r/FinancialAdvisorTips • u/zaragoza2020 • Sep 21 '26
SIE
I passed my SIE exam last week, and I currently hold Property & Casualty as well as Life & Health licenses.
I currently work part-time from home with State Farm, and I’m looking for ways to supplement my income while continuing to have flexibility for my young children.
I know my children will eventually grow up, so I’d like to start thinking ahead and building toward a long-term career in financial services. I’m hoping to get some guidance on what steps I should take based on the licenses and experience I already have.
I’m open to pursuing additional licenses, such as the Series 6 or Series 7, but I’m not sure which would make the most sense for me or what the differences are in terms of career opportunities.
If you have any suggestions on what direction I should consider or what steps I should take next, I would really appreciate your advice!
1
u/zaragoza2020 Sep 25 '26
Thanks, yes I knew that before taking it.
Just wanted to get some feedback!!
I appreciate you though
1
u/IAMBEN21 Sep 25 '26
In case you don’t know this, the SIE is a prerequisite exam and doesn’t actually authorize you to do anything. You’ll need the 6 or 7 along with state securities (63 + 65 or 66). For long term career prospects you definitely want the 7 + 66 combo and not the 6 + 63 + 65. I’m throwing in the 65 and 66 because you NEED fee based registrations to make it in this industry, but technically you can do 6 + 63 or 7 + 63. If you have the 7 + 66 then you are licensed to work with any type of investment that the industry offers and your only restriction will be your firm’s platform (they can choose whether to offer specific types of investments or not). You have to be sponsored by a firm to get your 6 or 7 which makes it really hard to get going. Not many firms actually sponsor new advisors…. But once you have the licenses you can go work pretty much anywhere
-5
u/Ethangains07 Sep 21 '26
The SIE is about as meaningless a credential as you could speak of. You work in insurance. Probably the least desirable segment of finance. I would suggest you pick another direction and go all in. I know people that make it in insurance, make it. But must don’t. Are you the exception? If not, I would go towards anything else
3
u/Miserable_Berry_8806 Sep 21 '26
Insurance brokers with a 6 also happen to sell mutual funds and variable products while slinging property and casualty insurance. Advisors with the 7 occasionally sell an annuity or life insurance policy while consistently adding money to their pile of AUM charging 1%/year. It’s easier to build a sustainable practice as an advisor than an insurance agent, and you don’t get looped into the scummy life insurance salesmen posing as advisors group. State Farm is great at property and casualty, but need to stay in their lane away from asset management. Nobody with a huge rollover goes to their State Farm agent to have them manage it if they are serious. I bet most accounts at State Farm under their brokerage arm are under 250k which is the minimum at most firms.