Series 66 Study Guide PDF (2026): Plain-English, Instant Download
A plain-English Series 66 study guide, written so you understand the material instead of memorizing it. Every one of the exam's units gets its own chapter: the big picture first, then the specific traps the exam tests - not a wall of definitions.
What is inside
| Units covered | 4 of 4 - every unit on the exam |
|---|---|
| Length | 13 pages |
| Format | Instant-download PDF, plain English throughout |
Page and unit counts pulled straight from the delivered file, not marketing copy.
What you can miss on the real exam
You can miss about 27 of the 100 scored questions on the Series 66 and still pass - the passing score is 73%. That is real margin to build into a study plan, not a reason to skip units.
See the level of detail
These are real questions from our Series 66 system, written in the same plain-English voice as the study guide - a taste of what "understand it, don't memorize it" looks like in practice:
Unit 1 - Laws, Regulations & Guidelines
An investment adviser with $140 million in assets under management is generally subject to registration with which regulator?
A)The state administrator only
Advisers at or above $110 million in AUM are federal covered and register with the SEC, not the states.
B)The SEC, as a federal covered adviser
Under NSMIA and the Dodd-Frank thresholds, an adviser with $110 million or more in AUM must register with the SEC and is a federal covered adviser.
C)Both the SEC and every state where it has a client
Federal covered advisers register only with the SEC; states may require notice filing but not registration.
D)FINRA
FINRA regulates broker-dealers and their agents, not the registration of investment advisers.
Unit 1 - Laws, Regulations & Guidelines
Moments before entering a customer's large buy order that is likely to move the market, an agent buys the same stock in his personal account. This practice is:
A)Front running, a prohibited practice
Trading for one's own benefit ahead of a known customer order to profit from the expected price impact is front running.
B)Permissible personal investing
Personal trading is fine in general - but not when it exploits advance knowledge of client order flow.
C)Churning
Churning is excessive trading of a client's account, not trading ahead of it.
D)A bona fide hedge
There is no risk being hedged - the agent is simply capturing the client's price impact.
Unit 2 - Client/Customer Investment Recommendations & Strategies
This year an investor has $8,000 of long-term capital gains, $12,000 of long-term capital losses, and no other capital transactions. On this year's return the investor may:
A)Deduct the net $4,000 loss entirely against ordinary income
The annual limit for using net capital losses against ordinary income is $3,000.
B)Offset the gains, deduct $3,000 of the remaining loss against ordinary income, and carry $1,000 forward
Losses first net against gains ($12,000 − $8,000 = $4,000 net loss); up to $3,000 of net loss offsets ordinary income each year, and the unused $1,000 carries forward indefinitely.
C)Deduct nothing, because losses only offset gains
Beyond offsetting gains, up to $3,000 of net losses may reduce ordinary income annually.
D)Carry the entire $12,000 loss forward to a higher-income year
Current-year gains must be offset first, and the $3,000 ordinary-income offset applies before any carryforward.