Series 65 — Uniform Investment Adviser Law Examination Exam Blueprint

Last revised: July 1, 2026

A practical Series 65 exam blueprint for NASAA Uniform Investment Adviser Law Examination review, final readiness, and scenario practice.

How to Use This Exam Blueprint

Use this page as an independent readiness map for the NASAA Series 65 — Uniform Investment Adviser Law Examination, exam code Series 65. It is designed for final review and practice planning, not as a substitute for official NASAA materials or your course textbook.

For each topic area, ask three questions:

Can I define the term without notes?
Can I apply it to a client or regulatory scenario?
Can I eliminate tempting wrong answers under exam timing?

This checklist does not imply exact official exam weights. Treat the areas below as practical readiness areas for the real exam.

Topic-Area Readiness Map

Readiness area	What to review	What “ready” looks like	Common weak area
Economic factors and business information	Business cycles, interest rates, inflation, monetary and fiscal policy, economic indicators, financial statements	You can connect economic conditions to securities, rates, sectors, and client recommendations	Memorizing terms without knowing their investment impact
Investment vehicles	Equities, fixed income, funds, ETFs, REITs, options, annuities, alternatives, cash equivalents	You can identify features, risks, tax treatment, liquidity, income potential, and suitability cues	Treating all income products or all pooled products as interchangeable
Client profiles and suitability	Risk tolerance, time horizon, liquidity, tax status, objectives, constraints, financial condition	You can rank what matters most in a fact pattern before choosing a recommendation	Overweighting return objective while ignoring liquidity, age, tax, or risk
Portfolio theory and performance	Diversification, correlation, beta, alpha, standard deviation, total return, risk-adjusted return	You can explain how risk measures affect portfolio construction and manager evaluation	Confusing market risk, company risk, and portfolio risk
Tax, retirement, and planning basics	Taxable vs tax-advantaged accounts, capital gains, income taxation, retirement objectives, estate and education planning basics	You can identify tax-sensitive recommendations and account-appropriate investments	Ignoring after-tax return or required liquidity
Investment adviser regulation	Investment adviser, investment adviser representative, broker-dealer, agent, issuer, security, exempt security, exempt transaction	You can classify parties and decide which rules apply in a scenario	Confusing registration exemptions with securities exemptions
Registration and jurisdiction	State vs federal concepts, notice filing, exemptions, disciplinary events, records, renewals, disclosures	You can spot when registration, exemption, disclosure, or filing analysis is being tested	Assuming a title controls the answer instead of activities and compensation
Advisory contracts and disclosures	Fees, conflicts, assignment, discretion, custody, performance reporting, advisory agreements, brochure-type disclosures	You can identify required client consent, disclosure, and fiduciary concerns	Thinking disclosure alone fixes every conflict
Ethics and prohibited practices	Fraud, misrepresentation, unsuitable advice, insider trading, market manipulation, unauthorized trading, misleading advertising	You can choose the most client-protective and regulation-compliant action	Missing “omission of material fact” or implied guarantees

High-Priority “Can You Do This?” Checklist

Economic and Market Concepts

You should be able to:

Distinguish expansion, peak, contraction, recession, trough, and recovery.
Explain how rising or falling interest rates may affect:
- Bond prices
- Bank stocks
- Growth stocks
- Real estate values
- Consumer borrowing
- Corporate capital spending
Identify the likely effect of inflation on:
- Purchasing power
- Fixed-income payments
- Real returns
- Cost of capital
Distinguish monetary policy from fiscal policy.
Recognize leading, lagging, and coincident economic indicators at a practical level.
Interpret common market indexes as benchmarks, not guarantees or investment products by themselves.
Distinguish nominal return from real return.
Connect yield curve shapes to interest-rate expectations and economic conditions.
Read basic financial-statement clues:
- Liquidity
- Leverage
- Profitability
- Cash flow quality
- Dividend sustainability

Investment Vehicles

You should be able to compare:

