FINRA SIE Practice Exams
Last updated on Oct 21,2026- Exam Code: SIE
- Exam Name: Securities Industry Essentials Exam (SIE)
- Certification Provider: FINRA
- Latest update: Oct 21,2026
A registered representative (RR) owns 500 shares of a thinly traded security. A customer of the firm calls the RR to place a sell order for 10,000 shares of the same security. The RR sells his shares before entering the customer’s order to sell.
Which of the following activities has the RR just engaged in?
- A . Selling away
- B . Front running
- C . Insider trading
- D . Market manipulation
Assume that the economy is operating at nearly full capacity. The initial results of an oversupply of money are most likely to have the greatest impact on which of the following macroeconomic factors?
- A . Real output
- B . Inflation rate
- C . Velocity of money
- D . Unemployment rate
Offering 403(b) tax-sheltered annuity accounts to which of the following groups is permissible?
- A . Volunteer workers
- B . Small business owners
- C . Active duty military personnel
- D . Employees of a nonprofit hospital
A hypothecation agreement gives the broker-dealer the right to engage in which of the following activities?
- A . Sharing customers’ nonpublic personal information with nonaffiliated third parties
- B . Entering trades in a customer’s account without prior authorization from the customer
- C . Selling a customer’s securities when the customer has failed to pay for trades in a cash account
- D . Using securities that a customer has bought on margin as collateral to obtain a loan from a bank
Which of the following rates is subject to the most frequent changes?
- A . Prime
- B . Call loan
- C . Discount
- D . Federal funds
A customer purchased 100 shares of Company XYZ common stock five years ago for $20.00 per share. Over the life of her investment, the customer received cash dividends of $2.00 per share, on which she paid total income taxes of $0.50 per share. She recently sold the stock for $30.00 per share.
What is the customer’s cost basis in each share of XYZ stock?
- A . $20.00
- B . $21.50
- C . $22.00
- D . $30.00
A customer purchases 100 shares of stock on Thursday, August 2. This transaction must settle regular way no later than:
- A . Friday, August 3
- B . Monday, August 6
- C . Tuesday, August 7
- D . Wednesday, August 8
Which of the following statements best describes a characteristic of 529 savings plan accounts?
- A . There are no contribution limits to the account.
- B . The number of contributors to the account is limited.
- C . Using funds for undergraduate or graduate studies is permissible.
- D . Earnings are taxed to the donor at the time of a qualified withdrawal.
When is it permissible to exercise European-style options contracts?
- A . Only on the last business day before expiration
- B . Only on the day of expiration
- C . Only on the day after expiration
- D . Only on the third Friday of every month
Under which of the following circumstances, if any, is it permissible for an individual without a Power of Attorney (POA) to sign a customer’s name on their behalf?
- A . Upon approval by a firm principal
- B . Upon receipt of verbal authorization provided that written authorization is subsequently provided
- C . When accounts are fully discretionary
- D . Never permissible to sign a customer’s name on their behalf