Practical Series 30 study plan covering NFA branch-manager route fit, outline-based review order, miss tagging, and final-week preparation.
Use this study plan if you want Series 30 to feel like a branch-supervision exam instead of a smaller futures-product exam. The right study order matters because the outline mixes branch operations, CPO or CTA controls, disclosure, promotional material, account handling, and AML.
Confirm these points before you build a calendar:
| Priority block | Why it matters |
|---|---|
| General branch supervision and operations | this is the operational centre of gravity for the exam |
| CPO and CTA general rules plus disclosure | these sections create a large share of route-specific distinctions |
| General account handling and exchange regulation | this is where day-to-day supervision turns into rule application |
| Promotional material and AML | candidates often underweight these until late |
| Week | Focus | Goal |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Part 1 General, Part 7 IB General | stabilise branch operations and branch-manager workflow |
| 2 | Parts 2 to 5 CPO or CTA regulation and disclosure | separate the managed-futures disclosure and cost lanes cleanly |
| 3 | Parts 8 to 10 account handling, discretionary regulation, communications | convert rules into branch-principal decisions |
| 4 | AML plus mixed review | clean up escalation, records, and promotional-material judgment |
| Weeks | Focus | Goal |
|---|---|---|
| 1-2 | General branch supervision and IB general | build the operational frame |
| 3-4 | CPO or CTA general, disclosure, and cost sections | lock in the managed-futures distinctions |
| 5 | Account handling and discretionary regulation | make account-supervision questions procedural |
| 6 | Communications, promotional material, and AML | finish the control and escalation layer |
Tag misses by failure type:
That gives you a better correction loop than rereading every section equally.
| Day | Focus |
|---|---|
| 7 | Rebuild the outline from memory |
| 6 | Revisit CPO or CTA disclosure sections |
| 5 | Revisit account handling and branch supervision |
| 4 | Run mixed review and fix only repeated miss types |
| 3 | Revisit communications and AML |
| 2 | Use the cheat sheet and miss log only |
| 1 | Confirm live logistics and keep revision light |