Pass Perfect

Pass Perfect is an online exam preparation company for people entering, or already working in, financial services in the United States. Its core product is prep for the FINRA securities licensing exams: the SIE, Series 6, 7, 63, 65, 66 and 24. Around that it sells insurance prelicensing courses, continuing education for insurance license renewal, and IAR continuing education courses for securities professionals. The company is Pass Perfect, LLC, with an address in Alpharetta, Georgia, and the home page carries the line "Preparing Passers for Over 40 Years" and says it had "50k+" passers this year. The learner is a job seeker or new hire who needs a license before they can work, an employer putting a team of reps through licensing, or a licensed agent who needs renewal credits.

What a learner gets

The learning system. Pass Perfect sells its courses on the method as much as the content, under the slogan "It's not what you study, it's how you study." Each securities course combines chapter video lectures created by its instructors and aligned with the book, animated videos that reinforce key concepts and test-taking strategies with simulated exam questions, and a comprehensive study guide online and, on the higher packages, as an eBook. Quick Quizzes check each topic, "Check Your Understanding" questions follow each section and recommend next steps, and Chapter, Mastery and Final Comprehensive Exams close each milestone. The company stresses that, unlike many competitors, those tests can be taken an unlimited number of times.

Practice volume. The company claims "3x more questions than competitors" and calls itself "the only online interactive securities prep to help you learn it all." A practice bank sits in every SIE package.

Planning and tracking. A dynamic study calendar lays out a daily schedule of study recommendations from start to finish. A proficiency dashboard, launched with other enhancements in early 2024, shows performance at a glance, "so you know exactly where you are, what's coming next, and where you need to focus." The course page says content is delivered based on performance, moving the learner past concepts they have mastered and deeper into ones they have not. The packages also list AI learning tools.

Live and on-demand review. Live Virtual Review is a set of live online classes led by industry experts in an interactive setting, with a published class schedule. On-Demand Virtual Review is instructor-led video recapping the program's topics, available at any time. Instructor support is included, and one 2024 review on the home page describes one-on-one tutoring with an instructor named Peter.

Faster courses. Under "Reimagined Content", the company says it has cut "the fluff for 36% faster overall study time" in Series 66 and cut reading time by 25% in Series 7.

Insurance and continuing education. The insurance prelicensing courses were relaunched with customizable practice exams, simulated exams, audio flashcards, video lessons and podcasts. Separately, the continuing education line helps agents renew insurance licenses, and the newest addition is IAR CE, continuing education courses for securities professionals. A financial literacy section also appears in the main menu.

Prices and the Pass Promise

The home page lists starting prices for the popular courses: SIE from $105, an SIE + Series 7 bundle from $272, Series 7 from $199, Series 65 from $199, Series 63 from $99, Series 66 from $164 and Series 24 from $375. The SIE course page shows the three package levels in full:

• Pass Plus, $109: the self-study package "if you thrive as an independent learner".
• Pass Plus Pro, $162: adds extras such as on-demand instructional videos.
• Pass Promise, $270: the "Best Value" package, with a guaranteed pass and an instructor-led live virtual class for review.

Each package gives 7 months of course access from the date of purchase, and bundling the SIE with Series 6 or 7 saves up to $99.

The Pass Promise is the company's guarantee. Students who complete a Pass Promise course are promised a first-time pass; a student who does not pass gets a full refund, or can keep access to all the materials and resources for free until they do. Two conditions apply: pass at least 3 practice final exams with a score of 75% or higher, and take the licensing exam within 5 days of passing those 3 finals. The guarantee applies to Pass Promise courses only.

The SIE in detail

The SIE page doubles as an exam guide. It says the Securities Industry Essentials exam was created in 2018 and is required and administered by FINRA, has 75 multiple-choice questions and 1 hour 45 minutes, a minimum passing score of 70% and an average pass rate of about 73% (a figure for all candidates, not Pass Perfect students). Anyone 18 or older may take it, with no need to be associated with a FINRA member firm, and it stays valid for four years, during which the candidate must join a broker-dealer. A failed attempt means a 30-day wait after the first or second try and 180 days after the third. The page gives the exam fee as $60 in two answers and as $100 in another, so candidates should check the current fee with FINRA. It suggests planning for 55 to 65 hours of study over 4 to 6 weeks.

Ratings and organizations

Pass Perfect reports a live class instructor ranking of 4.8 out of 5 and a customer satisfaction ranking for support representatives of 4.6 out of 5, both for 2024. Reviews on the home page are dated 2024; one learner without a finance background says she passed the SIE, Series 6 and 63 first time, and another found the prep "slightly more difficult" than the exam. For organizations, Pass Perfect runs corporate partnerships aimed at learning and development leaders who need to license employees, and university partnerships that adapt its SIE program to a school's needs. The site footer groups Pass Perfect with other learning brands, including Bionic Turtle, Dalton Education and Checkpoint Learning, as learning programs from a group of brands in the financial education industry.

Who it suits and who it does not

Pass Perfect suits a candidate for the SIE or a core FINRA series exam who wants a structured course with a lot of practice, the option of live review, and a refund if they do the work and still fail. The 75% and 5-day conditions make the guarantee a fit for someone who can sit the exam soon after finishing. Firms licensing a group of reps, and universities building SIE preparation into a program, have their own partnership routes. Insurance agents can handle prelicensing and renewal in the same place.

It suits less well a candidate on the tightest budget, since even the self-study SIE package is a paid course, or a learner who needs more than 7 months of access.