6 Ways To Acquire A Series 6 License for Financial Advisors

February 10, 2020

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Finding something you are really good at can be quite challenging. It is not uncommon in this day and age to find people constantly shifting careers and experimenting, all in the quest to find their niche and be really good at something. If you happen to be good with numbers, and in particular saving and spending smartly, then you might want to consider becoming a financial advisor. It is one of the better lines of work out there, and it offers a lot of possibilities if you know what you’re doing. It is not an easy career to get into, though, and there’s much more to it than being good with finances.

A good way to learn more and grow is acquiring the series 6 license for financial advisors, which is also known as a limited-investment securities license. This one helps holders sell packaged securities in the form of variable annuities, mutual funds, and unit investment trusts.

Here is how you can acquire it.

1. Study for the SIE exam

The first step to getting the series 6 license is studying for the Securities Industry Essentials (SIE) exam, as the series 6 one usually comes after this. You will need to cover a variety of topics, such as regulatory agencies, ethical practices, product information, and several other points. You need to be well prepared for the exam, so it is important that you don’t rush things and take it without properly studying, to save yourself wasting that time, effort, and money.

2. Take the SIE exam

After thorough preparation, you can now take the SIE exam. The great thing about this one is the fact that you can take it while still at school, and you do not need a firm’s sponsorship to do it. After taking the SIE exam, you have four years to study and prepare for any of the higher level exams, like the series 6 or series 7. You can actually take both within days of each other, but that doesn’t make much sense, and it would be best to take your time and carefully prepare for each. It is even possible to take the SIE exam after series 6 one, but it is best that you follow this order to get your licensing.

3. Get sponsorship

As mentioned earlier, you don’t need a company to sponsor you to do the Securities Industry Essentials exam, but unfortunately, that is not the case for the series 6 license exam. It is a higher-level license, and for this type of license, you need to have a company sponsor you. This could be a FINRA member firm or self-regulatory organization. After you secure a sponsorship, the firm applies for you, and they also usually cover the exam fees, which is definitely an added bonus.

4. Study for the series 6 license exam

Now that you have managed to secure a company’s sponsorship, you need to next study for the series 6 license exam. This one will cover a variety of topics, including some you may have studied in preparation for the SIE exam. But you should also expect to have your knowledge of packaged investments and securities regulations, among other points, tested. So, you need to also carefully prepare for this one and study carefully because you have to wait for a while before retaking the exam in case you failed.

5. Take and pass the exam

You are next ready to take the series 6 license exam, which as mentioned earlier is better taken after the SIE one. The duration of the test is 90 minutes, in which you will have to answer 50 questions divided into four functions, each covering a certain topic and carrying a different weight in the overall score of the exam. You need to score 70 percent or higher to pass the exam. If you fail, you can retake the test after one month.

6. License registration

The only step left right now is to register your license after passing the exam. You will need to register your series 6 license with the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) and get your approval to become a licensed financial adviser. This is not the end of the road, though, because there are other tests that you can take to grow and develop as a professional, like the series 7 licensing exam, but you are certainly in no hurry.

The series 6 license can exponentially help you grow as a financial advisor. It will help improve not just your academic knowledge, but also your understanding of the financial world, which will push you to achieve more success in the future.