5 Best SIE Exam Prep Courses to Learn Online For 2023

The Security Industry Essentials Exam or SIE is an introductory-level FINRA (Financial Industry Regulatory Authority) exam required to be taken by people who want to work within the securities industry.

The exam assesses candidates’ fundamental understanding of securities and relevant subject matter essential for working as a registered representative. Typically, prospective security industry professionals take it as their first exam.

Despite having a high pass rate of 74-82%, the SIE exam can still be challenging. You need to score at least 70% to pass the exam, which covers a wide range of topics. This means that you still need to put in considerable effort in preparing for it.

If you have familial duties or full-time employment with no work-life balance, you may have only a few hours left each week to prepare. Thus, you may not have sufficient time to study for the exam.

Suppose you are in this situation. I highly recommend enrolling in one of the best SIE exam preps below. These programs will help you learn the stuff faster and pass the exam with ease.

Affiliate Disclosure: This article from Victory Tale contains affiliate links. If you purchase or enroll in the prep course, we will receive a small commission from our partners.

Nevertheless, we always value integrity and prioritize our audience’s interests. Hence, you can rest assured that we will present each prep course truthfully.

Things You Should Know

Exam Details

The exam consists of 75 multiple-choice questions, covering the following topics:

• Knowledge of Capital Markets
• Understanding Securities products and their risks
• Understanding Trading, Customer Accounts, and Prohibited Activities
• Overview of Regulatory Framework

You will have 1 hour and 45 minutes to complete the exam. The passing score is 70%, which is on par with other certification exams.

You can enroll for an exam by clicking here (exam fees are $80).

Criteria

Below are the criteria for the best SIE prep courses:

1. Securities Institute of America

The Securities Institute of America is the leader in FINRA prep training. The company has created numerous in-class FINRA exam preparation products for more than 20 years.

Hence, if you are looking for reliable training, the Securities Institute of America is unarguably one of the best options available.

Lessons and Learning Resources

All training will be conducted through 15+ hours of on-demand videos. The instructor will go through the key concepts and all the tips, tricks, and test-taking techniques to easily help you pass the exam.

You can watch the demo here, which I find highly informative. The instructor’s explanations are clear and straightforward.

Apart from the videos, you will gain access to the following resources:

• SIE Exam Study Guide Textbook (Hardcopy, 400+ pages)
• SIE Ebook (400+ pages)
• Cheat Sheets
• 6-month access to exam prep software

Unlike those provided by other SIE prep courses, this exam prep software has several unique features that I found extremely helpful for exam preparation as follows:

Customizable Practice Exams – You can customize all practice exams in more than 15 ways. For example, the platform can be customized to show only questions on several topics that you are not confident in or randomized questions to test your overall test-taking skills.

Checkpoint and Simulated Final exams – The platform can create checkpoint exams or even simulated final exams for you to test your knowledge over time.

Greenlight Exam and Money Pass Guarantee – The Greenlight Exam is the ultimate practice exam that the Securities Institute of America develops based on feedback from former SIE test takers. Thus, it will resemble the actual SIE exam in difficulty and format.

Optimally, you should take it within five days of your actual exam. If you do not pass this exam, the Securities Institute of America will refund all tuition fees (minus shipping fees.)

Other Learning features – Study Calendar, Note-taking, etc.

Overall, the Securities Institute of America’s SIE prep course is comprehensive. The learning resources in the program are more than sufficient for anyone to pass the SIE exam handily.

Still, this exam prep course is not without drawbacks. One of them is that the Securities Institute of America does not offer a pass guarantee for the actual exam. If you pass the Greenlight exam but fail the actual exam (Yes, it is unlikely, but still possible), you cannot ask for refunds.

Pricing

The Securities Institute of America uses a no-frills pricing strategy. You can choose from these three following options:

• Complete SIE Exam Review Course – $99
• Exam Prep Software – $49.95
• Complete Video Package – $79

The first package is the one that I recommend. It includes all the learning resources I mentioned above. Thus, you will have all the best that the Securities Institute of America currently offers.

