This Series 79 cheat sheet compresses FINRA's Investment Banking Representative exam into a printable rundown of the numbers and rules that surface most often. It's a premium cheat sheet built by Capital Prep — the one premium prep we trust — and it's yours free. Pair it with the rest of your free Series 79 toolkit: the practice exam, study guide, and flashcards.
Series 79 exam at a glance
- Questions: 75 scored + 5 unscored pretest = 80 total
- Time: 2 hours 30 minutes (150 minutes)
- Passing score: 73% (scaled)
- Cost: $395 per attempt — verify the current fee on FINRA's schedule
- Co-requisite: SIE exam + FINRA member-firm sponsorship
What’s on the Series 79 cheat sheet
- Collection, Analysis & Evaluation of Data (49%) — the EV bridge, DCF/WACC, the four valuation models, ratio families, and due diligence — nearly half the exam.
- Underwriting, Offerings & Registration (27%) — Securities Act §5 periods, commitment types, the syndicate, and Reg D / Reg A / 144A exemptions.
- M&A, Tender Offers & Restructuring (24%) — sell-side vs. buy-side, fairness opinions, HSR, the Williams Act timeline, and the bankruptcy waterfall.
How to use it in your final week
- Print it and pin it next to your practice exams — read a block, then immediately drill that job function so the fact sticks instead of fading.
- Camp on Function 1 (49% of the exam). If the enterprise value bridge, the four valuation methods, and the accretion/dilution rule aren't automatic yet, fix that first.
- Do a final morning-of pass on the memory hooks: 13D vs. 13G, the §5 pre-filing/waiting/effective windows, the 20-business-day tender-offer minimum, and the absolute priority waterfall.
- Never review in a vacuum — chase each read-through with a short timed set (75 questions in 150 minutes is about 2 minutes each) to keep your pacing exam-ready.
The cheat sheet is your review layer — your Series 79 practice test drives the exam-readiness ring at the top of this page. Download it, review, then take a full practice exam (or drill with the study guide and flashcards) to see where you stand.
Series 79 cheat sheet FAQ
Yes — download it as a PDF with no account and no sign-up. It sits alongside Career Employer's free Series 79 practice exam, study guide, and flashcards, so your whole prep stack costs nothing.
It boils the exam down to the facts that repeat: the enterprise value bridge and the four valuation methods, the Securities Act §5 offering periods and Reg D exemptions, and the tender-offer and bankruptcy rules — grouped by FINRA's three job functions and their weightings.
Yes. It reflects the modern 75-scored-question, 2-hour-30-minute exam and FINRA's October 2025 move to 5 unscored pretest items (80 administered total) — not the retired 175-question, 5-hour version you still see quoted online.
No — it's a memory-jogger, not a course. The Series 79 goes deep on valuation math and deal mechanics, so use the sheet to lock in facts and lean on realistic practice exams to build the pacing and reasoning that actually pass you.
Tap the download button or the preview card at the top of this page and the PDF opens instantly. Bookmark the page so it's one click away during your final week of review.
References
- 1.FINRA. “Series 79 — Investment Banking Representative Exam.” FINRA.org, 2026. ↑
- 2.FINRA. “Series 79 Content Outline (PDF).” FINRA.org, 2026. ↑
- 3.FINRA. “Securities Industry Essentials (SIE) Exam.” FINRA.org, 2026. ↑
- 4.FINRA. “Schedule of Registration and Examination Fees.” FINRA.org, 2026. ↑
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