Welcome to the Series 24 Study Guide

You're about to begin a comprehensive journey through the FINRA General Securities Principal Qualification Examination. This study guide contains 18 units organized into five chapters, aligned with FINRA's content outline and sequenced for optimal learning.

The Series 24 is a supervisory exam. Where the Series 7 tested whether you could do the work of a registered representative, the Series 24 tests whether you can supervise it: writing supervisory procedures, reviewing communications, approving accounts, signing off on transactions, and enforcing the rules across a firm or business line.

The 5 Content Chapters

This guide follows FINRA's exam structure, building from registration and personnel management through trading and investment banking supervision:

Total: 18 content units covering 150 scored exam questions (plus this welcome chapter)

Why this order? Supervision begins with people. Before you can supervise activities, you need to understand who can do what (registration, qualifications, statutory disqualification). From there you build out general firm-level controls, then layer customer-facing activity, market-side activity, and finally specialized investment banking and research supervision.

Prerequisites

To sit for the Series 24, you must already hold one of these qualifying registrations:

• Series 7 (General Securities Representative)
• Series 17, 37, 38 (Limited registered rep, dual-jurisdiction)
• Series 57 (Securities Trader)
• Series 62 (Corporate Securities Representative, retired but legacy holders qualify)
• Series 79 (Investment Banking Representative)
• Series 82 (Private Securities Offerings Representative)

A Series 7 holder qualifies for the full general principal scope. The narrower prerequisites unlock corresponding scope-limited principal roles.

Choose Your Study Path

Path A: Full Coverage (Recommended for Most)

Work through the chapters in order. The Series 24 builds layered supervisory knowledge: registration framework → general supervision → customer-facing activity → market-side activity → specialized banking and research. Each chapter assumes the foundations from prior chapters, so reading in order is the most efficient path.

After completing the content, take a practice exam to confirm your understanding and identify any gaps.

Path B: Targeted Review

If you've been operating in a supervisory or compliance role and have practical exposure to the rules, start by taking a practice exam. The app analyzes your results and identifies your weak areas. You can then focus your study time on the specific chapters and topics where you actually need work.

Think of it this way: If you're already running a syndicate desk, you don't need to re-read the basics of how a firm registers. Take the practice exam first, find out where the gaps are, and target those areas.

The Right Way to Study

After reading a unit, take one or two unit-specific quizzes to get quick feedback on what you just learned. That's it. Don't try to master a chapter before moving forward. The goal is to get a sense of what stuck and what didn't, then keep going.

Once you've worked through all the content, shift entirely to smart study quizzes. Smart study:

• Pulls questions from every topic, weighted by exam importance
• Automatically focuses on your weak areas
• Is where the real learning happens

Your goal should be to complete around 2,500 smart study quiz questions before exam day. The Series 24 has a heavy supervisory rule load, so volume practice is what cements the rule substance. At 10 questions per quiz, that's about 250 quizzes spread over your study period.

Only go back to unit-specific quizzes as a last resort, if a smart quiz keeps flagging the same subtopic and you need targeted practice on it.

-> Take a Practice Exam

Key Features Throughout

As you study, look for these learning aids:

• Exam Tips highlight common pitfalls and gotchas that catch test-takers off guard
• Think of it this way sections provide analogies that make abstract supervisory concepts concrete
• Tables and comparisons help you see distinctions the exam loves to test (e.g., Form BD vs. BDW vs. BR; the Reg M distribution-participant restriction vs. the issuer/affiliated-purchaser restriction; the three research safe harbors during distributions)
• Memory aids give you shortcuts for recalling thresholds, retention periods, and rule numbers under pressure

The Exam at a Glance

• Questions: 160 total (150 scored, 10 unscored pretest questions)
• Time: 225 minutes (3 hours, 45 minutes)
• Passing Score: 70% (scaled, equated scoring)
• Format: Multiple choice
• Prerequisite: Series 7, 17, 37, 38, 57, 62, 79, or 82
• Registration: Firm sponsorship required via Form U4

Exam Weights (FINRA Official):

• F1: Supervision of Registration of the Broker-Dealer and Personnel Management Activities: 6% (~9 questions)
• F2: Supervision of General Broker-Dealer Activities: 30% (~45 questions)
• F3: Supervision of Retail and Institutional Customer-Related Activities: 21% (~32 questions)
• F4: Supervision of Trading and Market Making Activities: 21% (~32 questions)
• F5: Supervision of Investment Banking and Research: 21% (~32 questions)

Notice something? Function 2 (general broker-dealer supervision) carries 30% of the exam by itself. Functions 3, 4, and 5 each carry 21%. That means 94% of your score comes from the four supervision-focused chapters. Chapter 1 (personnel and registration) is foundational but only 6% of the exam. Don't over-invest there.

Series 24 vs. Series 7

If you already passed the Series 7, you understand the products and the trading rules. The Series 24 takes that same body of rules and asks a different question: as a principal, what are you required to do?

• Communications: Series 7 tests whether a piece of advertising is permissible. Series 24 tests the principal's pre-approval, recordkeeping, and filing obligations.
• Suitability: Series 7 tests whether a recommendation fits a customer profile. Series 24 tests the supervisor's review obligations and red-flag escalation.
• Net capital: Series 7 doesn't really test it. Series 24 expects you to understand the haircut framework, early warning thresholds, and the Customer Protection Rule's reserve and possession-or-control requirements.
• Trading: Series 7 tests order types and trading mechanics. Series 24 tests Reg M restricted periods, Reg SHO close-outs, the Market Access Rule, CAT reporting deadlines, and best-execution supervision.
• Investment banking: Series 7 covers the basic underwriting roles. Series 24 tests information-barrier policies, conflict-of-interest rules, the corporate-financing filing process, research analyst conflict rules, and quiet-period restrictions.

Think of it this way: The Series 7 proves you can sit on the customer side of the desk. The Series 24 proves you can sit at the head of the desk and answer for everything that happens there.

Next: Learn How to Use This App

Before diving into the content, learn how to maximize the platform's features: How to Use This App ->

You'll discover:

• How "Mark as Complete" tracks your progress and auto-advances to the next section
• Smart flashcards that adapt to your weak areas
• Smart quizzes weighted by exam importance
• Practice exams that mirror the real Series 24

Unlock the Rest of the Course

To open up the rest of the chapters, mark every section in this Welcome chapter as complete. Each page has a Mark as Complete button at the bottom. Tap it on this page and on How to Use This App, and the full course unlocks.

Let's Go.