Product or vehicle	Key readiness questions
Common stock	What are voting rights, dividends, capital appreciation potential, market risk, and residual claim risk?
Preferred stock	Is the feature cumulative, callable, convertible, participating, or fixed-dividend? How does it compare with bonds and common stock?
Corporate bonds	What are credit risk, interest-rate risk, call risk, maturity, seniority, and yield relationships?
Municipal bonds	What income-tax issue is being tested? Is the question about suitability, credit quality, or tax-equivalent yield?
U.S. government and agency securities	What risk is reduced, and what risk still remains?
Money market instruments	Is the client prioritizing liquidity, capital preservation, or yield?
Mutual funds	What are NAV, sales charges, operating expenses, share classes, redemption, diversification, and tax distributions?
ETFs	How do exchange trading, intraday pricing, premiums/discounts, and expenses differ from mutual funds?
Closed-end funds	How can market price differ from NAV, and why does that matter?
REITs	Is the product publicly traded or nontraded? What are liquidity, income, real-estate, and tax considerations?
Options	Is the investor buying or writing calls or puts? Is the strategy hedging, income-oriented, or speculative?
Variable annuities	What are separate account risk, tax deferral, surrender issues, expenses, guarantees, and suitability concerns?
Fixed annuities	What risk is borne by the insurer, and what inflation or liquidity risk remains?
Limited partnerships and DPPs	What are liquidity, tax, passive loss, business risk, and investor qualification concerns?
Hedge funds and private placements	What are liquidity limits, disclosure issues, risk, suitability, and investor eligibility concerns?

Calculation and Formula Checks

The Series 65 can test whether you understand calculations conceptually and can apply them to suitability or product comparisons. You do not need to turn every question into math, but you should recognize when a formula changes the recommendation.

Core formulas to know

\[ \text{Current yield} = \frac{\text{annual interest or dividend}}{\text{current market price}} \]\[ \text{Tax-equivalent yield} = \frac{\text{tax-exempt yield}}{1 - \text{marginal tax rate}} \]\[ \text{Total return} = \frac{\text{income} + \text{capital gain or loss}}{\text{beginning value}} \]\[ \text{Approximate real return} = \text{nominal return} - \text{inflation rate} \]

Calculation readiness table

Calculation area	Be ready to do this	Interpretation check
Bond price and yield	Recognize inverse relationship between price and yield	If rates rise, existing bond prices generally fall
Current yield	Annual income divided by current market price	Current yield ignores maturity value and reinvestment
Yield to maturity concept	Compare annualized return if held to maturity	More complete than current yield, but depends on assumptions
Tax-equivalent yield	Tax-exempt yield divided by 1 minus tax rate	Useful when comparing municipal and taxable bonds
Total return	Include income plus gain or loss	More complete than yield alone
Real return	Adjust nominal return for inflation	A positive nominal return can still lose purchasing power
Current ratio	Current assets divided by current liabilities	Higher generally suggests stronger short-term liquidity
Debt-to-equity	Debt divided by equity	Higher leverage can increase risk
Earnings per share	Earnings available to common shareholders divided by shares	Used in valuation and profitability comparisons
Price-to-earnings ratio	Market price divided by EPS	May indicate growth expectations, not automatic overvaluation
Beta	Sensitivity to market movement	Beta above 1 implies greater market sensitivity than the benchmark
Alpha	Return relative to expected risk-adjusted return	Positive alpha suggests outperformance after risk adjustment
Standard deviation	Dispersion of returns	Higher standard deviation means greater volatility
Sharpe ratio	Excess return divided by standard deviation	Higher may indicate better risk-adjusted performance
Correlation	Degree two assets move together	Lower correlation can improve diversification

Client Recommendation and Suitability Checklist

Client facts to collect before recommending

You should be able to identify missing information before choosing an investment.

