A Kavanah Course — Free · 6 modules · Comprehensive
Series 65: Uniform Investment Adviser Law Exam
Twenty-two lessons on the exam that normally qualifies an investment adviser representative, and on what it takes to register an advisory firm.
A complete preparation course for the Series 65, NASAA's qualification exam for investment adviser representatives, and a practical account of how a registered investment adviser comes to exist. It covers the economics, products, client strategy and law the exam tests, weighted to NASAA's published specifications, then follows a candidate past the exam: Form ADV, Form U4, the line between SEC and state registration, and the compliance program a firm must run. Every claim is traced to the statute, the SEC or NASAA rule, or the published source behind it, including the 2026 advertising amendments that change exam questions in 2027.
An Introduction
Advice as a Regulated Act
What the Series 65 qualifies, what it does not, and how to use this course.
There is no personal licence called RIA. A registered investment adviser is a firm, even a one-person firm, the person who advises its clients is an investment adviser representative, and the Series 65 is the exam that normally stands behind that person's state registration. Most confusion about becoming an RIA comes from treating those three things as one.
What this course is
Twenty-two lessons across six modules, built against NASAA's published test specifications and its Series 65 study guide. Each lesson cites the primary sources behind its claims: the Investment Advisers Act of 1940, SEC rules, the Uniform Securities Act of 1956 as amended by NASAA, and NASAA's model rules, along with the regulators and original work behind the finance.
Lesson 1.1 answers the question most people arrive with: which authorizations does someone need to become an RIA? The final module picks that question up again after the exam, and walks through registering a firm.
This course is not affiliated with, endorsed by or produced in cooperation with NASAA, FINRA or the SEC, and it contains no exam questions. It is education, not legal advice. Registration is decided by the SEC or by your state's securities Administrator, and state rules differ.
How it is weighted
The exam has 130 scored questions in four subjects. Economic Factors and Business Information carries 20 of them, or 15 percent. Investment Vehicle Characteristics carries 32, or 25 percent. Client Investment Recommendations and Strategies carries 39, or 30 percent, and Laws, Regulations and Guidelines carries 39, or 30 percent.
The course follows those weights: three lessons on economics, four on vehicles, five on recommendations and six on law, with two lessons before them on the path and the exam and two after them on practice.
NASAA's own guide says the finance, economics and investing questions make up the majority of the exam. Client strategy and law are worth 39 questions each, so neither can wait until the end.
How to use it
Read in order the first time. The law lessons in Module 5 assume the definitions and products of the earlier modules, and lesson 6.2 lays out a six-week study plan with a Kavanah-in-practice block for running it.
One date matters. NASAA adopted amendments to its adviser advertising model rules in May 2026 and has said the affected exam questions will change in early 2027, with the exact date still to be announced. Lesson 5.4 teaches both positions. Check NASAA's notice against your own exam date before you decide which one you are studying for.
The exam tests whether someone is competent to give advice at the entry level. The obligations it describes, including a fiduciary duty the SEC says cannot be waived, last for as long as a person advises clients. Learn the material as the job, and the exam takes care of itself.
Module 1
The Path and the Exam
Which authorizations you need, and how the exam works
2 lessons · ~22 min
The difference between a registered firm and a registered person, the ways to qualify, and the structure, scoring, enrollment and retake rules of the Series 65.
Module 2
Economic Factors and Business Information
Fifteen percent of the exam, in three lessons
3 lessons · ~36 min
Business cycles, monetary and fiscal policy, financial statements, ratios, the time value of money, descriptive statistics and the types of investment risk.
