Our free online SIE study guide helped thousands of students pass the Securities Industry Essential exam. This study guide covers all the important topics mentioned in the FINRA SIE content outline. After finishing each section, we recommend you take our free practice exams.
Useful Resources
Are you looking to ace the SIE exam on your first attempt? Our free study guide is a great start, but try the SIE Course Prep for guaranteed success. It offers detailed lessons, practice exams, and personalized support.
Start Studying..!About SIE Exam
The SIE exam is an introductory-level test that assesses your basic knowledge of the securities industry, such as the structure of the securities market, regulatory agencies and their function, types of products and their risks, and prohibited activities.
Here is some important information about the SIE exam:
- Examination Mode: Computer
- Number of Questions: (75 scored + 10 unscored) multiple-choice questions
- Duration: 1 hour and 45 minutes
- Passing Score: 70%
- Cost: $80
- Eligibility: Anyone aged 18 or older
Section 1: Knowledge of Capital Markets
The first section of the Securities Industry Essential exam covers the regulatory entities and agencies, market structure, securities offerings, and economic factors and policies that impact the market. This section has 16% weightage, and 12 questions are asked in the SIE exam.
Section 2: Understanding Products and their Risks
This section covers equity securities, debt instruments, options, direct participation programs, exchange-traded funds (ETFs), hedge funds, and other products. It holds the highest weightage (44%), and 33 questions come from this section in the SIE exam.
Section 3: Understanding Trading, Customer Accounts, and Prohibited Activities
This section covers trade orders and settlements, corporate actions, and prohibited activities of registered representatives, such as market manipulation, insider trading, falsifying or withholding documents, etc. Approximately 23 questions come from this section in the final SIE exam.
Section 4: Overview of Regulatory Framework
This section covers regulatory requirements for registered representatives. You will learn about registration and continuing education, employee conduct rules, and reportable events that may require public disclosure.
Ready to Start Preparing…?
Start your SIE exam prep with our free resources. Explore each section of our study guide and track your progress with our practice exams.