Series 7 advice for a CPA
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Hi all -
New to this forum but had a couple misc. questions. I don't have time to do a huge search, just did a brief skim, but am wanting more specific info.
Anyone here already a CPA and looking to take the series 7? My father is a CFP and owns a business which he offered I inheret after working with him for some time. Of course I cannot say no, and understand step 1 is the series 7.
My question is....I used Becker for the CPA and averaged a 93%, so needless to say, I am a pretty good test taker. What materials do you recommend, and considering I do fairly well on standardized tests, what amount of time should I expect to study and pass this thing? Total hours, weeks, etc., whatever, just want an idea of what to expect once I purchase materials.
Thanks in advance.
I have a slightly different situation from yours, but I can tell you how I passed the Series 7 & Series 66 in one attempt.
I took the Series 7 test in September 2014 and passed with an 83%. I used Kaplan study materials including videos and the 4 day live class. The videos are a good introduction but offer little help with the actual practice exams. I read the entire book (650 pages). Also, I completed 1,500 questions from the QBank.
I am from St. Louis and I enrolled in Kaplan’s live class with Randy Bauer; I think he only teaches in the Midwest?? The classes run from 8:30-5:30 for 4 days. The live class and the QBank questions were the most helpful study “materials.”
I do not have a CPA or CFP, but my college major was in economics and I traded stocks and options as a hobby on Scottrade.
FINRA now has placed 30 options questions on the Series 7, so you must be familiar with puts, calls, covered calls, hedging short positions, spreads, etc. The live class spends 1 day on options alone.
Do NOT let anyone tell you that the Series 66 is easy. If someone says that it is easy, they haven’t taken the test recently. My score was a 78% and I believed that I had failed the test. The passing threshold was recently raised and the content is not easy.
Total months for Series 7 was 3 months, but I am very cautious and did not get really serious about it until the last month.