Series 65 Study Plan: Weekly Breakdown

🧾 Series 65 Study Plan: Weekly Breakdown (4-Week Prep Guide)
📘 A Structured Study Timeline to Pass the Series 65 on Your First or Next Try

The Series 65 exam is 130 questions, testing your knowledge of investment strategies, laws, ethics, and portfolio theory. To pass, you’ll need a solid grasp of both conceptual material and how to apply it in real-world scenarios. Here’s a 4-week weekly breakdown study plan — perfect for focused, motivated candidates preparing full-time or part-time.

📅 Week 1: Foundations & Legal Environment

🎯 Objectives:

• Understand the structure of the exam
• Focus on Uniform Securities Act (USA)
• Grasp who must register and when

📘 Topics to Cover:

• Investment Adviser vs Broker-Dealer vs Agent
• Federal vs State registration rules
• Exempt securities and transactions
• Disclosures and reporting requirements
• Custody, discretionary authority, fiduciary rules

📝 Practice:

• 100–150 questions on USA definitions, exemptions, and ethical violations
• Focus on terminology & classifications

📅 Week 2: Investment Vehicle Mastery

🎯 Objectives:

• Learn all major security types
• Focus on investment products & risks

📘 Topics to Cover:

• Stocks, bonds, mutual funds, ETFs, REITs
• Derivatives (options, futures)
• Insurance products (annuities, life)
• Alternative investments
• Risk/return relationships

📝 Practice:

• Flashcards for product definitions and features
• 150+ questions on product selection and suitability

📅 Week 3: Portfolio Management & Economic Theory

🎯 Objectives:

• Understand modern portfolio theory
• Nail down economic indicators and monetary policy

📘 Topics to Cover:

• Asset allocation and diversification
• CAPM, beta, alpha, standard deviation
• Time value of money, IRR, NPV
• Business cycles, interest rates, fiscal/monetary policy
• Market efficiency and types of risk

📝 Practice:

• 200+ questions on portfolio theory, statistics, and economic environment
• Master the math: present value, yield, ROI

📅 Week 4: Review + Simulate Exam Conditions

🎯 Objectives:

• Reinforce weaknesses
• Build exam stamina and timing discipline

🧪 Activities:

• Take 2 full-length practice exams (130 questions, 180 minutes)
• Review all incorrect answers in detail
• Refresh legal rules and ethics (highest-weighted topics)

✅ Focus Areas:

• Ethics and fiduciary duty
• Suitability & client profiling
• Common traps: guaranteed returns, borrowing from clients, misrepresentation

⏱️ Daily Study Time Recommendation

🎓 Study Tools You’ll Need

• A reliable prep provider (Kaplan, STC, or similar)
• Practice question bank with explanations
• Printable flashcards or apps like Anki
• A tracking sheet for weak topics and progress
• Formula sheet: NPV, IRR, PV, standard deviation, etc.

✅ Passing Target:

• Score 80%+ on multiple full-length practice exams
• Master ethics + USA law = nearly 40% of the real exam
• Know definitions cold — most errors come from misunderstanding terms

🎯 Ready to build a custom PDF checklist or integrate this into your calendar?
Just ask and I’ll format it for printing or syncing with Google Calendar.

For full prep tools, checklists, and simulations:
👉 https://finra-exam-mastery.com

You’ve got this. With structure, focus, and repetition — you will pass.