I just scheduled to take the series 56 exam next week (sept 7). I purchased the study manual from CBOE and consistently scoring above 90% on the practice exams. Having read what others are saying here and wondering if this is enough to get through the test. I also hope to rely on some general experience in the industry...if anyone has any advice, please share before I take the test!
I scored well over 90% on all of my practice exams....real exam = 63% Thankfully I am getting a revised study guide and new practice exams that have been created after talking to a lot of traders that have taken the exam.
Wheww! glad it's over. The exam was hard but I am "lucky" to pass with a 73%. I studied with the cboe manual but I will confess that it did'nt help that much. I was surprised to see alot of question on options spreads, such as max gain, breakeven which definitely played to my strenght. You will see materials that you are not familiar with but you have to be able to use process of elimination to help. My biggest advice is that "Don't rush the questions...especially the obvious ones that you know. Not too many calculations but do use alot of time to think these questions over because they are alittle tricky. Also know the regulations...SHO, NMS, T, M, etc. I really can't give much advice because I barely passed, but I will say that the one strategy that help me is as follows: I read the entire study manual the first time Took about 7 practice exams on the cboe website (mostly ask you the same questions over and over) I then gave myself about 4 days with no studying or practice tests at all. then read the book over the second time...the second time I believe helped me retain the materials much better. I then took the practice exams 7 more times, then took the real exam Goodluck guys.
The secret to pass the seven was to be able to get 85% or better on ALL 15 practice exams (after reading the initial book. ONE time only) this means you should get 70% or better. note- rewriting ALL wrong answers or weak areas was highly recommended. This was like 10-12hours a day for me for a good month month/half
As I've said a zillion times... somewhat tongue in cheek to my friends in the retail broker world... "How hard can the Series 7 really be? Do you know any stockbrokers? They all passed it, LOL" ... come on guys, 7 or 56, it's just a test .... Don
Get ready for Prop firms to start closing up shop after the October 29th deadline. They are feeling the heat trust me. Only ones that will be left remaining are those that accept international business that will be able to sustain business operations. For the rest, well hope they have a huge marketing budget.