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📅 SIE guideUpdated November 20266 min read4 practice questions

SIE study plan: 2, 4 and 6-week schedules

FINRA does not say how long to study for the SIE, and nobody can tell you exactly how many hours you will need. What you can control is the shape of the plan: study in proportion to the outline weights, practice every day, and finish with timed sets at the real pace. Below are three schedules. They are our suggestions, not FINRA guidance; pick the one that fits the time you have.

Before you pick a plan

  • Book the date first. Your enrollment gives you 120 calendar days to test, so enroll when you are ready to commit, then schedule inside that window.
  • Take a short baseline set before day 1. It shows which sections are new to you.
  • Weight your time like the exam: products and their risks 44%, trading and accounts 31%, capital markets 16%, regulatory framework 9%.
  • Practice at the real pace near the end: 80 items in 105 minutes is about 1 minute 18 seconds each.

In the app, the study plan counts down to your test date and tells you what to do each day.

The 6-week plan (about 45–60 minutes a day)

For students and anyone with a full-time job. Six days on, one day off.

WeekFocusPractice
1Capital markets: regulators, market structure, economics, offeringsA short set on each topic the day you learn it
2Equity and debt: stocks, bonds, Treasuries, agencies, money marketBond pricing and yield questions every day
3Munis, options and packaged productsOptions breakeven and fund math drills
4Investment risks, trading, settlement and corporate actionsMixed sets across weeks 1–4
5Customer accounts, compliance, prohibited activities, regulatory frameworkMixed sets; first timed 80-item set at the end of the week
6Review your weakest two sections; second timed set mid-weekLight review only on the last two days

The 4-week plan (about 75–90 minutes a day)

WeekFocusPractice
1Capital markets and equity securitiesDaily topic sets
2Debt, municipal securities and optionsDaily sets, with the calculations every other day
3Packaged products, risks, trading and customer accountsMixed sets; first timed full-length set at the weekend
4Compliance, prohibited activities, regulatory framework; then reviewSecond timed set four or five days before the exam

Four weeks works well when some of the material is familiar, for example after a finance course.

The 2-week plan (about 2 hours a day)

Tight, but workable if you can study every day and already know the basics of stocks and bonds.

DaysFocus
1–3Products and their risks: equity, debt, munis, options, funds, risk
4–6Trading, customer accounts, compliance and prohibited activities
7Timed full-length set, then review every miss
8–9Capital markets and the regulatory framework
10–11Your two weakest sections from the timed set
12Second timed set and review
13Light review of rules with numbers (deadlines, thresholds)
14Rest; check ID and appointment details

If two weeks of practice scores are still well under where you want them, moving the appointment inside your 120-day window is usually better than walking in unprepared.

What a good study day looks like

  1. Warm up with yesterday's misses (5 minutes).
  2. Learn one or two short lessons on today's topic.
  3. Practice 10 to 20 questions on the same topic, and read every rationale.
  4. Write down the one rule you got wrong in your own words.

Short daily sessions beat a long weekend cram. The app's daily set is built for the days you only have ten minutes.

The last 48 hours

Stop learning new topics. Re-read your list of misses, do one light mixed set, sleep, and read the SIE exam day guide so nothing on the day surprises you: arrive or check in 30 minutes early, bring one unexpired government photo ID whose name matches your appointment, and expect a calculator to be provided.

✅ Test yourself: 4 questions

Three quick checks; tap an answer to see the rationale. Exam practice only, not investment advice.

Question 1 of 4

A closed-end fund has a NAV of $25.00 and its shares trade at $27.50. The fund is trading at:

  1. A 10% premium to NAV
  2. A 10% discount to NAV
  3. A 9.1% discount to NAV
  4. A 9.1% premium to NAV
Show the answer and rationale

Answer: A

($27.50 − $25.00) ÷ $25.00 = 10%, and a market price above NAV is a premium. The 9.1% figures wrongly divide by the market price, and a discount would require the price to be below NAV.

📚 Learn it: Open, Closed or Fixed: The 1940 Act Family

Question 2 of 4

An investor sends $12,000 to buy a fund with a POP of $24.00 and a NAV of $22.80. How many shares does the investor receive?

  1. 480 shares
  2. 500 shares
  3. About 474 shares
  4. About 526 shares
Show the answer and rationale

Answer: B

Purchases are made at POP when a front-end load applies: $12,000 ÷ $24.00 = 500 shares. Dividing by NAV (≈526) ignores the load; the other figures come from incorrect math.

📚 Learn it: NAV, POP and the Next Price Rule

Question 3 of 4

FINRA Rule 2342 prohibits which practice?

  1. Offering letters of intent longer than 13 months
  2. Charging 12b-1 fees on money market funds
  3. Selling Class C shares to retirees
  4. Selling just below a breakpoint to earn a higher charge
Show the answer and rationale

Answer: D

Rule 2342 bans 'breakpoint sales': selling fund shares in amounts just under a breakpoint so that the customer pays, and the firm shares in, a higher sales charge. The other choices are not what the rule addresses.

📚 Learn it: A, B, C Shares and the Breakpoint Rules

Question 4 of 4

Which statement about money market mutual funds is accurate?

  1. They invest mainly in long-term corporate bonds
  2. They guarantee a $1.00 share price by law
  3. They can lose value
  4. They are insured by the FDIC up to $250,000
Show the answer and rationale

Answer: C

Money market funds hold short-term, high-quality debt and many seek a stable $1.00 share price, but they are not FDIC-insured and that price is not guaranteed, so investors can lose money. Long-term bonds would not fit a money market fund's limits.

📚 Learn it: Fund Flavors, Fees and the Prospectus

Set your SIE test date and get a daily plan →

The app counts down to your exam and picks each day's lessons and practice. No sign-up needed.

❓ Frequently asked

How long should I study for the SIE?

FINRA does not publish a recommended number of hours. Our plans run two, four or six weeks of daily study; use practice-set scores, not the calendar, to decide when you are ready.

Can I pass the SIE in two weeks?

Some people do, especially with a finance background, but it takes about two hours a day. If your timed practice scores are still low, move the appointment inside your 120-day window.

What should I study first for the SIE?

Take a short practice set first, then start with the largest section, products and their risks, unless the baseline shows a bigger gap elsewhere.

How many practice questions should I do?

There is no magic number. Do questions every study day, read every rationale, and finish with at least two timed 80-item sets at the real 105-minute pace.

📝 Practice this topic

📚 Learn it in the lessons

Sources

  1. FINRA, SIE Examination Content Outline (2025 edition): 75 scored + 5 pretest items, 1 h 45 min, the four sections and their weights
  2. FINRA, Test Enrollment Services System (TESS) FAQ: 120-day testing window, refunds
  3. FINRA, Securities Industry Essentials (SIE) Exam: questions, time, passing score, fee, eligibility, enrollment, test center or online, follow-on qualification exams
  4. FINRA, Prepare for Your Test Center Appointment: arrival, ID, calculator, note boards, breaks, results

Checked November 2026. Rules in transition name their date; FINRA updates its exam pages and content outline from time to time, so check finra.org before you test. SIE is administered by FINRA; SIE Ready is not affiliated with or endorsed by FINRA. Exam preparation only, not investment advice.

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