and futhermore, How would you feel about giving a job to someone who thinks passing a test is a big deal? When I was working as a stockbroker, I got bored with stocks and wanted to be a commodity broker. So on my own, I paid $320 for the book and took and passed the series 3. When I passed, I went to the bar and celebrated and came back to the office all loud and red faced. They sent me home After that, it was all wheat, corn and beans for me
Congratulations. I mostly agree with the dude above who wrote there really is no point to taking these licensing exams. It's just a money-making scheme for regulators and the nanny state to swipe more money out of private individual's profits. Scoring a 20 or a 90 has about 0 correlation to the type of trader you are or how well your strategies work. I've seen complete retards score a 90 and blow out of their account in a day or two and people who passed on the third attempt who are profitable right out of the gate. It's completely subjective and up to the traders' skills. I made a post a few minutes ago with series 56 outlines for those taking the exams / interested to know what's on it.
So, how much does it cost to take the "56" and how many times can you take it? If you pass, is the "license" good for life or is there an annual update fee? Sounds like a big scam.
I won't take an exam unless I need the certification to help me get a job. For eg I'm in a Master of Quantitative Finance program part-time because I'm aiming to get a quant job (though the knowledge will probably help in formulating my trading algos). I'm curious: are there any jobs out there which explicitly require the Series 56 cert? I didn't think prop traders require certifications of any kind; I thought you just needed to be a good trader or have a good track record.
Getting a degree is not the same as a business license. Getting an MS gives you a chance to get a structured approach to working on your aglos. Getting a license would be added useless fees. Might have something to do with the 8 figure incomes the FINRA execs have been getting the last few years - http://articles.businessinsider.com...nra-board-million-gift-incentive-compensation It is a scam for the most part. You have to pay to renew the license every two years and you have to have registered with a registered firm, which means more fees from FINRA (registration, fingerprints, trading taxes, etc.) There hasn't been one study that shows licensing exams help traders become profitable or successfully navigate the markets.
Well I'll be daft if I believe that taking one certification exam (or taking a MS for that matter) will make one a great trader. My question was whether there are any specific jobs out there that actually require a Series 56 license/cert. I know you need certain licenses in order to work at a commodities brokerage, for instance.
it's only for CBOE traders. The rolls you can use a series 56 for are very limited (only a CBOE broker-dealer can hold a 56). Retail firms can't. For that reason, the series 7 is a lot more flexible in that respect but covers additional securities such as bonds, etc.
Thanks for your answers. I also prayed to Google and tada http://www.optionscity.com/blog/sec-requires-proprietary-traders-pass-series-56-september-2011 Oh and congrats, OP, on the pass! All the best with your prop trading.
LOL! That's exactly what the retail brokerages do! I was a broker at mother Merrill (long before bac "marriage.") Once a retail guy passed his Series 7, he was free to smile and dial pitching commission based products he really knew little to nothing about. Scary! The target clients were typically business owners in the mornings, retirees afternoons, and speculators-any time-wanting "expert" lol picks. Imagine someone knowing basically zero, getting whatever compliance will let through to retirees. It was a scary thing to see happen day in day out! A month after passing the 7, the 66 was to be taken. Yes, after passing that, the above newbie becomes an Investment Advisor Rep. Scarier! Trying to handle grandma and grandpa's entire nest egg with whatever compliance allows to fly, plus being a newbie? Not usually a good combination. These licenses are simply a way to draw more regulatory fees to be squandered, grease more palms of political whores, KEEP THE SHEEP SCARED, and are worthless. They don't teach how the markets REALLY operate, and a trader they do not make, nor even help... God bless America