Different SIE course material matters when it comes to studying. Although many providers out there have some sort of “guarantee”, don’t be fooled. A guarantee does not actually mean that you’ll pass when it comes down to it.
More importantly, it doesn’t mean the course provider will protect you from an upset boss if you fail!
Today’s post will help you decide what companies add the most value (as of this writing – December 13, 2020). These observations are based off of the hundreds of students we see every year.
Course Material Matters
Starting out in the financial services business, and at a broker/dealer specifically, the SIE Exam is typically the first hurdle you’ll likely need to overcome to get your license for client facing jobs.
There is no shortage of companies that offer SIE Exam study material. However, there are two that stand out above the rest: Kaplan and Securities Training Corporation (STC). Both offer very thorough textbooks, are well organized, have easy-to-navigate textbooks and practice questions, and have been around for decades.
If we had to choose between the two, STC would be our top choice.
The reason being that STC practice questions are the most consistently accurate when it comes to matching practice exam scores with exam day performance.
Frankly, if we need to know if a student is likely to pass or not, STC’s practice exams are the best gauge. It’s as simple as that.
However, as mentioned above, some companies such as ExamFX “guarantee” that you’ll pass on the first try (but restrictions exist) or you get your money back.
Deals like this can be quite enticing.
The reality though, can be quite different.
Treat this the same way you would when choosing between a surgeon with decades of experience and proven success, with one offering you a discount if things go wrong.
When it comes to your career, we recommend you don’t mess around.
Stick to what works (even if you have to pay out of pocket – STC is about $120).
If you are still curious, do a little survey amongst friends or colleagues (more than 5 people if you can) to see what text they used to pass.
Textbooks and Practice Questions
When it comes to textbooks, there is little difference between the two prominent companies out there.
STC and Kaplan have significant overlap. Someone that studies Kaplan’s text, won’t have any major issues then using STC practice questions. Some minor discrepancies in their texts exist, but not enough to tank your chances of success.
As a SIE Exam tutor, we are comfortable teaching SIE material from either text.
Textbooks from companies like Training Consultants and ExamFX on the other hand are quite different. We’ve had many students complain to us about the organization, and insufficient explanations of certain topics from these textbooks.
At Professional Exam Tutoring we are hesitant to recommend anything but STC and Kaplan texts.
Another company you may be curious about is Pass Perfect and Solomon Exam Prep. While both of these companies can help you pass, our experience with students with them is mixed. We’ve had some students have success with them, but it’s not close to the same numbers as it is for STC.
As mentioned, course material matters.
Pass Perfect and Solomon Exam Prep have good study material but their practice questions are quite challenging (Pass Perfect more so than Solomon, in our opinion) and can have mixed results.
We’ve found some of their questions to be like throwing someone that doesn’t know how to swim in the deep end. The student may eventually figure it out, but we believe that there is a better way to get there.
Overall, we prefer the “goldilocks” approach to material. Somewhere in between too much explanation, and not enough, is “just right” for the exam.
To ensure that you have a thorough understanding of the material, we recommend that you stick with the “experts.”
STC is our number one choice.
Should the experiences of our students change, we will quickly and happily change our recommendations. But, at the moment these are our SIE Exam recommendations based off of experience. Ask us about our thoughts on the Series 7 Top-Off difficulty when you’re on to the next. Good luck!