Examworthyexamworthy.comFINRA Series 7 (General Securities Representative) cheat sheet
FINRA
Free to share. Examworthy is not affiliated with or endorsed by FINRA; Series-7 and related marks belong to their respective owners.
At a glance
Format: Multiple choice, closed book
Domain weight map
Heaviest first - spend your time hereHow this exam thinks
The Series 7 tests whether you can apply the right rule, calculation, or recommendation to a specific customer scenario, not whether you can recite a definition.
Spot the trap
Tempting wrong answers, and why they failTempting but wrong
A GO bond is serviced from the earnings of a single toll facility, while a revenue bond is serviced from ad valorem property taxes.
Why it fails
This names real repayment sources but reverses them: facility earnings back revenue bonds and ad valorem taxes back GO bonds, so the pairing is exactly backwards.
Provides Customers with Information About Investments, Makes Recommendations, Transfers Assets and Maintains Appropriate Records
Tempting but wrong
The custodian of a UTMA account may trade on margin and pledge the account's securities to pursue higher returns for the minor.
Why it fails
Margin and hypothecation sound like custodial powers, but a custodial account must be a cash account managed prudently, so leverage is not permitted.
Opens Accounts After Obtaining and Evaluating Customers' Financial Profile and Investment Objectives
Tempting but wrong
Is an email of market commentary to 60 retail clients correspondence, needing only post-use review?
Why it fails
Email to existing clients often feels like correspondence, but correspondence is capped at 25 or fewer retail investors in 30 days; reaching 60 pushes it over the line into a retail communication.
Seeks Business for the Broker-Dealer from Customers and Potential Customers
Tempting but wrong
On a premium callable bond, disclose yield to maturity, since a premium bond always returns most if held to maturity.
Why it fails
YTM is the headline yield, but on a premium bond an early call shortens the time to recover the premium, so YTM overstates the worst outcome rather than representing it.
Provides Customers with Information About Investments, Makes Recommendations, Transfers Assets and Maintains Appropriate Records
Tempting but wrong
A discretionary account lets the rep choose only the time and price of an order the customer already specified as to asset, action, and amount, with no written authorisation.
Why it fails
Time-and-price choices are exactly what does NOT make an order discretionary, so this describes permitted non-discretionary handling rather than a discretionary account.
Opens Accounts After Obtaining and Evaluating Customers' Financial Profile and Investment Objectives
Tempting but wrong
Is a static social-media profile interactive content, subject to supervision but not prior approval?
Why it fails
It sits on a social platform alongside live chat, but only real-time interactive posts qualify as interactive; content that remains posted is static and needs prior principal approval.
Seeks Business for the Broker-Dealer from Customers and Potential Customers
Tempting but wrong
Regular-way corporate and municipal bond settlement is T+2, matching the equity standard that applied just before.
Why it fails
T+2 was the intermediate standard that the May 2024 change replaced. Regular-way settlement no longer runs two business days out; it is now T+1.
Provides Customers with Information About Investments, Makes Recommendations, Transfers Assets and Maintains Appropriate Records
Tempting but wrong
The CIP minimum is name, net worth, annual income, and investment objectives sufficient to judge suitability.
Why it fails
These are suitability and profile facts gathered under the know-your-customer and suitability rules. They are not the identity elements the CIP itself requires to verify who the customer is.
Opens Accounts After Obtaining and Evaluating Customers' Financial Profile and Investment Objectives
Key terms
Exam-day rules
- Read the last sentence of the question first. It tells you what the customer actually needs, so you can read the scenario looking for the answer rather than memorising every number.
- Choose the single best answer for this customer, not merely a true statement. Several options are usually accurate; the exam wants the one that fits the stated objective and constraints.
- On a premium callable bond, quote the yield to call. It is the lowest yield, the yield to worst, and the option quoting yield to maturity is the planted trap.
- Keep Regulation T and FINRA margin apart: fifty percent initial is Regulation T, twenty-five percent long and thirty percent short maintenance is FINRA.
- Treat T+2 as a wrong answer. Regular-way settlement has been T+1 since May 2024 unless the item is explicitly about the old rule.
Revision schedule
- Day 1Map the blueprint and book a date
- Week 1Secure the account-opening and conduct rules (Function 2)
- Weeks 2-4Go deep on products and calculations (Function 3)
- Week 5Cover communications, new issues, and trade processing (Functions 1 and 4)
- Weeks 5-6Practise on scenarios with worked explanations