The 5-Percent Markup Policy and the Series 7 Exam - dummies (2024)

The 5-percent policy (FINRA 5 Percent Markup Policy) is more of a guideline than a rule. The policy was enacted to make sure that investors receive fair treatment and aren't charged excessively for broker-dealer services in the over-the-counter (OTC) market. The guideline says that brokerage firms shouldn't charge commissions, markups, or markdowns of more than 5 percent for standard trades.

The following trades are subject to the 5-percent markup policy:

  • Principal (dealer) transactions: A firm buys securities for or sells securities from its own inventory and charges a markdown or markup.

  • Agency (broker) transactions: A firm acts as a middleman (broker) and charges a commission.

  • Riskless (simultaneous) transactions: A firm buys a security for its own inventory for immediate resale to the customer (riskless to the firm).

  • Proceeds transactions: A firm sells a security and uses the money to immediately buy another security. You must treat this transaction as one trade (you can't charge on the way out and on the way in).

The 5-percent markup policy covers over-the-counter trades of outstanding, nonexempt securities with public customers. If securities are exempt from SEC registration, they're exempt from the 5-percent policy. Additionally, if a dealer pays $20 per share to have a security in inventory (dealer cost) and the market price is $8 per share, the dealer can't charge customers $20 per share so that it doesn't take a loss.

Under extenuating circ*mstances, the brokerage firm may charge more. Justifiable reasons for charging more (or less) than 5 percent include

  • Experiencing difficulty buying or selling the security because the market price is too low or too high

  • Handling a small trade — for example, if a customer was to place an order for $100 worth of securities, you'd lose your shirt if you were to charge only 5 percent ($5); in this case, you wouldn't be out of line if you were to charge 100 percent (by the same token, if a customer was to purchase $1 million worth of securities, 5 percent [$50,000] would be considered excessive)

  • Encountering difficulty locating and purchasing a specific security

  • Incurring additional expenses involved in executing the trade

  • Dealing with odd lot trades

  • Trading nonliquid securities

  • Executing transactions on foreign markets

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The 5-Percent Markup Policy and the Series 7 Exam  - dummies (2024)

FAQs

What is the 5 percent policy Series 7? ›

The policy was enacted to make sure that investors receive fair treatment and aren't charged excessively for broker-dealer services in the over-the-counter (OTC) market. The guideline says that brokerage firms shouldn't charge commissions, markups, or markdowns of more than 5 percent for standard trades.

What is the 5% markup policy? ›

It dates back to 1943 and states that commissions, markups, and markdowns of more than 5% are prohibited on standard trades, including over-the-counter and stock exchange listings, cash sales, and riskless transactions. Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA).

What is an exemption from the 5% markup policy applies to? ›

The 5% markup policy does not apply to any trade requiring a prospectus (new issues, registered secondaries, and mutual funds) or a transaction involving an exempt security (municipal bond).

How many questions can you get wrong in series 7? ›

You will have 3 hours and 45 minutes to complete the exam and must correctly answer 72% (90 questions) of the 125 scorable questions to pass.

How does the 5 percent rule work? ›

The 5% figure was agreed upon to ensure that private foundations would, in theory, be able to exist in perpetuity whilst also ensuring that communities and society benefit. The calculation was based on historic market returns of approximately 8% which, after accounting for 3% average historic inflation, leaves 5%.

What is the 5% rule in trading? ›

5% Rule: This rule applies to the total risk exposure across all your open trades. It recommends limiting the total risk exposure of all your trades combined to no more than 5% of your trading capital. This means if you have multiple trades open simultaneously, their combined risk should not exceed 5%.

What does finra's 5 markup policy not apply to? ›

FINRA's guidelines, which require all prices paid by customers to be reasonably related to a security's market price. The 5 percent policy is a guideline, not a rule, and does not apply to securities sold through a prospectus.

What is a 5% markup? ›

So when you mark up things manually, you are taking a 5% of the original cost and adding it to the original cost to make a new price. So your markup is 5% of the original cost. When you use the "markup" button on the calculator, you are using the manufacturer's definition of markup, which is to do it differently.

What is the 5 percent strategy? ›

The Five Percent Rule is a simple strategy that involves investing no more than 5% of one's portfolio in any single investment. This approach is based on the principle that by limiting the exposure to any one investment, investors can reduce the risk of significant losses.

Which of the following transactions would not be subject to the 5% markup policy? ›

Which of the following transactions would NOT be subject to the 5% markup policy? Transactions in securities that are sold by a prospectus are not subject to the 5% markup policy. A mutual fund will disclose its cost to the client in the prospectus and is therefore not subject to the rule.

What does the 5% markup policy apply to quizlet? ›

The 5% policy applies to secondary market trades, which include proceeds transactions (using sale proceeds to buy another security) and riskless or simultaneous transactions. An order that becomes a market order when it sells at or below (or at or above) a particular price is called a stop order.

What does the finra 5% policy apply to quizlet? ›

The 5% Policy applies to all over-the-counter and exchange transactions, except for transactions in municipal securities, which are covered by a similar MSRB rule. It only applies to secondary market transactions, not to primary market (new issue) transactions.

Can you cheat on the Series 7? ›

The exams where cheating took place included the Series 7, Series 66, Series 63 and Series 79. While this case is novel in that it's the first time FINRA has barred individuals for remote cheating, that's not to say they haven't caught test takers red-handed before.

Why is the Series 7 so hard? ›

The total number of questions on the exam is 125. Moreover, the questions on the Series 7 are very difficult. They are designed to test your knowledge of the material, as well as your ability to apply it in real-world situations. In addition, the time limit for the exam is very short.

What is the failure rate of the Series 7 exam? ›

It is said that roughly 3 out of 10 applicants will fail the Series 7 exam on their first attempt. This would put the Series 7 pass rate at around 70% first time.

What is the 5 commission rule for finra? ›

In 1943, the Association's Board adopted what has become known as the "5% Policy" to be applied to transactions executed for customers. It was based upon studies demonstrating that the large majority of customer transactions were effected at a mark-up of 5% or less.

What is the 5% portfolio rule? ›

This is a rule that aims to aid diversification in an investment portfolio. It states that one should not hold more than 5% of the total value of the portfolio in a single security.

What is the 5 percent rule in statistics? ›

It's rule which refers to confidence intervals. It's usually means that on a sample of something (which represent 100%), only 95% of this sample are compliant with a standard or a hypothesis. 5% represents the margin of error .

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