Uniform Investment Adviser Law Examination, also called the Series 65 exam, is a test taken by individuals in the United States who seek to become licensed

investment adviser A financial adviser or financial advisor is a professional who provides financial services to clients based on their financial situation. In many countries, financial advisors must complete specific training and be registered with a regulatory ...

representatives. The exam covers topics necessary to provide investment advice to clients. The Uniform Investment Adviser Law Examination was developed by the

North American Securities Administrators Association The North American Securities Administrators Association (NASAA), founded in Kansas in 1919, is the oldest international investor protection organization. NASAA is an association of state securities administrators who are charged with the responsi ...

(NASAA) and is administered by the

Financial Industry Regulatory Authority The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) is a private American corporation that acts as a self-regulatory organization (SRO) that regulates member brokerage firms and exchange markets. FINRA is the successor to the National Associat ...

(FINRA). Each Series 65, Uniform Investment Adviser Law Examination, contains a total of 140 questions. One hundred thirty (130) of the questions count toward whether the candidate passes or fails the Series 65 exam. The other 10 questions are pretest and could appear in any position within the exam but do not count towards the final grade. To pass the Series 65 Exam, candidates must correctly answer at least 94 of the 130 scored questions. Applicants have 180 minutes to complete the exam. The Uniform Investment Adviser Law Examinations are assembled by FINRA using a process called "on the fly." Each question in the pool has two parameters that are used as part of the assembly, a difficulty parameter and a content parameter. Each exam is assembled to meet the exam specifications for content and to have the same difficulty level as all other exams in the same Series.

Examination

The Uniform Investment Adviser Law Examination consists of 130 questions plus 10 pretest questions that cover topics applicants must know to provide investment advice to clients. Applicants have 180 minutes to complete the examination, and must answer at least 94 (72%) of the questions correctly to pass the Series 65 exam. The examination is a closed book test. On completion of the examination, the score for each section and the overall test score are immediately available to the candidate. Prior to January 1, 2010, a score of 68.5% was required to pass.

Registration

Individuals providing investment advice are called "Investment Adviser Representatives" (IAR). These IARs must generally complete The Uniform Investment Adviser Law Examination (see

List of securities examinations The following is a list of securities examinations and the organizations that offer them. Africa *The Securities Industry Training Institute East Africa (SITI) was conceptualized in 2008 to standardize and administer market education for the E ...

) known as the Series 65 Exam, or by meeting the exam waiver requirement by holding one or more of the following pre-qualifying designations:

Certified Financial Planner The Certified Financial Planner (CFP) designation is a professional certification mark for financial planners conferred by the Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards (CFP Board) in the United States, and by 25 other organizations affiliate ...

(CFP), Chartered Financial Consultant (ChFC);

Personal Financial Specialist Certified Public Accountant (CPA) is the title of qualified accountants in numerous countries in the English-speaking world. It is generally equivalent to the title of chartered accountant in other English-speaking countries. In the United Sta ...

(PFS),

Chartered Financial Analyst The Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) program is a postgraduate professional certification offered internationally by the American-based CFA Institute (formerly the Association for Investment Management and Research, or AIMR) to investment and fina ...

(CFA), or Chartered Investment Counselor (CIC).

History

Since August 2020, when the SEC broadened the definition of accredited investor, the Series 65 exam is the only qualifying exam that doesn't require the sponsorship of a firm.

Notes

{{reflist Financial regulation United States securities law

Examination

Registration

History

See also

Notes