities industry, an individual must pass the SIE exam and a “co-requisite” qualification exam appropriate for their desired industry—this is a series-specific exam, such as the Series 7 General Securities Representative exam.
The SIE was designed to test all introductory subjects and eliminate previous redundancy.
True Tamplin is a published author, public speaker, CEO of UpDigital, and founder of Finance Strategists.
True is a Certified Educator in Personal Finance (CEPF®), author of The Handy Financial Ratios Guide, a member of the Society for Advancing Business Editing and Writing, contributes to his financial education site, Finance Strategists, and has spoken to various financial communities such as the CFA Institute, as well as university students like his Alma mater, Biola University, where he received a bachelor of science in business and data analytics.
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