Age and life stage
Employment status and income stability
Net worth and liquid net worth
Tax bracket and tax concerns
Investment objective
Risk tolerance
Risk capacity
Time horizon
Liquidity needs
Existing holdings and concentration
Debt obligations
Retirement needs
Education funding needs
Estate planning concerns
Insurance coverage gaps
Investment experience
Restrictions or preferences
Need for income, growth, preservation, or speculation

Scenario cues

Scenario cue	Likely issue	Exam-ready response
Client needs funds in six months	Liquidity and principal preservation	Avoid long-term, volatile, illiquid, or surrender-charge-heavy recommendations
Retired client needs predictable income	Income, preservation, inflation risk	Balance income with credit quality, liquidity, and purchasing-power needs
Young client with long horizon	Growth potential and volatility tolerance	Diversified equity exposure may be suitable if risk tolerance supports it
High-income client in high tax bracket	After-tax return	Compare taxable and tax-exempt alternatives using tax-equivalent yield
Client holds mostly employer stock	Concentration risk	Discuss diversification and tax consequences
Client wants “no risk” and high return	Unrealistic objective	Explain risk-return tradeoff and avoid guarantees
Client lacks emergency savings	Liquidity priority	Build cash reserve before illiquid or long-term strategies
Client wants aggressive trading but has low risk tolerance	Suitability conflict	Risk tolerance and capacity may override stated return desire
Elderly client is offered complex product	Suitability, liquidity, disclosure	Scrutinize surrender charges, complexity, time horizon, and need
Client seeks tax deferral	Account and product fit	Compare retirement accounts, annuities, and taxable alternatives carefully

Recommendation decision order

When a question asks for the “best” recommendation, use this order:

Is it legal and ethical?
Is enough client information available?
Does it match the client’s primary objective?
Does it fit the time horizon and liquidity need?
Does the client understand the risk?
Are costs, conflicts, and tax effects considered?
Is documentation or disclosure required?

Portfolio Theory and Risk Readiness

Risk types to distinguish

Risk type	What it means	Typical exam cue
Market risk	Overall market movement affects investment value	Broad decline affects many securities
Business risk	Company-specific operating risk	Poor management, product failure, earnings decline
Credit risk	Issuer may fail to pay	Lower-quality bond or deteriorating financials
Interest-rate risk	Rate changes affect bond prices	Long-term bond price falls when rates rise
Reinvestment risk	Income must be reinvested at lower rates	Callable bond in falling-rate environment
Call risk	Issuer redeems bond before maturity	Investor loses higher coupon when rates fall
Inflation risk	Purchasing power declines	Fixed payments lose real value
Liquidity risk	Cannot sell quickly at fair value	Nontraded REIT, private placement, limited partnership
Political or regulatory risk	Law or policy affects value	Industry subject to regulation
Currency risk	Exchange-rate movement affects return	Foreign securities or ADRs
Systematic risk	Nondiversifiable market risk	Measured partly by beta
Unsystematic risk	Company or industry risk	Can be reduced through diversification

Portfolio readiness prompts

Can you explain:

Why diversification reduces unsystematic risk but not all risk?
Why two investments with low correlation may improve portfolio risk?
Why a high-return investment may be inappropriate if volatility is excessive?
Why risk tolerance and risk capacity are not always the same?
Why benchmark selection matters when evaluating performance?
Why nominal performance may be misleading after taxes, fees, and inflation?
Why a concentrated portfolio can be unsuitable even if each holding is high quality?

