Intensive
2-week plan
- ✓Best for: finance backgrounds, retakers, anyone with a fixed test date in ~2 weeks
- ✓Daily commitment: 90–120 minutes
- ✓Includes: 2 full-length practice exams
- !Risk: less margin for missed days
Study plans
SIE Study Schedule
Two complete study plans for the FINRA SIE — a 2-week intensive for candidates with a finance background and a 4-week balanced plan for those with some prior exposure. Day by day, no signup.
No signup. No email. The full plans are below.
Which plan should you choose?
Balanced
4-week plan
- ✓Best for: some prior finance exposure; steady learners with about a month to give it
- ✓Daily commitment: 30–45 minutes
- ✓Includes: 3 full-length practice exams
- ✓Risk: lower — built-in review days
When in doubt between these two, pick the 4-week plan. Starting from no finance background at all? A 6-week or 8-week beginner plan will fit better than either plan here.
The 2-week SIE study plan
Designed for ~90 minutes per day. Skip a day at your own risk.
Week 1
Foundation and high-weight domains
- 90 min
Day 1
Capital Markets foundation
- ✓ Primary vs secondary market, business cycle, Federal Reserve role
- ✓ Key agencies — SEC, FINRA, MSRB, SIPC
- ✓ Take notes on what each of the four agencies actually does
- 90 min
Day 2
Equities and offerings
- ✓ Common stock — rights, voting, dividends
- ✓ Preferred stock variations — cumulative, convertible, callable
- ✓ IPOs, APOs, underwriting syndicates
- 100 min
Day 3
Debt securities
- ✓ Bond basics — par, coupon, maturity, accrued interest
- ✓ Yield calculations — current yield, YTM, YTC
- ✓ Municipal bonds (GO vs revenue) and Treasury securities
- 90 min
Day 4
Packaged products
- ✓ Mutual funds — share classes, loads, NAV
- ✓ ETFs, UITs — structural differences
- ✓ REITs and DPPs — pass-through tax treatment
- 90 min
Day 5
Options basics
- ✓ Calls vs puts — buyer rights vs writer obligations
- ✓ Breakeven formulas for long call, long put, covered call, protective put
- ✓ Basic strategies — covered calls and protective puts
- 120 min
Day 6
Practice — capital markets and products
- ✓ 50 practice questions across capital markets and products
- ✓ Review every wrong answer — read the rationale for each distractor
- ✓ Note which sub-topics produced the most misses
- 45 min
Day 7
Light review and rest
- ✓ Re-read your notes on the four FINRA agencies
- ✓ Re-read your yield-formula notes
- ✓ No new material — let the week consolidate
Week 2
Trading, regulation, and mock exams
- 90 min
Day 8
Trading mechanics
- ✓ Order types — market, limit, stop, stop-limit
- ✓ T+1 settlement and the modern ex-dividend date logic
- ✓ Market participants — broker-dealers, market makers, specialists
- 90 min
Day 9
Customer accounts
- ✓ Cash vs margin accounts — Regulation T 50% initial margin
- ✓ Account types — individual, joint, custodial, retirement
- ✓ Customer information requirements (Rule 4512) and CIP/KYC
- 90 min
Day 10
Regulatory framework
- ✓ Reg BI vs the old suitability standard — when each applies
- ✓ AML basics, SAR thresholds, structuring red flags
- ✓ FINRA rules — Rule 3220 ($300 gifts limit) and prohibited activities
- 150 min
Day 11
First full-length mock exam
- ✓ 75 questions, timed, no breaks beyond the real exam allowance
- ✓ Score by domain — write down each domain percentage
- ✓ Same day: review every wrong answer with the rationale
- 100 min
Day 12
Targeted weakness review
- ✓ Re-study the two domains where you scored lowest on Day 11
- ✓ Re-do 20 questions from those domains
- ✓ Update your "trap list" — the specific concepts you keep missing
- 150 min
Day 13
Second full-length mock exam
- ✓ 75 questions, timed, fresh question pool
- ✓ Aim for 75%+ in every domain — not just overall
- ✓ Same day: review wrong answers, compare domain scores to Day 11
- 30 min
Day 14
Light review and rest
- ✓ Read the cheat sheet end to end
- ✓ Re-write your trap list from memory
- ✓ Do NOT take another full mock exam — rest matters now
The 4-week SIE study plan
Designed for ~30–45 minutes per day. Built for steady learners and working schedules.
