what is the series 65 exam 
designed by the north american securities administrators association nasaa and administered by the financial industry regulatory authority finra the series 65 is an exam and securities license required for individuals to act as investment advisers in the us the series 65 exam known formally as the uniform investment adviser law examination covers laws regulations ethics and various topics important to the role of a financial adviser understanding the series 65 examsuccessful completion of the series 65 exam is designed to qualify candidates as investment adviser representatives iars in their home states as an iar advisors must act in a fiduciary capacity offering investment advice to clients for a fee passing the series 65 exam formally known as the uniform investment advisor law exam is the only requirement for becoming an iar there are no prerequisites and candidates do not need to be sponsored by an investment firm to sit for the exam but they need to file a form u10 form u4 for brokers and pay the 187 exam fee 1the series 65 exam includes 130 questions that cover topics determined to be necessary to understand in order to provide investment advice to clients these include questions on the subjects of economics financial markets investment vehicles investment strategies analysis and ethics 1if you are not charging a fee and you do not regularly provide advice on securities then you most likely do not need to get your series 65 license other finra administered qualification examinations include the series 3 national commodities futures ncfe series 7 general securities representative gs and series 63 uniform securities agent state law financial professionals who have successfully passed the series 65 exam may not act as investment advisers until licensed and registered in their state series 65 exam structurethe series 65 examination contains 130 multiple choice questions candidates have 180 minutes to complete the exam candidates must get 92 of the 130 questions correct to pass a score of 70 1test takers must schedule an exam at a qualified testing center where they are provided with a basic four function electronic calculator only this calculator may be used during the exam dry erase boards and markers are also provided for candidates no reference materials of any kind are permitted in the exam room and there are severe penalties for those who are caught cheating or attempting to cheat an individual s firm can schedule a candidate to take the exam by filing form u4 and paying the 187 examination fee if an individual is not firm registered the candidate uses form u10 to request and pay for the exam if you only have a series 65 license you can give financial advice but you cannot sell securities execute trades on behalf of clients or manage portfolios to do so you will also need to pass the finra series 7 exam which is more intensive series 65 exam contentnasaa provides updated information on the exam s content on its website the exam is structured as follows 2there are several resources in book form or online to help study and prepare for the series 65 exam candidates are encouraged to devote between 50 to 70 hours to studying for the exam unlike many other securities exams preparing for the series 65 exam primarily involves memorizing rules and laws people with good recall might require less preparation time than those who struggle with recall regardless some exam sections are more challenging than others especially for people with no background in securities in addition investopedia has reviewed several of the best series 65 test prep courses which you can find here series 65 vs series 63 vs series 66the nasaa offers three exams series 65 series 63 and series 66 the series 65 was the first exam created by nasaa back in 1989 used to evaluate the competency of individuals who wanted to engage in commission or fee based investment advisory services such as being a financial advisor or ria at the time it was launched it focused primarily on the uniform securities act nasaa rules and ethical practices in the securities industry the series 63 was developed to qualify candidates who wished to work in a state s securities industry and sell investment products such as stocks mutual funds variable annuities and unit investment trusts in other words to execute trades rather than give out financial advice 3the exam covers the principles of state securities regulations and laws and is formally known as the uniform securities agent state law examination 3the series 66 is a newer nasaa exam that combines subject matter from both the series 63 and the series 65 and is fittingly known as the combined state law exam test takers of the series 66 must also take the finra series 7 licensing exam which is not a co requisite of the series 63 or 65 although many individuals will still need the series 7 to operate legally 314