Becoming a Stockbroker in Minnesota

The Minnesota Department of Commerce licenses stockbrokers who work with clients in the state. Within the industry, stockbrokers are more often referred to as registered securities sales representatives (or just registered reps). Follow this guide to become licensed as a registered rep in Minnesota.

Step 1. Get Your Education

While seeking employment by a broker-dealer firm, you will find that most are looking for a professional candidate with a strong educational background.

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Some degree options to keep in mind:

  • BS-Finance
  • BA or BS-Accounting
  • BS-Finance or Business
  • BA-Consumer and Family Financial Services
  • BS-Business Administration
  • MBA

The university of your choice will have academic advisors to assist you in pursuing the proper coursework that includes elements of both finance and sales:

  • Finance
  • Business law
  • Economics
  • Statistics
  • Taxation
  • Accounting, including specialized courses in both managerial and financial accounting
  • Marketing
  • Business communications
  • Behavior of organizations, persons and groups
  • Business ethics
  • Quantitative applications applied to business

Step 2: Take the Required Exams to Become a Broker-Dealer Agent in Minnesota

  1. There will be two exams required: Either the Series 63 or Series 66 and the Series 7. When taking the Series 63 or Series 66 Exam, no sponsor is needed. All Series 7 Exam applicants are required to obtain a sponsor from a FINRA member broker-dealer firm. The most effective way to find a sponsor is by personally contacting each firm and requesting an interview.
  2. Register for the exams.For registered reps of FINRA member firms:
    You must fill out the test application form in its entirety. This form is a U-4 Uniform Application for Securities Registration or Transfer. Once the form is completed and verified for accuracy, it will be submitted to the Central Registration Depository (CRD) by the firm.

    • It is customary for the sponsoring firm to pay the $85 FINRA registration fee
    • FINRA registration requires a fingerprint card from all applicants. Contact your local sheriff’s office or police station for appointments and fees. FINRA will charge a fee of $30.25 to process your fingerprint card.
    • Your sponsoring broker-dealer will need to pay the required $65 registration fee in Minnesota using the CRD.
    • The application consists of a questionnaire detailing your personal information, education, work experience, and any criminal history
    • The test fees are $245 for Series 7, $147 for the Series 63 exam, and $177 for the Series 66 exam. Minnesota requires that all registered representatives complete the Series 63 or the Series 66 in the two years prior to submitting the application. The Series 7 isn’t a requirement of the state, but is FINRA requirement to work for a broker-dealer firm.
  3. Once the Series 7, General Securities Representative Examination registration has been submitted, a confirmation receipt will be sent to the sponsoring FINRA broker-dealer firm. At that time, the registration process is considered complete.
  4. Take the Series 63, Uniform Securities Agent State Law Examination. As outlined in the Uniform Securities Act, an individual may also complete the Series 66, Uniform Combined State Law Examination to satisfy basic exam requirements.
  5. Contact one of the Minnesota locations of Pearson or Prometric testing centers to schedule exam(s) within 120 days of registration.
  6. Exam scores are released right away. After a passing score is recorded in the system, the licensure process can be completed.
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Step 3: Get Your On-The-Job Training

Take advantage of all on-the-job training. The new firm will train you on their policies and procedures.

Working for a firm will provide training on the following investment vehicles:

  • Direct participation programs like non-publicly traded real estate investment trusts or oil and gas leases
  • Stocks
  • Open-end and closed-end investment company shares
  • Mutual funds
  • Variable contracts
  • Corporate, municipal and treasury bonds
  • Government securities
  • Options on stocks

Step 4: Ongoing Requirements for License Renewal and Continuing Education

    1. Annual License Renewal and Fees
      Renew your registration each year; this should be done on the anniversary of your original registration date. To do this, the sponsor firm will pay Minnesota’s $65 fee and submit it through the Web-CRD. All securities licenses must be renewed annually by December 31.
    2. Continuing Education Requirements
      To understand the continuing education requirements for all registered representatives, follow the Securities Industry Continuing Education Program link. Two elements are outlined on this site, they are:

      • The Regulatory Element
        FINRA mandates that a registered representative complete one Regulatory Element training session at the start of their third year. It must be completed within 120 days of the second annual registration date. Once this training is complete, the representative is only required to complete continuing education requirements once every three years.The S101 General Program reflects the Series 7 training requirements for stockbrokers. Training consists of four topics:
        • Communicating with the Public
        • Handling Customer Accounts/Trade and Settlement Practices
        • New and Secondary Offering & Corporate Finance
        • Client/Product Suitability
      • The Firm Element
        Your employer will determine the most suitable training for all stockbrokers, after the yearly evaluation is conducted. All registered representatives of the firm will be required to complete modules related to.
        • Sales practices and suitability standards
        • Investment features and associated risk factors
        • Regulatory requirements related to products, services, and strategies

 

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  1. Updating your Form U-4
    Ensure the integrity of all Form U-4s. To do this, an update should be made in the event that changes have been made to any of the following:

    • Address updates
    • Criminal disclosure
    • Civil judgments against you
    • Pending or completed disciplinary actions
    • Customer complaints
    • Financial judgments against you

Be sure the information listed in BrokerCheck is accurate. Potential clients will utilize this information to check your credentials.