Free SIE study guide · PDF

Free SIE study notes, the efficient way.

Plain-English summary notes written straight from the official FINRA SIE content outline, with the exam's traps flagged before you meet them. Enter your email and download it straight away.

  • The SIE explained, and a study plan built on its four section weights
  • Every topic in plain English, with the key facts and how the exam asks it
  • Exam traps flagged before you meet them

From SIE Simplified, the SIE course built to be the most efficient way to pass: one concept at a time, nothing off the outline.

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YOUR FREE SIE NOTES, AT A GLANCE

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Written from the official FINRA SIE content outline. Facts verified September 7, 2026.

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Opening page of Capital Markets and Regulators in the free SIE notes
Plain English firstThe opening page of Capital Markets and Regulators.
A page of the free SIE notes with key facts and a trap box
Traps flagged, facts in one placeKey facts, tables and trap boxes on every topic.

What is inside

Everything in your free SIE notes.

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The Exam and Your Plan
What the exam is
Your study plan
Exam day
Capital Markets and Regulators
Securities regulation and the SEC
Self-regulatory organizations: FINRA, MSRB, CBOE
Other regulators and protections: Treasury, the states, the Fed, SIPC, FDIC
Investors, broker-dealers, and advisers
The market's plumbing: agents, depositories, market makers
Primary, secondary, third, and fourth markets
Monetary vs. fiscal policy and the Fed's tools
The business cycle, indicators, and financial statements
Economic conditions, sectors, and economic theories
International factors: GDP, GNP, exchange rates
How a new issue comes to market
Offering documents, shelf registration, and exemptions
Equity Securities
Common stock: ownership, voting, and the liquidation line
Preferred stock and its flavors
Rights vs. warrants
ADRs, and control and restricted stock under Rule 144

Every topic follows the same pattern: the plain-English version, the details, the key facts, and how the exam asks about it.

The efficient way

Less to read. More of it on the exam.

Study where the marks are

A plan built on the exam's weights

The SIE gives 44% of its questions to products and 31% to trading and accounts. Your notes open with a study plan built on those weights, so your hours land where the marks are.

Plain English first

Understand it, then memorize it

Every topic opens with the plain-English version, then the details, the key facts, and how the exam actually asks about it. Read once for understanding, once for the marks.

Traps flagged

Spot the wrong answer that looks right

The exam's favorite move is an answer choice built to catch people who almost know the rule. Every one we know of gets an orange trap box, like the one in this page from your notes.

SIE EXAM WEIGHTS

Knowledge of capital markets16%
Understanding products and their risks44%
Trading, customer accounts and prohibited activities31%
Overview of the regulatory framework9%
SIE SimplifiedFree SIE notes · Capital Markets and Regulators

› Securities regulation and the SEC

The plain-English version

Securities regulation exists for one core reason: to make markets fair by forcing everyone to tell the truth. It doesn't promise you won't lose money. It promises full and fair disclosure, so investors can judge risk for themselves, and it punishes fraud and manipulation.

The trapSEC registration is never "approval." A rep who calls a new issue "SEC approved" has committed a violation. The SEC clears disclosure; it endorses nothing and guarantees nothing.

From your free notes, word for word.

Questions

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Is the SIE study guide really free?
Yes. Enter your email and your download page opens straight away. No card and no account. Marketing emails are optional. Your guide download does not depend on consenting.
What is in the free SIE study notes?
How the SIE works and a study plan built on its weights, then every topic in Capital Markets and Regulators and Equity Securities. Every topic gives you the plain-English version, the details, the key facts, how the exam asks about it, and the traps.
What is the SIE exam?
The Securities Industry Essentials exam is FINRA's entry-level exam: 75 scored questions in 1 hour 45 minutes, with a passing score of 70. Anyone 18 or older can sit it, with no firm sponsorship, and a pass stays valid for four years. Your free notes open with the full picture and an exam-day playbook.
Are the notes up to date?
They are written from the official FINRA SIE content outline, and the facts in them were last verified on September 7, 2026. When a rule changes, the notes and the course are updated together.
Who writes SIE Simplified?
SIE Simplified is an independent exam-prep company. Every lesson, note and practice question is original material written from the official content outlines, and every practice answer cites the rule behind it. We are not affiliated with FINRA.
Is there a full SIE course?
Yes. The SIE course has 65 short video lessons, the complete 101-page summary notes, 247 practice questions with every answer explained, and 3 full-length timed mocks. It is $149 for 12 months, or included in the $39 a month plan for all three courses, which starts with 7 free days. See the SIE course.

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