Lesson 2.1 · 12 min
Economics for Investment Advisers
Cycles, policy, prices, rates, currencies and the numbers that report them
Start lesson
Lesson 2.2 · 11 min
Financial Reporting and Ratios for Advisers
Three statements, one audit opinion, and five ratios worked from one company
Start lesson
Lesson 2.3 · 13 min
Time Value, Statistics and Risk
Discounting, the measures of return and risk, and who gets paid last
Start lesson
Module 3
Investment Vehicle Characteristics
Twenty-five percent of the exam, in four lessons
4 lessons · ~50 min
Cash equivalents, fixed income, equities and offerings, pooled investments, derivatives, alternatives, insurance products and digital assets, from the adviser's side of the table.
Lesson 3.1 · 13 min
Cash and Fixed Income for Advisers
Insured deposits, money market instruments, bonds, and the arithmetic of yield, price and duration
Start lesson
Lesson 3.2 · 12 min
Equities and Public Offerings for Advisers
What a share gives a client, how it is valued, and what is different about a new issue
Start lesson
Lesson 3.3 · 12 min
Pooled Investments for Advisers
Funds, trusts, REITs and private funds, and how to compare them on cost, price, tax and liquidity
Start lesson
Lesson 3.4 · 13 min
Derivatives, Alternatives and Insurance Products
Options, futures, leveraged funds, structured notes, annuities, life insurance, commodities and digital assets
Start lesson
Module 4
Client Recommendations and Strategies
Thirty percent of the exam, in five lessons
5 lessons · ~1 hr 2 min
Client types and profiles, portfolio theory and management, tax and estate planning, retirement plans and ERISA, trading and performance measurement.
Lesson 4.1 · 11 min
Client Types and the Client Profile
Who the client legally is, and what an adviser must know before recommending anything
Start lesson
Lesson 4.2 · 12 min
Portfolio Theory and Management
Markowitz, CAPM and market efficiency, then the strategies, styles and techniques built on them
Start lesson
Lesson 4.3 · 13 min
Tax and Estate Planning for Advisers
Basis, brackets, RMDs and IRMAA, entity taxation, gift and estate tax, and how title decides who inherits
Start lesson
Lesson 4.4 · 13 min
Retirement Plans, ERISA and Special Accounts
IRAs, employer plans, SECURE 2.0, fiduciary duties, and accounts for education, minors and health
Start lesson
Lesson 4.5 · 13 min
Trading and Measuring Performance
Orders, costs and best execution, then time-weighted, dollar-weighted, real and after-tax returns
Start lesson
Module 5
Laws, Regulations and Guidelines
Thirty percent of the exam, in six lessons
6 lessons · ~1 hr 17 min
Who is an adviser, how advisers and representatives register, broker-dealers and the Administrator, communications and advertising, fiduciary duty, compensation, custody, conflicts, privacy and continuity.
Lesson 5.1 · 13 min
Who Is an Investment Adviser
The definition, the exclusions, the SEC and state line, and who counts as a representative
Start lesson
Lesson 5.2 · 13 min
Adviser and Representative Registration
Forms, disclosure documents, records, financial requirements, supervision and withdrawal
Start lesson
Lesson 5.3 · 13 min
Broker-Dealers, Securities and the Administrator
Who sells, what is sold, how it is registered, and what happens when the rules are broken
Start lesson
Lesson 5.4 · 13 min
Adviser Communications, Contracts and Advertising
What may be said, what the contract must say, and the May 2026 change to state advertising rules
Start lesson
Lesson 5.5 · 13 min
Fiduciary Duty, Compensation and Custody
What an adviser owes, how it may be paid, and when it is holding the client's money
Start lesson
Lesson 5.6 · 12 min
Conflicts, Privacy and Continuity
Personal trading, loans, insider trading, vulnerable clients, client data, and planning for the worst day
Start lesson
Module 6
From Exam to Practice
Registering a firm, and getting through the exam
2 lessons · ~20 min
What happens after a pass: IARD, Form ADV, Form U4, state and notice filings, the compliance program and continuing education. Then a six-week study plan.
The first lesson is free to read. The rest of the course is free for members.
Sign in, or create a free Kavanah account, to read every lesson, track your progress and listen to the narration.