Open Exam Prep: Mastering Financial Exams
The path to becoming a certified financial professional is known for its difficulty, and finding high-quality, accessible study material shouldn't be the hardest part.
Created by Ran Chen—an AI application enthusiast, Financial Advisor, and holder of the EA (Tax), Life Insurance, Series 6/63/65, and CFP® designations—this podcast was born from personal experience. Having navigated these challenging exams himself, Ran realized the need for better resources and created Open Exam Prep as a free solution for aspiring professionals.
Each episode breaks down complex major exam topics into clear, digestible lessons, covering everything from tax planning and estate strategies to retirement solutions and investment principles. Whether you’re studying during your commute, workout, or downtime, we are here to guide you—one question, one topic, one victory at a time.
Visit for more content: https://open-exam-prep.com/
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Données mises à jour le 08/09/2026
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Series 7 Exam Prep 93, Suitability Drill for Equity and Debt Products
mardi 8 septembre 2026 • Durée 03:11
This podcast is made by Ran Chen, who holds an EA license, Insurance and Securities licenses (Series 6, 63, 65), and the CFP® designation. He is passionate about opening access to high-quality exam preparation resources and helping learners prepare more effectively for professional certification exams.
In this episode you will learn:
- Common stock is the top choice for aggressive growth and capital appreciation but carries the highest risk.
- For safety and income, U.S. Treasury securities are unparalleled, offering default-risk-free payments exempt from state and local taxes.
- Municipal bonds are most suitable for high-income investors in high tax brackets due to their federally tax-free interest payments.
- Preferred stock offers a fixed dividend for income-seekers but lacks the growth potential of common stock and the legal protections of bonds.
- High-yield bonds provide significant income but come with substantial credit risk, making them suitable only for speculative objectives.
For more free exam prep tools, practice questions, and AI-powered explanations, visit https://open-exam-prep.com/ or YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@Open-exam-prep
Series 7 Exam Prep 92, Options Breakeven and Strategy Math Review
lundi 7 septembre 2026 • Durée 03:25
This podcast is made by Ran Chen, who holds an EA license, Insurance and Securities licenses (Series 6, 63, 65), and the CFP® designation. He is passionate about opening access to high-quality exam preparation resources and helping learners prepare more effectively for professional certification exams.
In this episode you will learn:
- To calculate breakeven for calls (strike + premium) and puts (strike - premium).
- The covered call breakeven is stock cost minus the premium, with max gain limited to the strike price.
- A protective put's breakeven is stock cost plus the premium, with unlimited maximum gain.
- Straddles have two breakevens (strike +/- total premium), with long straddles profiting from volatility and short straddles from stability.
- For spreads, remember PUSH (Put Subtract from Higher) and CAL (Call Add to Lower) to find breakeven points.
For more free exam prep tools, practice questions, and AI-powered explanations, visit https://open-exam-prep.com/ or YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@Open-exam-prep
Series 7 Exam Prep 91, Options Indexes and Broad-Based Products
dimanche 6 septembre 2026 • Durée 04:49
This podcast is made by Ran Chen, who holds an EA license, Insurance and Securities licenses (Series 6, 63, 65), and the CFP® designation. He is passionate about opening access to high-quality exam preparation resources and helping learners prepare more effectively for professional certification exams.
In this episode you will learn:
- Index options are cash-settled, meaning no underlying securities are exchanged upon exercise.
- Most index options are European-style and can only be exercised at expiration.
- Broad-based index options are used to hedge diversified portfolios against market risk.
- Gains on broad-based index options receive favorable 60/40 tax treatment.
- The contract multiplier for index options is typically 100, just like equity options.
For more free exam prep tools, practice questions, and AI-powered explanations, visit https://open-exam-prep.com/ or YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@Open-exam-prep
Series 7 Exam Prep 90, Customer Account Restrictions and Free Riding
samedi 5 septembre 2026 • Durée 03:25
This podcast is made by Ran Chen, who holds an EA license, Insurance and Securities licenses (Series 6, 63, 65), and the CFP® designation. He is passionate about opening access to high-quality exam preparation resources and helping learners prepare more effectively for professional certification exams.
In this episode you will learn:
- Regulation T requires customers to pay for securities in a cash account within two business days of the settlement date.
- Freeriding is the prohibited practice of buying and then selling a security without ever depositing funds to pay for the initial purchase.
- The direct penalty for a freeriding violation is that the customer's account is frozen for a 90-day period.
- A "frozen" account means the customer can still trade, but must have sufficient settled cash in the account *before* placing any buy orders.
- How to distinguish freeriding from a restricted margin account, which relates to equity levels, not payment failures.
For more free exam prep tools, practice questions, and AI-powered explanations, visit https://open-exam-prep.com/ or YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@Open-exam-prep
Series 7 Exam Prep 89, Markups, Markdowns, and Commissions
vendredi 4 septembre 2026 • Durée 03:09
This podcast is made by Ran Chen, who holds an EA license, Insurance and Securities licenses (Series 6, 63, 65), and the CFP® designation. He is passionate about opening access to high-quality exam preparation resources and helping learners prepare more effectively for professional certification exams.
In this episode you will learn:
- The critical distinction between a broker-dealer acting as an agent (broker) versus a principal (dealer).
- How commissions are charged in agency transactions, and markups/markdowns in principal transactions.
- The application and, more importantly, the exceptions to the FINRA Five Percent Policy.
- Key confirmation disclosure requirements for different types of transactions.