However, if your exam date is upcoming and you don’t have time for books, you may want to select the video package instead. This package gives you all the online resources (except e-books), which I believe is still adequate for anyone to pass the exam.

Alternatively, suppose you plan to take the SIE exam and other FINRA qualification exams (i.e., Series 6 and 7) together in the foreseeable future. In this case, you can purchase a bundle that includes a prep course for SIE and another training program for the qualification exam of your choice.

This option will offer better value for money than purchasing each training program separately.

Pros & Cons

2. Achievable

Achievable is an excellent choice for students who need an affordable and innovative prep course. Achievable test prep makes use of adaptive learning technology, which helps provide all students with a personalized learning experience.

Lessons & Learning Resources

Your learning experience with Achievable will be different from other providers because Achievable does not mainly use video lessons as a core part of the program.

Instead, you will learn through a series of readings, while videos serve as supplementary material that help you understand the concepts better.

I appreciate Achievable’s readings. Based on my observations, they are informative but adequately concise. Each concept is also logically explained. Hence, you will grasp the key points easily.

Furthermore, every lesson is packed with examples and thought-provoking questions. The best thing is that the interactive platform will not reveal the answer until you scroll down to the end of the section. Thus, you can take your time to figure out the solution on your own

Also, my favorite part is the key points at the end that summarize all the concepts. This will prove highly beneficial for the last-minute review.

Once you complete a lesson, you can access the quiz bank for it from your dashboard. These quiz questions will help you digest the concepts so that you can remember them by heart.

Besides the interactive lessons, you will gain access to the following learning resources:

• Adaptive Learning Platform – Achievable’s learning platform monitors your performance and adjusts quizzes and questions accordingly. In other words, each quiz question will tailor to your skillsets, so you will practice more on topics in which you frequently make mistakes. In the end, your study effectiveness will increase, and you will need less study time.
• 2000+ practice questions (or 20+ full-length practice exams)
• A quiz bank containing 2000+ additional review questions
• Progress tracker

Bottom Line: Achievable is a solid SIE exam prep course. The text-based lessons are easy-to-follow, while the exam review platform utilizes adaptive learning technology, which enriches the learning experience. The practice exams are also abundant. All of which makes Achievable one of my favorite SIE test prep providers.

If you are still unsure, click the button below to read up to five lessons and complete several quiz questions for free (no credit card required).

Pricing

The price tag for lifetime access to this SIE prep course is only $74, far more inexpensive than other alternatives.

I think its adaptive learning platform with that many practice exams alone is already worth $100. Hence, I would say that this prep course is a must-buy at this price!

Pros & Cons

3. Surgent

Surgent is a leading provider of accounting and financial education. Recently, the company has just released its brand-new SIE prep course. With its high-quality practice questions and innovative platform, Surgent SIE Review helps propel many candidates to succeed in the exam.

Lessons and Learning Resources

Surgent uses adaptive learning technology in all aspects of the program. First, the platform will create a personalized study schedule tailored and optimized to your needs. You will then need to input your exam date.

The next step is to create a study schedule. Surgent first calculates the available time before the exam date.

Next, you need to specify which day of the week you can commit to studying. In my case, I picked Saturday and Sunday.

The next step is to complete a comprehensive assessment quiz, which will test your knowledge of all topics that can appear in the exam.

You will need to complete 300 quiz questions in total. Thus, prepare to spend up to 2 hours here. Once finished, Surgent’s algorithm will grasp your strengths and weaknesses and create a study plan to close your knowledge gaps.

I recommend completing the assessment in full. However, if you just get bored or do not have time, you can skip it altogether and start the study sessions right away.

However, Surgent’s study sessions are just quizzes. You will answer as many as five questions per lesson. Surgent will then grade all your responses, explain the correct answers and provide you with references that you can read further.

I personally like the reference since it is exceptionally informative and clarifies the concept very well.

Consequently, you will need to complete all the quizzes (2400+ in total) or until your Readyscore is higher than 75%. Readyscore is a measurement of your readiness for the exam. Thus, the higher the score, the better.

