For Agents

As an insurance professional, you may wish to extend your product line into securities. For example, an insurance agent who is properly licensed to sell life and health insurance policies may choose to widen his or her product mix by offering Variable Life Insurance or annuities, which are considered securities.

Offering securities to the public requires the insurance agent to be licensed with a broker-dealer registered with FINRA (Financial Industry Regulatory Authority). FINRA is a nonprofit, non-governmental regulator known as a self regulatory organization (SRO) under the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. FINRA is dedicated to investor protection and market integrity. Some of its responsibilities include creating and enforcing rules and regulations, providing a central registration depository, and examining member firms to make certain that member firms and all their representatives are in full compliance with FINRA and SEC rules.

1. Identify a Company that is Registered with FINRA
   When you are satisfied that offering securities is the path you want to take, you must register as an agent of a broker-dealer. Your next step is to identify a company or partnership that is registered with FINRA and is approved for the line of business that you are expecting to pursue. There is no such thing as an independent agent. All securities sales agents must be associated with and sponsored by a FINRA member firm.
2. Complete Form U4
   When you have identified a suitable member firm and come to an agreement to work for them, you will be asked by their compliance and registration staff to complete the Form U4 and to be fingerprinted. The U4 is an extended questionnaire, as well as a registration application, used to register you with various exchanges and jurisdictions. Your new firm will file it for you electronically through FINRA's web-based Central Registration Depository.
   
   The Form U4 requires details about your background, employment history, residences, and any criminal charges. A statutory disqualification (e.g., embezzlement, theft, larceny, or perjury) is essentially any crime that calls into doubt the candidate's ability to tell the truth or handle money and securities honestly. Someone thus convicted would be generally ineligible for registration with the broker / dealer for 10 years.
3. Submit Fingerprints
   Your new broker / dealer will require you to submit FINRA-approved fingerprint cards to the FBI. The Bureau will compare your fingerprint cards with its massive database of those individuals who have been identified as statutorily disqualified from acting as securities brokers under the 1934 Securities Exchange Act.
4. Become Qualified
   FINRA requires all registered representatives to be qualified. The representative must satisfactorily demonstrate minimum competency in his or her particular field by passing a rigorous examination. In some cases, an apprenticeship period is required. Registration with FINRA requires no formal education, although the member firm itself may have its own hiring standards.
   
   There are many qualification exams. For example, if an individual agent limits his or her work to variable products, the 3-hour Series 6 exam must be passed. If the individual offers a wider variety of general securities, then the 6-hour Series 7 exam must be passed. In addition, nearly all states require the Series 63 exam to be passed. Exam requests are selected on the Form U4. These tests are demanding and require considerable effort to pass. However, Kaplan Financial Education has comprehensive training solutions to help you pass these exams. Learn more about Study Solutions from Kaplan Financial Education.
   
   When you have filed the Form U4, a 120-day window will be opened for you to take the exam. You may sit for the exam at one of the many locations offered by Pearson Vue or Prometrics. When you have passed the Series 6 (or Series 7) and Series 63 exam, you must wait until your compliance officer tells you that you may commence your sales activities. In addition to FINRA and state approval, there may be other internal considerations. Your company's compliance officer may require training in the following areas: sales and product training, anti-money laundering, account management, or suitability training.

In addition to your initial qualifications, there is a continuing education requirement. Kaplan Financial Education offers a variety of courses to assist broker / dealers and their agents in satisfying FINRA's continuing education requirements.