Week 1
Capital markets and intro to products
- 30 min
Day 1
Why the SIE exists and how it works
- ✓ Read the FINRA SIE outline overview
- ✓ Memorize the four domain weights (16 / 44 / 31 / 9)
- ✓ Understand exam format — 75 scored, 5 unscored, 105 minutes
- 40 min
Day 2
The four regulators
- ✓ SEC, FINRA, MSRB, SIPC — what each one does
- ✓ Memorize the distinction: regulator vs SRO
- ✓ Note which body created the SEC (the 1934 Act, not 1933)
- 40 min
Day 3
Primary vs secondary markets
- ✓ IPOs vs APOs vs secondary trading
- ✓ Underwriter roles and syndicate structure
- ✓ Tombstone ads and the prospectus rules
- 35 min
Day 4
Macro environment
- ✓ Business cycle phases
- ✓ Monetary vs fiscal policy
- ✓ Role of the Federal Reserve and the FOMC
- 40 min
Day 5
Equity securities
- ✓ Common stock — rights, dividends, voting
- ✓ Preferred stock — cumulative, convertible, callable
- ✓ ADRs and the currency-risk wrinkle
- 45 min
Day 6
Practice — capital markets
- ✓ 30 practice questions, capital markets only
- ✓ Review every wrong answer with its rationale
- ✓ Mark any concept you missed twice
- 0 min
Day 7
Catch-up or rest
- ✓ If you skipped a day, finish those tasks now
- ✓ Otherwise rest — spaced learning needs gaps
Week 2
Products and risks (the biggest domain)
- 40 min
Day 8
Bond basics
- ✓ Face value, coupon, maturity, accrued interest
- ✓ Bond types — corporate, municipal, government, agency
- ✓ Credit ratings and what they signal
- 45 min
Day 9
Yield calculations
- ✓ Current yield = annual coupon / market price
- ✓ YTM vs YTC vs nominal yield
- ✓ For premium bonds, YTC is the most conservative figure
- 40 min
Day 10
Municipal bonds
- ✓ General obligation vs revenue bonds
- ✓ Federal tax exemption and state-specific treatment
- ✓ Suitability — when munis fit (high tax bracket) vs do not (IRA)
- 35 min
Day 11
Treasury securities
- ✓ Bills, notes, bonds, TIPS, STRIPS — differences
- ✓ TIPS phantom income — taxable inflation adjustment
- ✓ Why Treasuries are the federal benchmark
- 40 min
Day 12
Mutual funds, ETFs, UITs
- ✓ Open-end vs closed-end vs UIT structure
- ✓ NAV vs market price (closed-ends trade at premium/discount)
- ✓ Mutual fund share classes — A, B, C, breakpoints
- 45 min
Day 13
REITs, DPPs, options basics
- ✓ REIT 90% distribution rule
- ✓ DPPs — pass-through K-1 tax treatment
- ✓ Options — call buyers bullish, put buyers bearish
- 60 min
Day 14
Practice — products
- ✓ 50 practice questions on products and risks
- ✓ Review every wrong answer carefully
- ✓ Identify your weakest product type for week 4 review
Week 3
Trading, accounts, and regulation
- 35 min
Day 15
Order types
- ✓ Market, limit, stop, stop-limit — when each is used
- ✓ GTC vs day orders
- ✓ How stops trigger and the gap-down risk on plain stops
- 40 min
Day 16
Settlement and dividends
- ✓ T+1 settlement rule (effective May 2024)
- ✓ Ex-dividend date now equals the record date under T+1
- ✓ DERP order — Declaration, Ex-date, Record, Payable
- 45 min
Day 17
Cash vs margin accounts
- ✓ Reg T 50% initial margin for equities
- ✓ FINRA 25% maintenance margin (a separate, ongoing test)
- ✓ Account-opening requirements and the margin agreement
- 40 min
Day 18
Account types
- ✓ Individual, joint (JTWROS vs TIC), custodial (UGMA/UTMA)
- ✓ Retirement — Traditional IRA, Roth IRA, 401(k), 529
- ✓ Discretionary accounts — written authority required
- 45 min
Day 19
Reg BI vs suitability
- ✓ When Reg BI applies (recommendations to retail customers)