Bottom Line: Since Surgent only offers quizzes, the program is suitable only for students who have taken other courses or have prior background in Economics or Finance (i.e., a finance major) that want more practice for the SIE exam.

Suppose you are an absolute beginner who wants to switch a career to Finance. In this case, you should check out other courses beforehand unless you want to learn solely by trial and error.

You can create a free account to try Surgent SIE Review for three days.

Pricing

This program costs $149 one-time. Compared to other alternatives, Surgent SIE Review does not provide the best value. However, Surgent would prove an excellent addition to your training resources if you struggle with some concepts and need more practice.

Pros & Cons

4. Securities Training Corporation

Securities Training Corporation (STC) is one of the oldest training providers for FINRA qualification exams. With more than 50 years of experience, STC has trained more than a million students to succeed in the exams.

Lessons and Learning Resources

STC is one of the few providers that offers all three types of training: On-demand, Live Online, and In-Person. You will learn from top-notch instructors who will guide you through the key concepts and give valuable tips and tricks that you can use to excel in the exam.

Regarding learning resources, you will gain 6-month access to the following:

• 21 hours of on-demand video lectures
• 1800 Digital flashcards
• Progress Exams and Final exams
• Green Light Exams
• Cheatsheets
• STC Exam Guarantee
• Access to Instructor Hotline

Generally speaking, the learning resources are more or less similar to the Securities Institute of America’s. However, the video lectures will be longer, which may suit learners that need detailed explanations.

I am not a fan of digital flashcards. I had access to them from numerous prep training courses but never used them well. However, they can still be a valuable asset for many learners to memorize crucial concepts.

Pricing

As of December 2022, STC offers three exam packages as follows:

• Digital E-Course – $114
• Premier – $124
• Premier Plus – $260

The first package will provide access to the online portal and its resources. Thus, this package is adequate for most students who want to self-study.

The Premier package only adds printed material. However, at $10 extra, I think it is definitely worth getting a high-quality reference to aid your learning.

Finally, the Premier Plus package adds live online or in-person training on top of the Premier plan. This option is best if you want live access to the instructor to ask detailed questions.

Pros & Cons

5. Knopman Marks

Knopman Marks is the ultimate solution for SIE exam training. You will be guided not only by an individual instructor but a team of instructors, coaches, and staff. Hence, you can be confident that you are on the right track to pass the SIE exam.

Lessons and Learning Resources

Knopman Marks offers comprehensive learning resources, including:

• 14+ hours of video lectures
• Benchmark and diagnostic exams
• Downloadable study guides, an e-book, and a textbook
• Digital Flashcards
• Online Question Bank
• Personalized action plan
• Full access to the support team (real-time email updates, proactive ongoing check-ins, etc.)

You will have abundant learning resources and support to help you score high in the SIE exam. However, if you need further assistance, you can purchase a live session add-on, which will supplement your training with the following:

• Live Online Sessions – You will gain access to live online sessions where your instructor will go over all essential concepts of the SIE exam. These sessions cover the same topics as on-demand lessons. However, it allows you to interact with your instructor, making classes more engaging.
• Review Sessions – In these live sessions, your instructor will drill deep into advanced concepts and questions for the SIE exam and explain how to tackle them.
• Group Onboarding Call – You will join a live session where the team will guide you to explore the online portal so that you can use it at its full potential.
• Blended Class – A scheduled course where an instructor will help clarify concepts from on-demand lectures

The most significant drawback is that Knopman Marks does not offer a pass guarantee. Hence, you cannot request a refund if you fail the exam.

Pricing

The price tag for the main package is $250, while the add-on costs $225.

Knopman Marks’ SIE prep is far costlier than other alternatives. However, if you want a team of experts to assist you in every part of your journey, I think the prep is worth the price.

Pros & Cons

Related Courses

• CFA – A prestigious certification pursued by finance professionals worldwide
• FRM – Coming Soon
• Series 7 – Coming soon