- Common exam traps such as riskless principal transactions and the concept of a net trade.
For more free exam prep tools, practice questions, and AI-powered explanations, visit https://open-exam-prep.com/ or YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@Open-exam-prep
Series 7 Exam Prep 88, Accrued Interest and Bond Settlement
jeudi 3 septembre 2026 • Durée 03:46
This podcast is made by Ran Chen, who holds an EA license, Insurance and Securities licenses (Series 6, 63, 65), and the CFP® designation. He is passionate about opening access to high-quality exam preparation resources and helping learners prepare more effectively for professional certification exams.
In this episode you will learn:
- That the buyer of a bond pays the accrued interest to the seller.
- How to calculate the accrued interest period: from the last coupon date up to, but not including, the settlement date.
- The difference between the 30/360 day count for corporate and municipal bonds and the actual/actual day count for U.S. government bonds.
- That most bond transactions, including corporate, municipal, and government, settle one business day after the trade date (T+1).
- To watch for common exam traps like being given the trade date versus the settlement date and applying the wrong day-count convention.
For more free exam prep tools, practice questions, and AI-powered explanations, visit https://open-exam-prep.com/ or YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@Open-exam-prep
Series 7 Exam Prep 87, Municipal Trading and Pricing
mercredi 2 septembre 2026 • Durée 03:46
This podcast is made by Ran Chen, who holds an EA license, Insurance and Securities licenses (Series 6, 63, 65), and the CFP® designation. He is passionate about opening access to high-quality exam preparation resources and helping learners prepare more effectively for professional certification exams.
In this episode you will learn:
- Municipal serial bonds are typically quoted on a yield-to-maturity (basis) basis, while term bonds are quoted in dollars.
- MSRB rules require disclosing the 'yield to worst' on confirmations: yield to call for premium bonds and yield to maturity for discount bonds.
- Accrued interest for municipal bonds is calculated based on a 30-day month and a 360-day year, accruing up to but not including the settlement date.
- Customer confirmations must disclose the firm's capacity (agent or principal) and its compensation (commission, markup, or markdown).
- MSRB Rule G-30 mandates that markups and markdowns must be fair and reasonable, based on factors like prevailing market price and transaction size, not a fixed percentage.
For more free exam prep tools, practice questions, and AI-powered explanations, visit https://open-exam-prep.com/ or YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@Open-exam-prep
Series 7 Exam Prep 86, Investment Banking and Corporate Financing
mardi 1 septembre 2026 • Durée 03:42
This podcast is made by Ran Chen, who holds an EA license, Insurance and Securities licenses (Series 6, 63, 65), and the CFP® designation. He is passionate about opening access to high-quality exam preparation resources and helping learners prepare more effectively for professional certification exams.
In this episode you will learn:
- The critical distinction between a 'firm commitment' (underwriter as principal, takes risk) and 'best efforts' (underwriter as agent, issuer retains risk) underwriting.
- How the underwriting spread is calculated and distributed among the manager, syndicate members, and selling group.
- The purpose and benefits of a shelf registration under SEC Rule 415, allowing seasoned issuers to sell pre-registered securities for up to three years.
- The underwriter's legal obligation to perform due diligence as a defense against liability under the Securities Act of 1933.
- The role of a Qualified Independent Underwriter (QIU) when a conflict of interest exists in an offering under FINRA Rule 5121.
For more free exam prep tools, practice questions, and AI-powered explanations, visit https://open-exam-prep.com/ or YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@Open-exam-prep
Series 7 Exam Prep 85, Tender Offers, Mergers, and Corporate Actions
lundi 31 août 2026 • Durée 02:52
This podcast is made by Ran Chen, who holds an EA license, Insurance and Securities licenses (Series 6, 63, 65), and the CFP® designation. He is passionate about opening access to high-quality exam preparation resources and helping learners prepare more effectively for professional certification exams.
In this episode you will learn:
- A tender offer must remain open to shareholders for a minimum of 20 business days.
- Stock splits and reverse stock splits do not change the total market value of a shareholder's position; they only adjust the number of shares and the cost basis per share.
- Mergers and acquisitions typically require shareholder approval, which is solicited through a proxy vote.
- It is crucial to differentiate between mandatory corporate actions (e.g., stock splits, mergers) and voluntary ones (e.g., tender offers, rights offerings), as the latter require a decision from the shareholder.
- A reverse stock split reduces the number of shares and increases the price per share, often to prevent a company's stock from being delisted by an exchange.
Series 7 Exam Prep 84, Penny Stocks and Low-Priced Securities
dimanche 30 août 2026 • Durée 02:48
This podcast is made by Ran Chen, who holds an EA license, Insurance and Securities licenses (Series 6, 63, 65), and the CFP® designation. He is passionate about opening access to high-quality exam preparation resources and helping learners prepare more effectively for professional certification exams.
In this episode you will learn:
- A penny stock is an unlisted (non-Nasdaq) security trading under $5 per share.
- For solicited penny stock sales to new customers, a firm must provide a risk disclosure document and receive a signed suitability statement before the trade.
- The signed suitability statement rule is waived for unsolicited trades and for "established customers."
- An established customer is one who has had an account for over a year or has made three prior penny stock purchases on different days.
- For all penny stock trades, firms must disclose current quotes and the compensation for both the firm and the representative.
For more free exam prep tools, practice questions, and AI-powered explanations, visit https://open-exam-prep.com/ or YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@Open-exam-prep