Tax, Retirement, and Planning Basics

Tax treatment checkpoints

Topic	What to know for exam readiness
Ordinary income	Interest, some dividends, short-term gains, and certain distributions may be taxed differently from long-term gains
Capital gains and losses	Holding period and realized sale matter; unrealized gains are not the same as taxable gains
Municipal interest	Know when tax-exempt income may matter and when state or other tax issues may still be relevant
Qualified dividends	Understand that some dividends may receive different tax treatment than ordinary income
Tax deferral	Deferral is not tax elimination; future withdrawals may create taxable income
Retirement accounts	Suitability depends on eligibility, objective, time horizon, tax treatment, and withdrawal constraints
Annuities	Tax deferral, expenses, surrender issues, and insurance features must be weighed against alternatives
Estate basics	Beneficiary designations, transfer goals, liquidity, and tax awareness may appear in planning scenarios
Education funding	Match investment risk to time horizon and funding need

Tax-sensitive recommendation prompts

Can you compare a municipal bond with a taxable bond using tax-equivalent yield?
Can you explain why high turnover can create tax drag?
Can you distinguish tax deferral from tax-free treatment?
Can you identify when liquidity need outweighs tax benefit?
Can you spot when an investment is held in the wrong account type for the client’s objective?
Can you explain why tax considerations do not make an unsuitable product suitable?

Investment Adviser Law and Regulatory Classification

Series 65 candidates need to classify people, firms, products, transactions, and conduct. In many questions, the correct answer depends on definitions before it depends on investment knowledge.

Classification checklist

If the fact pattern mentions…	Ask this	Readiness cue
Advice about securities	Is the person in the business of giving advice for compensation?	Investment adviser analysis may apply
A person representing an adviser	Is the person soliciting, managing accounts, giving advice, or supervising advisory activity?	Investment adviser representative analysis may apply
Securities transactions for others	Is the person effecting transactions or receiving transaction-based compensation?	Broker-dealer or agent analysis may apply
Issuer’s representative	Is the person representing the issuer in a securities sale?	Agent status may still be tested depending on the facts
Exempt security	Is the security itself exempt from registration?	Anti-fraud rules can still apply
Exempt transaction	Is the transaction exempt even if the security is not?	Do not confuse the transaction exemption with the security
Federal covered security	Is state registration preempted or limited?	State anti-fraud authority may still matter
Federal covered adviser	Does federal registration affect state adviser registration?	State notice, fee, and IAR issues may still appear
Place of business	Does the person have a physical or regular location in a state?	State jurisdiction may turn on location and client activity
Existing client in another state	Does the scenario trigger state registration or exemption analysis?	Watch for client count, place of business, and exemption facts if supplied

Legal concepts to know

You should be able to define and apply:

Security
Investment contract
Broker-dealer
Agent
Investment adviser
Investment adviser representative
Issuer
Institutional client
Exempt security
Exempt transaction
Federal covered security
Federal covered adviser
Registration
Notice filing
Consent to service of process
Custody
Discretion
Assignment of advisory contract
Fiduciary duty
Material fact
Fraud and deceit
Conflict of interest

Registration, Disclosure, and Documentation Checklist

Registration and exemption readiness

Be ready to answer questions such as:

Who must register?
Who may be exempt from registration?
Is the person acting as an adviser, IAR, broker-dealer, agent, issuer, or client?
Is the security exempt, or is only the transaction exempt?
Does a federal concept limit state registration but leave state anti-fraud authority intact?
Does the scenario involve a place of business?
Does the scenario involve compensation for advice?
Does the scenario involve advice about securities rather than general financial planning only?
Does the scenario involve a change requiring amendment or disclosure?
Does the question ask what must happen before business is conducted?

Advisory contract and disclosure topics

Topic	What to review	Exam trap
Advisory fees	How fees are calculated, disclosed, and compared with services	Fee disclosure does not excuse an unreasonable or conflicted practice
Performance-based compensation	When it is restricted, permitted, or requires special analysis	Assuming it is always permitted because the client agrees
Assignment	Client consent and contract implications	Missing indirect changes in control or transfer of contract rights
Termination	Refunds, prepaid fees, and client rights	Ignoring unearned prepaid advisory fees
Discretion	Trading authority and documentation	Confusing price/time discretion with full investment discretion
Custody	Possession or control of client funds or securities	Missing custody created by fee deduction or authority over assets
Brochure-type disclosure	Adviser identity, services, fees, conflicts, disciplinary facts	Delivering disclosure late or omitting material conflicts
Conflicts of interest	Compensation, affiliations, referral arrangements, proprietary products	Believing disclosure alone always removes fiduciary concern
Soft dollars	Research and brokerage benefits	Failing to identify client benefit and conflict
Principal transactions	Adviser sells to or buys from client as principal	Requires heightened conflict awareness and consent analysis
Agency cross transactions	Adviser arranges both sides of trade	Conflict, consent, and disclosure issues
Recordkeeping	Required records, communications, contracts, advertising, client information	Assuming informal advice does not need documentation

