FINRA Series 161 Guide

Series 161 study support for Part I of the Supervisory Analyst qualification, including route fit, communications-review priorities, study planning, and exact practice.

Use this guide root when you are preparing for Part I of the Supervisory Analyst qualification. Series 161 is not a broad research-analyst content exam. It is the communications-review half of the Series 16 path, focused on reviewing and approving research analysts’ communications and acting as the liaison between research and other parties.

The current Part I configuration uses two functions led heavily by communications review. Treat it as a supervisory review exam. The strongest candidates think in terms of approval standards, disclosure discipline, communication categories, and how the supervisory analyst protects the integrity of the published product.

Where Series 161 fits

If your role sounds most like…Better route
research communications review and supervisory analyst workSeries 161
research report content review and analytical-basis reviewSeries 162
broader principal supervision across the broker-dealerSeries 24
research analyst qualification pathSeries 86/87, not Series 161 alone

What this guide is for

Use this guide to confirm route fit, understand the weighted outline, and decide how to use exact practice after the supervisory analyst frame is clear. Series 161 rewards candidates who can review communications conservatively and keep research interaction boundaries under control.

In this section

Revised on Thursday, April 23, 2026