Varieties of Series Exams for financial certifications

The Series exams are a group of exams run by the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA). Different exams are required / desirable for different financial roles, i.e:

• Series 55 - Equity Trading
• Series 56 - Prop Trading
• Series 79 - Investment Banking
• Series 86 - Equity Research

Most exams including those listed above require sponsorship from a company. The ones which do not require sponsorship are:

• Series 3 - National Commodity Futures
• Series 30 - Branch Office Futures Manager
• Series 31 - Futures Manage Funds
• Series 63 - Uniform Securities Agent State Law
• Series 65 - Uniform Registered Investment Adviser Law