When it comes to Series 7 softballs, or in other words, very easy questions, any sections that have to do with rules and regulations are front and center.
In today’s post, we recommend what you need to solidify to offset weakness in other areas.
Series 7 Softballs: Retirement!
One section that can often account for a handful of questions is “retirement accounts” and related topics.
This section is far more simple than understanding call options, put options, convertible bonds, or margin accounts. It requires a bunch of memorization but not a lot else. A few things to conquer are rules around contributions into retirement accounts – before tax or after tax. And then, know how profits get taxed upon withdrawal or whether they don’t at all.
The retirement account section also reviews ERISA rules. All of this may sound boring, but they are excellent free points!
Overall, since this section is very heavy on rules, it’s an area where we highly recommend you focus.
You do not want to get less than 80% in the section ideally. Also because that score will enable you to score 65% or lower in the options section, which can be quite difficult for many.
Create a Cushion
Other sections worth putting some time in (since they are relatively easy) include: Communications, handling customer accounts, order flow, and complaint resolution. All of these are straight forward but require knowledge of rules.
These sections along with Series 7 new issues, should all be areas where you score 85% or higher and create a cushion in your score. Each section may not be worth very much on the exam. But, taken all together, you are talking about over 10% of the exam, and therefore very much worth perfecting.
In a nutshell, the above sections are much easier to conquer than the more difficult quantitative sections.
Thus, we highly recommend you put some time into these more digestible areas of your Series 7 studying. If you have any questions, feel free to reach out! Good luck!