Description of Securities Licenses

There are certain securities license requirements that you should keep in mind if you plan to get into the securities industry, sell investment, or work for a broker-dealer. The first step, whether as a registered representative or as an investment advisor, is obtaining the right securities license. People who are in college for courses relevant to this are still required to secure some securities license training completion before working in the field. 

The FINRA (NASD)

All securities licensing procedures and requirements are handled by the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (formerly known as the National Association of Securities Dealers). Members of this self-regulatory organization must have their employees licensed depending on their job functions. FINRA also administers many of the examinations that professionals need to pass to be licensed. It offers licenses needed by supervisors and representatives in the field, each license corresponding to a business or investment. FINRA offers several kinds of licenses, some of them are listed below:

·         Series 6 – limited-investment securities license. Allows the holder of this license to sell packaged investment products (i.e., mutual funds, unit investment trusts, variable annuities). This license is required for insurance agents who sell variable products as well.

·         Series 7 – general securities representative (GS) license. Allows the license holder to sell individual security (common and preferred stocks, call and put options, bonds, packaged products, except those requiring life-insurance licenses to sell).

·         Series 3 – commodities specialty. Holders can sell commodity futures contract (riskiest publicly traded investment).

·         Series 63 – uniform securities agent license. All series 6 and 7 license holders must possess this license as well as it allows the holder to transact business within the state.

·         Series 65 – registered investment advisor. The license is for financial advising – financial planners or advisors.

Students or professionals who want to be in the securities or investment field must pass the exam for each type of securities license that corresponds to the kind of business or investment they are in. The best way to be prepared for the exam is by taking the right training course for it.

Many other licenses are required in the securities industry, all of them related of course to the specific business or type of investment. To know more about securities licenses and to get resources such as the series 6 license study material, you can visit http://www.securitiescampus.com/ - your provider of online securities training.