Series 6 study plan
Series 6 · Give each week a clear focus.
8 weeks · About 7 hours per week
Provides Customers with Information About Investments, Makes Recommendations, Transfers Assets and Maintains Appropriate Records
Map the four functional domains and allocate your remaining study hours in proportion to their stated weightings, starting with the 50% domain
Describe the core features of equity securities, debt securities, and packaged products (open-end funds, closed-end funds, ETFs, UITs, variable contracts) in terms a retail client would understand
Distinguish investment objective, risk tolerance, time horizon, liquidity need, and tax status, and use them to match a product category to a sample client
Build a one-page product comparison matrix covering risk, liquidity, cost structure, and tax treatment for each major product type
Your checkpoint
A completed one-page product comparison matrix plus a 20-question self-quiz on product characteristics scored at 75% or better
Provides Customers with Information About Investments, Makes Recommendations, Transfers Assets and Maintains Appropriate Records
Explain how a variable annuity's separate account is funded and valued, and identify mortality and expense risk, administrative, and surrender charges
Compare traditional IRA, Roth IRA, 529 plan, and employer-sponsored retirement accounts on contribution limits, tax deferral, and withdrawal and distribution rules
Compute the tax consequences of distributions, realized capital gains, and return of cost basis for a sample customer account
Explain how mutual fund share classes differ in sales charge and ongoing expense structure, and how breakpoints and letters of intent reduce sales charges
Your checkpoint
A 15-problem computational worksheet on taxation, cost basis, and retirement plan rules with all work shown and 80% accuracy
Provides Customers with Information About Investments, Makes Recommendations, Transfers Assets and Maintains Appropriate Records
Apply the suitability obligation to three scenario clients by documenting reasonable-basis, customer-specific, and quantitative suitability
Sequence the steps to transfer customer assets between firms, including which authorization forms the receiving firm must obtain and how positions that cannot be transferred are handled
State the recordkeeping obligations for customer complaints, correspondence, and retail communications, and identify who must approve each
Draft a written recommendation memo for one client that discloses costs, risks, and alternatives
Your checkpoint
Three completed client suitability write-ups and one written recommendation memo, each reviewed against a suitability checklist
Provides Customers with Information About Investments, Makes Recommendations, Transfers Assets and Maintains Appropriate Records & Seeks Business for the Broker-dealer from Customers and Potential Customers
Describe compliant prospecting: needs-based fact finding, disclosure of capacity and compensation, and product-specific disclosure at first contact
Identify the rules governing telephone solicitation, including do-not-call list obligations and permissible calling times
Classify a piece of communication as correspondence, retail communication, or institutional communication, and state the approval and filing requirements for each
Explain the limits on gifts, gratuities, and entertainment given to or accepted from customers and other parties
Your checkpoint
A 40-question timed mixed quiz spanning the 50% and 24% domains, scored at 75% or better, with every missed item logged
Opens Accounts After Obtaining and Evaluating Customers' Financial Profile and Investment Objectives & Seeks Business for the Broker-dealer from Customers and Potential Customers
Collect and document the elements of a customer's financial profile: income, net worth, liquid net worth, tax bracket, time horizon, risk tolerance, and investment experience
Verify customer identity under a customer identification program and distinguish identity verification from suitability documentation
Differentiate account registrations - individual, joint with rights of survivorship, UGMA/UTMA, trust, corporate, and estate - including who controls the account and who may transact
Determine when a power of attorney or discretionary authorization is needed and identify the documentation each requires
Explain the firm's obligations when a customer's objectives or financial circumstances change materially
Your checkpoint
A completed account-opening checklist plus four filled-in client profiles covering four different registration types
Opens Accounts After Obtaining and Evaluating Customers' Financial Profile and Investment Objectives & Obtains and Verifies Customers' Purchase and Sales Instructions; Processes, Completes and Confirms Transactions
Distinguish discretionary from non-discretionary authority and state what must be documented before acting on each
Identify every required element of an order ticket and of a customer confirmation, and explain why each element exists
Sequence the trade lifecycle from instruction capture through execution, comparison, and settlement, and name the standard settlement timeframe for corporate and municipal securities
Describe how customer complaints about transactions are logged, escalated, and resolved within required timeframes
Your checkpoint
Two timed 25-question quizzes, one on the 16% domain and one on the 10% domain, each scored at 80% or better
Provides Customers with Information About Investments, Makes Recommendations, Transfers Assets and Maintains Appropriate Records & Opens Accounts After Obtaining and Evaluating Customers' Financial Profile and Investment Objectives & Seeks Business for the Broker-dealer from Customers and Potential Customers & Obtains and Verifies Customers' Purchase and Sales Instructions; Processes, Completes and Confirms Transactions
Rank the four domains by your practice-exam accuracy and reallocate the week's remaining hours to your two weakest domains
Re-work every missed item from weeks 1 through 6 and write a one-sentence rule that would have produced the right answer
Complete two full-length timed practice exams under exam-day conditions with no notes or pauses
Recite the distinguishing facts among product types, account registrations, and order types without referring to notes
Your checkpoint
A consolidated error log of at least 60 missed items, grouped by domain rule, with each rule restated correctly
Obtains and Verifies Customers' Purchase and Sales Instructions; Processes, Completes and Confirms Transactions & Provides Customers with Information About Investments, Makes Recommendations, Transfers Assets and Maintains Appropriate Records & Opens Accounts After Obtaining and Evaluating Customers' Financial Profile and Investment Objectives & Seeks Business for the Broker-dealer from Customers and Potential Customers
Drill only the 20 highest-frequency error rules from your log until each is recalled cold
Complete a final full-length timed practice exam and review every answer rationale, right and wrong
Recite from memory the key facts, definitions, and prohibited practices for each of the four domains
Confirm exam-day logistics: appointment time, identification required, and permitted materials
Your checkpoint
A final full-length practice exam scored at 85% or better, plus a single-page master review sheet written in your own words
Milestones
Week 2: You can explain any major product type - fund, annuity, equity, bond, retirement vehicle - to a hypothetical client in under 60 seconds and pass a 20-question quiz at 75%.
Week 4: You score 75% or better on a 40-question timed quiz weighted to the two heaviest domains, and you can classify a communication and apply the gift limit without notes.
Week 6: You can complete an account-opening file for any registration type and trace a trade from instruction to confirmation, scoring 80% on both domain quizzes.
Week 8: You score 85% or better on a full-length timed practice exam in at least two consecutive attempts, with no single domain below 75%.