ROC-A Exam study plan
ROC-A Exam · Give each week a clear focus.
8 weeks · About 6 hours per week
Regulatory framework and market structure
Map the regulatory architecture by listing each regulator, its statutory mandate, and the instruments it supervises
Distinguish exchange, ATS, and OTC venue types and explain which rules bind each
Trace the lifecycle of an equity order from entry through clearing and settlement, naming the intermediary at each step
Define insider, market maker, broker-dealer, and investment adviser roles and their registration triggers
Your checkpoint
A one-page regulatory and market-structure map linking each regulator to its venues, participants, and core rulebook, scored against a 20-item self-quiz at 80% or better
Regulatory framework and market structure & Market conduct, ethics and compliance
Summarize the core prohibited practices (manipulation, spoofing, layering, front-running) and the conduct each prohibits
Explain how surveillance detects wash trades and marking-the-close activity
Compare disclosure obligations for conflicts of interest across agency and principal trades
Identify whistleblowing, recordkeeping, and reporting duties that attach to registered representatives
Your checkpoint
A two-column table of ten prohibited practices with the defining conduct and the evidence trail each leaves, plus five original scenario judgments with written reasoning
Equity products and trading mechanics
Classify order types by trigger, time-in-force, and price constraint and state when each is appropriate
Explain the mechanics of short selling, locate requirements, and buy-in procedures
Compare auction, continuous, and dark-pool execution and their price-discovery contributions
Compute the effect of tick size, lot size, and circuit breakers on order handling
Your checkpoint
A decision tree that routes a stated client objective to an order type and venue, validated on ten practice scenarios with at least eight correct
Equity products and trading mechanics & Order handling, best execution and client obligations
Define best execution and list the execution-quality factors that must be weighed and documented
Explain order-handling priorities, client-order precedence, and handling of limit orders
Analyze trade-through and price-improvement obligations and when exceptions apply
Draft a client-instruction escalation path for unusual or potentially abusive orders
Your checkpoint
A written best-execution policy summary of at least 400 words covering factors, documentation, and review cadence, plus a completed mock execution-quality review of five trades
Fixed income and money market instruments
Price a bond from yield and distinguish clean from dirty price and accrued interest
Compute duration and convexity effects on price for a stated rate shock
Explain money-market instruments, their day-count conventions, and settlement norms
Compare credit, interest-rate, liquidity, and reinvestment risks across the fixed-income spectrum
Your checkpoint
A spreadsheet with five worked bond and money-market problems showing price, yield, duration, and accrued interest, with a one-paragraph interpretation of each result
Derivatives and structured products
Distinguish forwards, futures, options, and swaps by payoff shape and obligation structure
Compute intrinsic and time value and explain the Greeks' directional meaning
Explain how structured notes embed derivatives and where principal protection can fail
Identify suitability, disclosure, and complexity risks in retail structured-product sales
Your checkpoint
A payoff diagram set for four positions (long call, covered call, protective put, principal-protected note) with a written risk note on each, checked against a ten-item self-quiz
Order handling, best execution and client obligations & Market conduct, ethics and compliance
Apply know-your-client and suitability standards to three contrasting client profiles
Explain handling of client assets, segregation, and conflicts in principal trading
Outline complaint handling, supervisory review, and escalation timelines
Evaluate gifts, outside activities, and personal trading under a code of ethics
Your checkpoint
Three completed client-suitability files with recommendations, rationale, and documented conflicts, plus a one-page ethics case analysis reaching a defensible conclusion
Regulatory framework and market structure & Equity products and trading mechanics & Fixed income and money market instruments & Derivatives and structured products & Order handling, best execution and client obligations & Market conduct, ethics and compliance
Consolidate all six domains into a weighted review schedule matching exam proportions
Diagnose weak areas from practice results and re-teach the three lowest-scoring topics
Rehearse timing strategy on a full-length mixed practice set
Finalize a one-page formula and rule-reference sheet for last-day review
Your checkpoint
A full-length timed practice exam completed under exam conditions with a score report by domain, a remediation list, and a final one-page reference sheet
Milestones
Week 2: Score 80% or higher on a 25-question mixed set covering Domains 1 and 6, and explain every missed item in writing
Week 4: Produce the best-execution policy summary and pass a 20-question set on Domains 2 and 5 at 80% or higher
Week 6: Complete all bond and derivatives computations without reference notes and score 75% or higher on a 30-question set spanning Domains 3 and 4
Week 8: Achieve 75% or higher overall on the timed full-length exam with no domain below 65%, and confirm the remediation list is closed