
It is 4:40 on a Friday and a customer sale that should have settled this morning is still
open. The shares never reached the depository, the buyer's side has sent a DK, and the
close-out clock has started. Someone has to own that break, and at a broker-dealer that
person is usually a registered Operations Professional. To become one you pass the SIE and
the Series 99: 50 scored questions in 90 minutes, with 68 needed to pass.
Who at a broker-dealer has to register as an Operations Professional?
The Series 99 is not a sales licence, and it is not a badge for everyone who sits in an
operations department. FINRA created the registration category so that the people who run,
approve and commit capital to the back office are identified and qualified. The rule that
sets this out is FINRA Rule 1220(b)(3), and it names three kinds
of covered person: