Series 31 Study Plan — 30, 60, and 90 Day Managed-Futures Prep
April 23, 2026
Build a Series 31 study plan around managed-futures market knowledge, general regulation, CPO/CTA disclosure, and promotional-material rules.
On this page
Series 31 is short, but it is not random. The best plan starts with the highest-weight managed-futures and regulation blocks, then drills disclosure and promotional-material judgment until the rules stop blending together.
Before you start
Confirm that Series 31 is the right route instead of Series 3, Series 30, or Series 34.
Read the current FINRA exam page and NFA study outline before relying on older notes.
Use exact web practice after you understand the route, not as your first source of structure.
30-day plan
Days
Focus
1-6
general market knowledge and managed-futures vocabulary
7-12
general regulation and NFA rule purpose
13-18
CPO/CTA regulations and disclosure documents
19-23
risk disclosure, upfront-fee disclosure, and promotional material
24-30
mixed sets, miss review, and timed exact practice
60-day plan
Use the first month to build the route map, then spend the second month on mixed application. Do not let the small 4% sections disappear; they are not large enough to lead the plan, but they are easy points if the disclosure purpose is clear.
90-day plan
For a longer runway, rotate weekly through market knowledge, regulation, CPO/CTA disclosure, and promotional material. The final month should be mostly mixed sets and explanation practice, not rereading.
How to review misses well
Tag every miss as market, regulation, CPO/CTA, disclosure, fee, or communication. The useful review question is: did you miss the route, the rule purpose, or the client-facing disclosure consequence?
Final 7-day plan
Day 7-5: rebuild the topic-weight map from memory.
Day 4-3: do timed mixed sets and review misses by tag.
Day 2: reread only weak disclosure and promotional-material areas.
Day 1: do a light timing check and stop adding new sources.