A Registered Representative, also called a General Securities Representative, a Stock Broker

Stock broker

A stock broker or stockbroker is a regulated professional broker who buys and sells shares and other securities through market makers or Agency Only Firms on behalf of investors...

, or an Account Executive, is an individual who is licensed to sell securities and has the legal power of an agent.

Registered Representatives usually work for broker-dealer

Broker-dealer

A broker-dealer is a term used in United States financial services regulations. It is a natural person, a company or other organization that trades securities for its own account or on behalf of its customers....

s licensed by the Securities Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Self Regulatory Organizations (SRO) of the New York Stock Exchange

New York Stock Exchange

The New York Stock Exchange is a stock exchange located at 11 Wall Street in Lower Manhattan, New York City, USA. It is by far the world's largest stock exchange by market capitalization of its listed companies at 13.39 trillion as of Dec 2010...

 (NYSE) and National Association of Securities Dealers (NASD). Recently the enforcement arm of the NYSE and NASD have combined to be known as the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority

Financial Industry Regulatory Authority

In the United States, the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, Inc., or FINRA, is a private corporation that acts as a self-regulatory organization . FINRA is the successor to the National Association of Securities Dealers, Inc. ...

 (FINRA).

To become a Registered Representative, one must be sponsored by a broker-dealer

Broker-dealer

A broker-dealer is a term used in United States financial services regulations. It is a natural person, a company or other organization that trades securities for its own account or on behalf of its customers....

 firm and pass the FINRA-administered Series 7

General Securities Representative Exam

The General Securities Representative Exam, commonly referred to as the Series 7 Exam, is a required exam to become a Registered Representative of a broker-dealer in the United States....

 examination or another Limited Representative Qualifications Exam. Some state laws and broker-dealer policies require the Series 63

Uniform Securities Agent State Law Exam

The Uniform Securities Agent State Law Examination, commonly referred to as the Series 63, is developed by North American Securities Administrators Association and is administered by the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority...

 examination to be passed, as well.

See also

• A Registered Representative (or simply "RR" or "rep" or "broker") is authorized to sell a large array of securities such as stocks, bonds, mutual funds, variable annuities, etc. and should not be confused with the more narrowly licensed Financial Services Representative, who is licensed by passing the FINRA series 6 securities exam. The Series 6 permits the "rep" to sell only mutual funds and variable annuity contracts. Variable products such as variable annuities or variable universal life insurance
  Variable universal life insurance
  Variable Universal Life Insurance is a type of life insurance that builds a cash value. In a VUL, the cash value can be invested in a wide variety of separate accounts, similar to mutual funds, and the choice of which of the available separate accounts to use is entirely up to the contract owner...
  
   policies typically also require reps obtain the appropriate state insurance department license(s) required for such variable
• List of Securities Examinations