Series 63 Exam 2024: New Year, Same Exam

For those of you that have to take the Series 63 Exam 2024 has minimal changes so far. In today’s post, we address what you should expect from this state exam this year.

Series 63 Exam 2024: Exempt versus Non-Exempt

Many of the same old issues are coming up again this year. Namely, students are tripping up over exempt versus non-exempt securities and transactions. These two topics are still among the most that we get queried on for private Series 63 tutoring.
If you have a problem with these sections, you are certainly not alone. One reason for the focus, is because they remain a key component of the exam. If you lose points in this area, you’ll just have to make them up somewhere else.
That said, another challenging section for many people we hear from at Professional Exam Tutoring is in understanding the difference between the investment advisor and investment advisor representative, and then the agent versus the broker dealer.

Firm versus The Employee

We find that the easiest way to differentiate the investment advisor, and the investment advisor representative, is to understand which one is the firm, and which one is the employee. The same goes for the agent (registered representative) versus the broker dealer.
One easy shortcut is to know that when the word “representative“ is involved they are referencing an individual, or employee. For instance, more than likely you are an employee that will eventually become a representative when you pass your exams. Therefore you would be an investment advisor representative or an agent (often referred to as a registered representative).
By contrast, an investment advisor, or a broker dealer, are both firms. As a result, there are very different registration requirements for each in certain circumstances. For instance, you will have to distinguish between when the firm is required to register, and when the individual employee is required to register.
Overall, the sections above remain challenging for most people. But, if you failed the Series 63 exam late last year, and have to retake it early this year, it’s unlikely that you should see a huge amount of difference. If you need help beyond these tidbits, reach out to speak with a Series 63 Tutor. Good luck, studying!