STUDY FOR THE SERIES 66 EXAM

  In contrast to exams created and sponsored by FINRA,  the Series 66 is a test designed and created by the North American Securities Administrators Association (NASAA) to serve as the test required by various states for those seeking to become registered as investment adviser representatives. Therefore, a candidate should expect to see questions on provisions of the Model Uniform Securities Act as it relates to registration of investment advisers, their I.A. reps, exemptions from registration for certain advisers, and notice filing requirements for federal covered advisers. The Series 66 also includes questions on the definition of a broker/dealer, the requirement to keep books and records, and proper supervisory requirements for both brokers and advisers. Also, if you are a candidate for the Series 66 exam,  be prepared for questions on regulation of agents of broker/dealers, and the requirement for registration in each state in which a broker/dealer or adviser does business an

An important part of the Series 66 Exam is the section on Ethical Practices and Fiduciary Obligations. An investment adviser rep has fiduciary obligations to his/her clients. This means that the I.A. rep must always do what is in the best interest of the client, without taking into consideration the I.A. rep's own profit. For example, let's suppose that James, an I.A. representative, determines that three mutual funds are suitable for Widow Jones, a client. Fund A, Fund B, and Fund C. All three are suitable in themselves, suitable for Widow Jones, and suitable insofar as they do not offend quantitative suitability. However, Fund A has an expense ratio of 1.25 percent and a front-end sales charge of 3.25 percent. Fund B has an expense ratio of 0.95 percent and a front-end sales charge of 3.50 percent. Fund C has an expense ratio of 0.45 percent and a front-end sales charge of 2.50 percent. A fiduciary obligation means that James has an obligation to recommend Fund C because

If you are planning to take the Series 66 Exam, be careful to study carefully the topic of alternate investments. Under Section II (E) of NASAA's Study Outline for the Series 66 , here's what is listed: Characteristics, Risks, and Application of Alternative Investments 1.  exchange traded notes 2. leveraged funds 3. inverse funds 4. structured products 5. viatical/life settlements Note the presence of exchange-traded notes (ETN's). You might be unfamiliar with how these ETN's are set up, and what they entail. Above all, be sure you can enumerate the differences between ETN's and ETF's (exchange-traded funds). Bob Eder's book, Study for the Series 66 Exam, goes into detail on the differences, and covers much much more. Study for the Series 66 Exam is available at Amazon in either paperback or Kindle e-book versions. Here is a link to Bob Eder's book on Amazon.

If you are planning to sit for the Series 66 —Investment Adviser Representative—exam in the near future, don't neglect studying the various types of return and how to compute them. For example, be able to compute time-weighted return, dollar-weighted return, expected return, inflation-adjusted return, etc. Bob Eder's book,  Study for the Series 66 Exam , shows a student how to compute each of the above returns, as well as other returns. Bob Eder gives examples of the computations, and includes practice questions embedded in the text, to test the reader's comprehension and mastery of the computations. For your reference here is a  link to the NASAA Study Outline for the Series 66 Exam . Note that the Study Outline indicates various forms of return that you need to know for the exam. See III (K) (1) in the Study Outline. Bob Eder's  Study for the Series 66 Exam  is available from Amazon in either Kindle e-book version or paperback. Here is the  link to Amazon's pa