Series 99 — Operations Professional Qualification Examination Quick Reference

Exam identity and operating mindset

This independent Quick Reference supports preparation for FINRA’s Series 99 — Operations Professional Qualification Examination (Series 99). The exam is operations-focused: expect questions about how broker-dealer processing, records, controls, customer assets, and regulatory obligations work in practice.

High-yield Series 99 mindset

Core market and operations infrastructure

Account lifecycle reference

Account opening and onboarding controls

Common account types

Trade lifecycle

    flowchart LR
	    A[Order entered] --> B[Execution]
	    B --> C[Trade capture]
	    C --> D[Comparison / matching]
	    D --> E[Clearing and netting]
	    E --> F[Settlement]
	    F --> G[Books, records, statements]
	    D --> H[Trade break or DK]
	    H --> I[Research, correct, approve, document]
	    I --> D

Settlement and date conventions

Regular-way settlement reference

Dividend and corporate action dates

Settlement vocabulary

Product operations matrix

Margin and credit formulas

Core margin account equations

\[ \text{Long Equity} = \text{Long Market Value} - \text{Debit Balance} \]\[ \text{Short Equity} = \text{Credit Balance} - \text{Short Market Value} \]\[ \text{Equity Percentage} = \frac{\text{Equity}}{\text{Market Value}} \]

Margin quick examples

Customer protection and financial responsibility

Customer Protection Rule concepts

\[ \text{Simplified Reserve Need} = \max(\text{Customer Credits} - \text{Customer Debits}, 0) \]

This is a conceptual memory aid, not the full regulatory computation.

Net capital concept

\[ \text{Net Capital} \approx \text{Liquid Net Worth} - \text{Nonallowable Assets} - \text{Haircuts} - \text{Operational Charges} \]

Books, records, and reconciliations

Reconciliation priorities

1. Compare internal ledgers to clearing/depository/custodian records.
2. Identify breaks by security, quantity, account, cash amount, and date.
3. Determine whether the break affects customer assets, settlement, or regulatory computations.
4. Correct through approved workflows only.
5. Document root cause, approval, and final resolution.
6. Escalate repeat breaks or control failures.

Regulatory and rule-area map

Trade reporting, confirmations, and capacity

Corporate actions and reorganization processing

Split adjustment memory aid

Bond processing and accrued interest

\[ \text{Accrued Interest} = \text{Par Value} \times \text{Coupon Rate} \times \frac{\text{Days Accrued}}{\text{Day-Count Basis}} \]\[ \text{Bond Invoice Amount} = \text{Dollar Price} + \text{Accrued Interest} \]

Options operations essentials

Tax, cost basis, and withholding operations

Account transfers, withdrawals, and asset movement

Asset movement red flags

• New address, phone, email, or bank instructions followed by urgent withdrawal.
• Third-party disbursement without clear purpose or authorization.
• Customer appears coached, confused, or subject to exploitation.
• Repeated wires just below internal review thresholds.
• Funds from or to high-risk jurisdictions without clear rationale.
• Transfer request inconsistent with customer profile.
• POA requests that benefit the agent personally.
• Account takeover indicators: device change, failed logins, unusual IP, changed MFA.

AML, fraud, and escalation

Professional conduct quick table

High-yield “choose the next action” guide

Acronyms and terms to know

Common Series 99 traps

• Execution date is not settlement date. Many cash, margin, dividend, and fail questions turn on settlement.
• Operations does not “advise around” controls. The correct answer is often verify, restrict, escalate, or document.
• Customer protection is about ownership and control, not just account balance.
• A trade correction must preserve the audit trail. Do not erase the original event.
• Firm house rules can be stricter than regulatory minimums.
• A trusted contact is not a power of attorney.
• A beneficiary is not automatically authorized to trade during the owner’s life.
• SIPC is not market-loss insurance. It addresses missing customer assets if a member firm fails, subject to its framework.
• Margin SMA is not cash. It represents excess equity/borrowing capacity.
• Short sale proceeds are not freely withdrawable customer cash.
• Tax reporting is not tax advice. Operations supplies accurate records and forms.
• A suspicious activity concern is escalated confidentially. Do not tip off the customer.
• Restricted securities require clearance before sale or transfer.
• Voluntary corporate actions require customer election; mandatory actions generally do not.

Final review checklist

Before practice questions, make sure you can quickly answer:

• Who holds the account: introducing firm, carrying firm, custodian, transfer agent, or depository?
• What documentation proves authority to act?
• Is the transaction trade-date, settlement-date, record-date, or payable-date driven?
• Is the asset fully paid, margin, pledged, restricted, borrowed, or loaned?
• Does the item affect customer reserve, net capital, possession/control, or books and records?
• Is the correct response processing, rejection, correction, disclosure, escalation, or supervisory approval?
• What record proves the action was authorized and completed correctly?

Next step: use this Quick Reference as a drill sheet, then work timed Series 99 practice questions focused on settlement exceptions, account authority, margin balances, customer protection, AML red flags, and operations controls.