STUDY FOR THE SERIES 66 EXAM

NASAA publishes a Test Specifications for the Series 66 exam, and Section III (C) (1) (1.1) of these Series 66 Test Specifications includes Capital Asset Pricing Model (CAPM). Therefore, since CAPM is included, candidates for the Series 66 Exam need to know and study CAPM. A good self-test of whether you know what CAPM is about is to write a paragraph and see if you can explain it. Bob Eder in his  Study for the Series 66 Exam  discusses CAPM in Chapter 8 on Portfolio Management. Here is a sample of Bob Eder's treatment of CAPM: "The theory of Capital Asset Pricing Model attempts to establish the likely return of a portfolio, using the portfolio's beta, the expected return of the whole market, and the risk-free return of a T-bill. To arrive at a likely return, the CAPM subtracts the risk-free return, e.g., an average of the return on Treasury bills, say, for the last five years, from the expected return of the whole market. Then CAPM multiplies this net return by the beta

NASAA's Test Specifications for the Series 66 Exam list Digital Assets in Section  II (L) (2) , and mention characteristics, definition, and risks. This listing means that you might see questions about Digital Assets on your Series 66 Exam. Bob Eder in his  Study for the Series 66 Exam  discusses Digital Assets, and here is a sample of his treatment: Digital Assets                                                                                                                 II (L) (2) By "digital assets," we mean assets that have no physical existence, other than being stored, listed and traded on a computer or computerized network and which have unique or  sui generis  characteristics. Digital assets include crypto currencies, tokens, and digital coins. Digital assets also include film, videos and audios. Basically, the common element is that digital assets don't exist in physical form, or in the case of crypto, tokens and coins, do not have intrinsic value other th

Several weeks ago, Bob Eder's blog discussed RILAS or Registered Index Linked Annuities. In this blog Bob discusses the major penalties and charges that can reduce a client's return. These penalties include, but are not limited to, surrender charges; interim value adjustments and mid-term investment withdrawals; and tax penalties. This information is based on a publication of the SEC's Office of the Investor Advocate entitled "Report on Activities Fiscal Year 2023." A "RILA" has both insurance components and investment components. An investor puts money into a RILA, generally with a minimum requirement of $10,000 to $20,000.  After making this initial investment, the RILA purchaser then decides how much premium to put into investment options. These investments are relatively short-term, generally not exceeding six years.  This short-term character of RILA investments means that the investment options generally will not exceed the life of the RILA contrac