Introduction
In response to the financial crisis of 2008, Congress passed the Dodd-Frank Act, which, among other things, required “municipal advisors” to register with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The new law required the Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board (MSRB), the municipal securities self-regulatory organization, to create a new registration category called “Municipal Advisor Representatives.” A Municipal Advisor Representative is a natural person associated with a municipal advisor who “engages in municipal advisory activities on the municipal advisor’s behalf.”
To set professional standards and ensure a basic level of industry knowledge, the MSRB created a new securities qualification exam called the Municipal Advisor Representative Qualification Exam (Series 50).
To register for the Series 50 exam, a candidate must be associated with a municipal advisor. Municipal advisors can use the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority’s (FINRA) Form U10 to enroll their municipal advisor professionals.
The Series 50 exam consists of 100 questions, and candidates have three hours to complete the exam, plus an additional 30 minutes for an exam tutorial. Test results are immediately available to test takers, with a breakdown of how they did according to function. The passing score for the Series 50 is 71%.
Topically, the exam is divided into the following five sections based on a municipal advisory representative’s job functions:
- • Function 1: Understanding SEC and MSRB Rules Regarding Municipal Advisors (12 questions)
- • Function 2: Understanding Municipal Finance (35 questions)
- • Function 3: Performing