Ethics and Prohibited Practices

Conduct checklist

You should be able to identify prohibited, unethical, or high-risk conduct involving:

Misstating or omitting material facts
Guaranteeing profits or guaranteeing no loss
Recommending unsuitable securities or strategies
Trading without authority
Exercising discretion without proper authorization
Excessive trading in a client account
Borrowing from or lending to clients improperly
Commingling client assets with firm or personal assets
Misusing inside information
Front-running client orders
Market manipulation
Matched orders or wash trades
Misleading advertising
Cherry-picking profitable trades
Allocating trades unfairly
Failing to disclose conflicts
Falsifying records
Misrepresenting credentials
Using testimonials, endorsements, or performance claims in a misleading way
Charging undisclosed fees
Failing to supervise
Retaliating against complaints or discouraging regulatory communication

Ethics scenario table

Scenario	Best exam instinct
Client says, “Just do what you think is best,” but no written authority exists	Do not exercise full discretion until properly authorized
Adviser recommends affiliated fund with higher compensation	Disclose conflict and evaluate whether recommendation is suitable and fiduciary-compliant
Representative hears material nonpublic information	Do not trade or tip; escalate through proper compliance channels
Client wants a guaranteed return in equities	Do not guarantee; explain risk honestly
Adviser advertises only profitable recommendations	Misleading performance presentation concern
Adviser allocates hot IPO shares to favored accounts	Fair allocation and conflict issue
Client account is traded frequently to generate fees	Excessive trading and suitability concern
Adviser uses complex strategy client does not understand	Disclosure, suitability, and fiduciary concern
Client complains and firm alters notes	Record falsification and unethical conduct
Adviser borrows from elderly client	Conflict and prohibited-practice concern

Product-Specific Suitability Traps

Product	Watch for	Suitable only if…
Long-term bond	Interest-rate risk and inflation risk	Time horizon, income need, and risk tolerance support it
Low-rated bond	Credit risk	Client accepts higher default risk for higher yield potential
Callable bond	Reinvestment risk	Client understands call possibility and yield assumptions
Municipal bond	Tax benefit may be irrelevant to low-tax client	After-tax comparison supports it
Variable annuity	Expenses, surrender charges, market risk, tax treatment	Long time horizon, tax-deferral need, and insurance features justify it
Nontraded REIT	Liquidity and valuation risk	Client can tolerate illiquidity and understands risks
Options writing	Potentially significant risk	Strategy, authority, experience, and risk tolerance support it
Margin strategy	Leverage amplifies loss	Client has experience, capacity, and risk tolerance
Concentrated growth stock	Volatility and company risk	Client accepts concentration and speculation
Money market fund	Low return and inflation risk	Liquidity and preservation are primary goals
Private placement	Limited liquidity and disclosure	Client eligibility, risk capacity, and documentation support it
Leveraged or inverse fund	Complexity and compounding effects	Client understands short-term or specialized use and risk

Business Information and Financial Statement Review

Financial statement checklist

Balance sheet: assets, liabilities, equity
Income statement: revenue, expenses, earnings
Cash flow statement: operating, investing, financing cash flows
Current assets vs current liabilities
Debt levels and leverage
Profit margins
Earnings quality
Dividend payout and sustainability
Book value vs market value
Working capital
Inventory and receivables trends
Auditor or disclosure concerns if presented in a scenario

Valuation and analysis prompts