Securities Industry Essentials (SIE) Exam Prep

Pass the Rice Securities Industry Essentials (SIE) Exam with the sharpest toolkit in finance.

(SEC-INDUSTRY.AE1) / ISBN : 978-1-64459-509-1
This course includes
Interactive Lessons
Gamified TestPrep
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About This Course

Make Wall Street’s doors a whole lot easier for yourself. Our Rice SIE Exam course is your all-access pass to acing the SIE and more. This exam prep guide walks you through everything you need to know–from understanding the SIE essentials and mastering question types to prepping with top-notch study strategies. 

Whether it’s tackling exam traps, or making sense of stocks, bonds, or packaged securities, we’ve got you covered with sharp insights, tips, and advice. 

Skills You’ll Get

  • Understand the structure, purpose, and content of the SIE exam 2023-2024
  • Identify the types of securities, including equity, debt, and municipal bonds 
  • Analyze the underwriting process and roles involved in security offerings 
  • Distinguish between different investment options, including mutual funds, REITs, and annuities 
  • Apply tax and regulatory rules for different securities and accounts 
  • Manage effective study strategies and test-taking skills 
  • Evaluate market research fundamentals and economic indicators 
  • Execute trade orders and understand the mechanics of securities markets 
  • Recognize potential exam traps and pitfalls to avoid
  • Plan a career path in finance with actionable tips for early success

1

Introduction

  • About This Course
  • Icons Used in This Course
  • Where to Go from Here
2

Introducing the SIE (Securities Industry Essentials) Exam

  • What Is the SIE Exam, Anyway?
  • Profiling the SIE Exam-Taker
  • One’s Not Enough: Tackling the CoRequisite Exams
  • Signing Up
  • Taking a Peek at the Tested Topics
  • Understanding the Exam Format and Other Exam Details
3

Preparing for the SIE Exam

  • Courses and Training Materials: Determining the Best Way to Study
  • Managing Your Study Time Wisely
  • Exploring Study Strategies
  • Developing Solid Test-Taking Skills
  • Knowing When You’re Ready
4

Examining and Mastering Question Types

  • Familiarizing Yourself with Question Formats
  • Shredding the Questions: Tips and Tricks
5

Surviving Test Day

  • Composing Yourself the Day Before
  • Making the Most of the Morning
  • Arriving on the Scene
  • Tackling the SIE
  • Revealing Your Results: Drumroll, Please…
6

Securities Underwriting: The Process and the Team Players

  • Bringing New Issues to the Market
  • Getting Up to Speed on the Types of Securities Offerings
  • Reviewing Exemptions
7

Equity Securities: Corporate Ownership

  • Beginning with the Basics: Common Stock
  • Getting Preferential Treatment: Preferred Stock
  • Securities with a Twist
8

Debt Securities: Corporate and U.S. Government Loans

  • Tackling Bond Terms, Types, and Traits
  • Making Basic Bond Price and Yield Calculations
  • Determining the Best Investment: Comparing Bonds
  • Exploring U.S. Government Securities
  • Playing It Safe: Short-Term Loans or Money Market Instruments
9

Municipal Bonds: Local Government Securities

  • General Obligation Bonds: Backing Bonds with Taxes
  • Revenue Bonds: Raising Money for Utilities and Such
  • The Primary Market: Bringing New Municipal Bonds to Market
  • Examining Other Types of Municipal Bonds on the Test
  • Taxing BABs: Taxable Municipal Bonds
  • Municipal Notes: Securing Short-Term Financing
  • Taking a Closer Look at Municipal Fund Securities
  • Understanding the Taxes on Municipal Bonds
  • Following Municipal Bond Rules
  • Gathering Municipal Bond Info
  • “G” That’s a Whole Lot of Rules
10

Delivering Diversification with Packaged Securities

  • Looking at Investment Company Registration
  • Diversifying through Management Investment Companies
  • Considering Other Investment Company Options
  • Adding Annuities to a Portfolio
  • Understanding the Investment Component of Variable Life Insurance Products
11

Working with Direct Participation Programs and REITs

  • Searching for Identity: What DPPs Are (and Aren’t)
  • The DPP Characters: General and Limited Partners
  • Pushing through Partnership Paperwork
  • Passive Income and Losses: Looking at Taxes on Partnerships
  • Evaluating DPPs
  • Checking Out Types of Partnerships
  • Reducing Real-Estate Risk with REITs
12

Options: Understanding the Basics of Puts and Calls

  • Brushing Up on Option Basics
  • Incorporating Standard Option Math
  • Gaining Additional Option Insight
13

Customer Accounts: Doing the Right Thing

  • Following Protocol When Opening Accounts
  • Selecting the Appropriate Type of Account
  • Working with Margin Accounts
  • Obeying the Telephone Act of 1991
14

Securities Analysis: Doing a Little Market Research

  • Getting to Know Your Securities and Markets: Securities Analysis Basics
  • Following the Green: Money Supply and Monetary Policy
  • Reading Economic Indicators
  • How Economic Factors Affect Securities
  • Your Principal Economic Theory Primer
15

Securities Markets: Taking Orders and Executing Trades

  • Shopping at Primary and Secondary Markets
  • Making the Trade
  • Understanding the Role of a Broker–Dealer
  • Receiving and Executing Customer Orders
  • It Takes All Kinds: Recognizing Different Types of Investors
16

Making Sure the IRS Gets Its Share

  • Everything in Its Place: Checking Out Tax and Income Categories
  • Noting Taxes on Investments
  • Exploring Retirement Plan Tax Advantages
17

Rules and Regulations: No Fooling Around

  • Meeting the Market Watchdogs: Securities Regulatory Organizations
  • FINRA Registration and Reporting Requirements
  • Trading by the Course When the Account Is Open
  • Committing Other Important Rules to Memory
  • The Investor’s Bankruptcy Shield: FDIC and SIPC Coverage
18

Ten SIE Exam Traps to Avoid

  • Easing Up on the Studying
  • Assuming the Question’s Intent
  • Reading into the Question
  • Becoming Distracted When Others Finish
  • Not Dressing for Comfort
  • Forgetting to Breathe
  • Trying to Work Out Equations in Your Head Instead of Writing Them Down
  • Spending Too Much Time on One Question
  • Changing Your Answers for the Wrong Reasons
  • Calculating Your Final Score Prematurely
19

Ten Ways to Start Your Career Off Right

  • Win at the Numbers Game
  • Be an Apprentice
  • Do Your Homework
  • Treat the Minnow Like a Whale
  • Smile When You Dial
  • When a Security Falls, Don’t Be a Stranger
  • Put In the Hours
  • Broaden Your Horizons
  • Pay Yourself First
  • Set Some Goals: The Brass Ring

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Read more about our Securities Industry Essentials exam prep here.

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The SIE (Securities Industry Essentials) exam is an entry-level assessment that tests basic knowledge of the securities industry, including concepts fundamental to working in the field. 

This course is ideal for individuals looking to start a finance career, including students, career changers, and anyone interested in understanding the securities industry.

Yes, our securities industry essentials (sie) exam study guide is designed for beginners, providing foundational knowledge and study strategies for the SIE exam.

While it’s not required for all positions, passing the SIE exam is a crucial step for many roles in the industry and enhances your job prospects.

You need at least a 70% score to pass the SIE exam.

The cost to take the securities industry essential exam is $80. This fee is paid to the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) at the time of registration.

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