- ✓ The four obligations — disclosure, care, conflict of interest, compliance
- ✓ How Reg BI differs from the old FINRA suitability standard
- 45 min
Day 20
AML, prohibited activities, FINRA rules
- ✓ AML basics, the SAR $5,000 threshold, structuring red flags
- ✓ Churning, front-running, insider trading definitions
- ✓ FINRA Rule 3220 — $300 gifts limit (post-2026 update)
- 50 min
Day 21
Practice — trading, accounts, regulation
- ✓ 40 practice questions across the week 3 material
- ✓ Review wrong answers with the rationale
- ✓ Update your trap list with any new concepts you missed
Week 4
Practice, mock exams, and final review
- 120 min
Day 22
First full-length mock exam
- ✓ 75 questions, timed, no breaks beyond the real exam allowance
- ✓ Score by domain — write down each percentage
- ✓ Save the review for Day 23
- 60 min
Day 23
Review and diagnose
- ✓ Re-read the rationale for every wrong answer from Day 22
- ✓ Identify your single weakest domain
- ✓ List the specific concepts to re-study tomorrow
- 60 min
Day 24
Targeted domain review
- ✓ Re-study the concepts flagged on Day 23
- ✓ Re-do 20 questions in that weakest domain
- ✓ Add to your trap list as needed
- 120 min
Day 25
Second full-length mock exam
- ✓ 75 questions, timed, fresh question pool
- ✓ Score by domain again
- ✓ No same-day review — wait for Day 26
- 60 min
Day 26
Review and compare
- ✓ Review every wrong answer from Day 25
- ✓ Compare domain scores to Day 22 — confirm the weak domain improved
- ✓ If a different domain is now weakest, flag it for Day 27 attention
- 120 min
Day 27
Third full-length mock exam
- ✓ 75 questions, timed
- ✓ Target 80%+ overall with no domain below 75%
- ✓ Spend any remaining time on a final pass through your trap list
- 30 min
Day 28
Light review only
- ✓ Read the cheat sheet end to end
- ✓ Review the four regulators and the yield formulas
- ✓ No new material — sleep matters more than one more concept
How to use these plans
- •Don't try to memorize the schedule. Just do today's task.
- •If you fall behind, do not skip the mock exams — drop a content day instead.
- •Score yourself by domain on every practice exam. Weak domains tell you what to review next, not the overall score.
- •Treat the cheat sheet as a review tool, not a study tool. Use it in the final week.
Frequently asked questions
Which plan should I choose?
If you have a finance background or a fixed test date in two weeks, use the 2-week plan. If you have some prior finance exposure, use the 4-week plan. If you're starting from zero finance knowledge, the 4-week plan's ~18 total hours won't be enough — use a 6-week or 8-week beginner plan instead.
What if I can't finish a day's tasks?
Continue to the next day on schedule. Do not double up — that's how candidates burn out. The mock exams are the most important sessions; drop a content day before you drop a practice exam.
Can I do both plans back to back?
If you have six weeks, yes — do the 4-week plan first, then a modified 2-week plan focused entirely on mock exams and weak-domain review.
Do I really need three mock exams in the 4-week plan?
Yes. Mock exam performance is the single best predictor of test-day performance, and your domain scores tell you exactly where to study next.
When can I stop studying?
When you score 75%+ in every domain on two consecutive full-length mock exams. Below that threshold in any single domain, keep reviewing that domain.