Series 7 pass rate | Wealth Management (2024)

Feb 10, 2005 9:51 pm

I'm a one-time RR, now a journalist, writing a guide to passing the S7. First, I hope I'm at the right place to ask some friendly, curbside advice. Second, I have a specific question up-front: Does anyone know (and NASD won't tell me) how many people take the S7 in a year? Extra credit: how many *pass* it?

Thanks in advance!

Feb 11, 2005 2:03 am

Feb 11, 2005 2:17 am

Feb 11, 2005 5:20 am

Feb 11, 2005 5:18 pm

Feb 11, 2005 7:27 pm

[quote=joedabrkr]Frankly with some of the morons I see out there who are registered, and the things I see them do with clients' money, I think the test is far tooo easy![/quote]

I agree.I think theyshould make an exam simular to the CFP exam theentry point for rookies. The seven is a joke!True it does not test everything but it is much more comprehensive then the seven.

Feb 12, 2005 11:21 pm

Prompts another question:

The consensus is, it's too easy. My own opinion: you could train a chimp to pass an exam that's all 4-way multiple choice (all you need is 70% and you're pretty much guaranteed 25% if you just hit "A" 250 times).

So why does one candidate in three fail?

I'm not trying to be facetious. I'm not looking for an answer like "'cuz they're a bunch of morons". Bottom line: Why do some fail while others pass?

Feb 13, 2005 12:49 am

>>I'm not trying to be facetious. I'm not looking for an answer like "'cuz they're a bunch of morons". Bottom line: Why do some fail while others pass?

You may not be looking for an answer like that, but that doesn't mean it isn't the right answer.

Have you ever taking a statistics course? If you have, then you know that (given a large enough sample size)the range of variation of any human characteristic will fit nicely into a bell curve shaped distribution. Just as there are some people whoareunder 5'0"tall, even though the most people are taller, thereare also some people who will fail the Series 7, even though the other 70% will pass.

Feb 13, 2005 12:59 am

Feb 14, 2005 3:49 pm

I think the main reason 2 out of 3 fail is because of the option questions. They are tricky and unless you spend some time learning about them, you will likely fail the 7. With that being said the S7 in no way prepares a person to be a financial advisor. It prepares them to understand the markets and what types of orders a broker can initiate.

The FPA is suing over this right now. I am studying for the CFP and can honestly say I have learned a ton that will help my clients that I didn't even know existed after taking my 6,7,63,65,24,Life, health VC

Feb 14, 2005 5:03 pm

The pass rates in good training programs that the larger wirehouses run is better than 90%. It isn't a difficult exam, but it really isn't what's required to ensure that you're giving clients advice worth listening to.

The CFP exam pass rate, OTOH, is just over 50% and that's with most people taking the exam spending three years in the business prior and taking a series of prep classes.

Feb 15, 2005 1:33 am

First: thanks, Bankrep1, for your insightful reply.

Second: Jonesnewbie, I agree that you have to be a special kind of stupid to flunk the S7. Everyone in this forum who's going on about the CFP is absolutely right that the S7 is dumbed down. the S7 content outline prepared by the NYSE states clearly that it's only intended as a screen for *entry level* positions in financial services. Still, I think we're all agreed that a lot of, shall we say, unsophisticated people have managed to pass the exam.

So let me restate my question: Why do some *morons* fail while other *morons* pass?

Feb 16, 2005 2:32 pm

Feb 18, 2005 4:11 am

Jan 13, 2007 4:20 am

Jan 13, 2007 5:11 pm

Jan 13, 2007 5:20 pm

I have the exact same percentages for the period between 9/24/03 and 03/22/04. So the 66% pass with an average score of 73% is a pretty solid number over several years.

Jan 13, 2007 10:19 pm

Mar 15, 2007 6:38 pm

Mar 15, 2007 6:54 pm