Feeling a little bummed, I was consistently scoring in the 80s on Achievable so not quite sure what happened.
Function 1 (Seeks Business for the Broker-Dealer from Customers and Potential Customers):
Low
Function 2 (Opens Accounts After Obtaining and Evaluating Customers’ Financial Information):
Borderline
Function 3 (Provides Customers with Information, Makes Recommendations, Maintain Records):
Low
Function 4 (Obtains and Verifies Customers’ Instructions; Confirms Transactions):
Adequate
Are there any tips in what areas I should focus on? Questions that I know for sure got me were REITs, UITS, BDCs, and Interval Funds. What really threw me off were a few questions about name changes. I don’t recall seeing that in the materials.
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Hi @Warren_Prosacco - sorry the exam didn’t go your way. Your biggest area of opportunity is Function 3, as it represents 73% of your exam (91 total questions). The concepts you referenced (REITs, UITs, BDCs, and interval funds) are primarily from Function 3. Anything relating to the characteristics, risks, and/or suitability of an investment product or security can be attributed to Function 3. As you likely noticed, we cover suitability throughout our materials. I recommend focusing on Units 1-9 and 16 to improve your knowledge. Pay particular attention to the ‘Suitability’ chapters embedded in those units.
I wouldn’t be too concerned about Function 1, as it only represents 7% of the exam (9 total questions). The most important concepts from this Function are:
I also wouldn’t be too concerned about Function 2, as you were ‘borderline’ (average) and it only represents 9% of the exam (11 total questions). You did well in Function 4 (‘adequate’ is the highest grade), so all good there.
I recommend you spend about a week reviewing the units and chapters referenced above. Re-read chapters, re-take the quizzes, and keep up on your assigned reviews. After, jump back into practice exams and take/review them as much as possible. If you notice you’re scoring consistently low in a particular unit (e.g., Options, Municipal debt), spend some time reviewing that unit. Rinse and repeat until your retake.
A 71% is so “bittersweet” - it’s tough to get into the 70s, so you should celebrate that! But, you didn’t quite make it to the 72% mark. Continue to learn and build your knowledge, and I’m confident you’ll do enough to get one or two more questions right on your next exam.
Last thing - you mentioned name changes. Were these in relation to U-4 updates? Or something else? Don’t share any specific questions from the exam, but I want to identify the concept you encountered and point you to where we cover it in our materials.
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Hi @brandonrith , Thanks for the helpful response and guidance! The score was definitely bittersweet knowing that I missed out due to a single question. Stinks that I have to wait 30 days until I can retest but hopefully that’ll give me enough time to get over the hump. (Hopefully by more than 2 questions!)
Regarding my mention of name changes - it wasn’t pertaining to U-4 updates but changes to an investor’s account. I don’t recall the exact verbiage but the question had more to do with whether a trade could be executed while a name change was pending.
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It’s likely FINRA was testing Rule 4515, which covers name changes and trade executions. We cover the rule in this chapter. Here’s a quote:
Another example of a situation requiring principal approval relates to name changes. For example, let’s assume a customer gets married and changes their last name. Shortly after being married, the customer requests for their name to be changed within the broker-dealer’s system. At the same time, the customer submits a trade request. FINRA Rule 4515 requires the name change be reviewed and approved by a securities principal before any trades can be executed.
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