FINRA Series 79 Guide

Use this guide root when you are preparing for the Investment Banking Representative Exam. Series 79 is a limited representative path centered on investment-banking activity rather than broad retail sales or trading. The exam emphasizes transactions, offerings, valuation context, due diligence, and the workflow around mergers, tender offers, and related corporate-finance activity.

The guide combines full chapter-based lessons with quick-reference pages such as the Cheat Sheet and FAQ. The educational chapter sequence follows the official FINRA exam functions, with chapters on data collection and evaluation, underwriting and registration workflow, and mergers plus restructuring transactions.

Use the chapter pages when you need full lesson coverage and stronger transaction reasoning. Use the quick-reference pages when you already know the material and want faster recall.

In this section

• Collection, Analysis, and Due Diligence
  Study the front-end analytical work on Series 79, including gathering transaction data, evaluating it, and performing due diligence.
  • Collection of Data
    Learn how Series 79 tests information gathering in investment banking, including issuer, market, financial, and transaction data collection.
  • Analysis and Evaluation of Data
    Review how Series 79 tests interpretation of financial, market, and transaction data in valuation and deal analysis.
  • Due Diligence Activities
    Study the due-diligence process on Series 79, including verification, disclosure support, workstream coordination, and risk identification.
• Underwriting, Financing, Offerings, and Registration
  Review the underwriting and offering workflow on Series 79, including public offerings, syndicate activity, execution, and registration exemptions.
  • Public Offerings
    Learn how Series 79 tests the public-offering process, including registration, prospectus flow, offering structure, and core securities-offering mechanics.
  • Underwriting Syndicate Activities
    Study syndicate formation, agreement mechanics, order handling, allocation, and underwriting responsibilities on Series 79.
  • Execution and Distribution
    Review how Series 79 tests deal execution, pricing, sale completion, and distribution controls during the active offering phase.
  • Post-Execution Financing Activities
    Understand the post-pricing and post-sale follow-through tested on Series 79, including closing, documentation completion, and offering wrap-up tasks.
  • Securities Exempt from Registration
    Learn how Series 79 tests categories of securities exempt from registration and why exemption status changes offering analysis.
  • Transactions Exempt from Registration
    Review how Series 79 tests exempt transaction categories and their effect on offering workflow, documentation, and legal analysis.
• Mergers, Acquisitions, Tender Offers, and Restructuring
  Study the transaction workflow for M&A, tender offers, fairness opinions, and restructuring matters tested on Series 79.
  • Sell-Side Transactions
    Study how Series 79 tests sell-side M&A assignments, including mandate logic, process management, buyer outreach, and seller objectives.
  • Buy-Side Transactions
    Review buy-side M&A work on Series 79, including target evaluation, strategic fit, negotiation support, and acquisition process judgment.
  • Fairness Opinions
    Learn how Series 79 tests fairness opinions, including purpose, analytical support, board context, and opinion-related process discipline.
  • Signing to Closing
    Review the post-signing transaction workflow on Series 79, including approvals, conditions, documentation, and completion risk from signing to closing.
  • Tender Offer Regulations
    Study the tender-offer rules tested on Series 79, including timing, disclosure, process fairness, and regulatory obligations.
  • Financial Restructuring and Bankruptcy
    Review restructuring and bankruptcy transaction concepts tested on Series 79, including distressed-process logic, stakeholder issues, and advisory workflow.
• Series 79 Study Plan — A Practical Reading and Review Schedule
  A practical Series 79 study plan with a clear reading order, weekly milestones, review rhythm, and a final review strategy.
• Series 79 Cheat Sheet — Valuation Toolkit, Offerings, M&A & Restructurings
  Comprehensive FINRA Series 79 reference: data and due diligence workflow, financial statements, valuation frameworks (EV bridge, multiples, DCF, WACC, accretion/dilution), public vs exempt offerings, underwriting syndicate mechanics, M&A process and key terms, tender offer rules, and restructuring basics.
• Series 79 FAQ — Common Questions About Eligibility, Scope, and Study Strategy
  Common questions about the FINRA Series 79 exam, including sponsorship, the SIE co-requisite, exam scope, and practical study strategy.
• Series 79 Resources — Official FINRA Links & Content Outline
  Official resources for the FINRA Series 79 exam, including the exam page, content outline, co-requisite guidance, and related rule references.