Episodes

  • [Series 65] 13, Types of Risk Systematic vs Unsystematic

    [Series 65] 13, Types of Risk Systematic vs Unsystematic
    Apr 6 2026
    This podcast is made by Ran Chen, who holds an EA license, Insurance and Securities licenses (Series 6, 63, 65), and the CFP® designation. He is passionate about opening access to high-quality exam preparation resources and helping learners prepare more effectively for professional certification exams. In this episode you will learn: - Systematic risk, also known as market risk, is non-diversifiable and impacts the entire market through factors like interest rates and inflation. - Unsystematic risk is unique to a specific company or industry and can be significantly reduced through diversification. - Beta is the specific metric used to measure a security's systematic risk, or volatility, in relation to the overall market. - Diversification is the key strategy to mitigate unsystematic risk, but it does not protect against systematic risk. - The exam will test your ability to differentiate between business risk (operational issues) and financial risk (debt-related issues), both of which are types of unsystematic risk. For more free exam prep tools, practice questions, and AI-powered explanations, visit https://open-exam-prep.com/ or YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@Open-exam-prep
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    4 mins
  • [Series 65] 12, Descriptive Statistics and Correlation

    [Series 65] 12, Descriptive Statistics and Correlation
    Apr 5 2026
    This podcast is made by Ran Chen, who holds an EA license, Insurance and Securities licenses (Series 6, 63, 65), and the CFP® designation. He is passionate about opening access to high-quality exam preparation resources and helping learners prepare more effectively for professional certification exams. In this episode you will learn: - How to differentiate between mean, median, and mode in a set of investment returns and why the median is crucial when outliers are present. - That standard deviation is the primary measure of an investment's volatility and risk on the Series 65 exam; a higher number means higher risk. - The significance of the normal distribution, where approximately 67% of returns are within one standard deviation and 95% are within two. - The role of the correlation coefficient, from -1 to +1, in measuring how two investments move in relation to each other. - Why combining assets with low or negative correlation is the key to effective portfolio diversification and risk reduction. For more free exam prep tools, practice questions, and AI-powered explanations, visit https://open-exam-prep.com/ or YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@Open-exam-prep
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    4 mins
  • [Series 65] 11, NPV IRR and Internal Rate of Return

    [Series 65] 11, NPV IRR and Internal Rate of Return
    Apr 4 2026
    This podcast is made by Ran Chen, who holds an EA license, Insurance and Securities licenses (Series 6, 63, 65), and the CFP® designation. He is passionate about opening access to high-quality exam preparation resources and helping learners prepare more effectively for professional certification exams. In this episode you will learn: - The Net Present Value (NPV) decision rule: Accept projects with a positive NPV and reject those with a negative NPV. - The Internal Rate of Return (IRR) decision rule: Accept projects where the IRR is greater than the required rate of return or hurdle rate. - For the Series 65 exam, NPV is considered the superior capital budgeting method, especially for comparing mutually exclusive projects. - Exam questions test your understanding of the decision rules and the relationship between variables, not complex calculations. - A key mnemonic: "IRR Greater, Go!"—if the IRR is greater than the required rate, accept the project. For more free exam prep tools, practice questions, and AI-powered explanations, visit https://open-exam-prep.com/ or YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@Open-exam-prep
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    3 mins
  • [Series 65] 10, Time Value of Money Calculations

    [Series 65] 10, Time Value of Money Calculations
    Apr 3 2026
    This podcast is made by Ran Chen, who holds an EA license, Insurance and Securities licenses (Series 6, 63, 65), and the CFP® designation. He is passionate about opening access to high-quality exam preparation resources and helping learners prepare more effectively for professional certification exams. In this episode you will learn: - The inverse relationship between discount rates and present value; a higher rate leads to a lower present value. - Why an annuity due, with payments at the beginning of a period, is always more valuable than an ordinary annuity, which has payments at the end. - How to apply the Rule of 72 to quickly estimate the time or interest rate needed to double an investment's value. - Common exam traps, such as confusing an annuity due with an ordinary annuity and miscalculating periods for semi-annual compounding. - The conceptual difference between future value (compounding) and present value (discounting) as tested on the Series 65 exam. For more free exam prep tools, practice questions, and AI-powered explanations, visit https://open-exam-prep.com/ or YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@Open-exam-prep
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    3 mins
  • [Series 65] 9, Financial Ratios and Analysis

    [Series 65] 9, Financial Ratios and Analysis
    Apr 2 2026
    This podcast is made by Ran Chen, who holds an EA license, Insurance and Securities licenses (Series 6, 63, 65), and the CFP® designation. He is passionate about opening access to high-quality exam preparation resources and helping learners prepare more effectively for professional certification exams. In this episode you will learn: - The current ratio measures short-term liquidity, while the quick (acid-test) ratio provides a stricter measure by excluding less-liquid inventory. - The debt-to-equity ratio reveals a company's financial leverage and risk, with a higher ratio indicating greater reliance on debt. - The P/E ratio values a company based on its current earnings, but must be compared with companies in the same industry to be meaningful. - The PEG ratio enhances the P/E ratio by factoring in earnings growth, offering a more complete picture of a stock's valuation. - Return on Equity (ROE) measures a company's profitability by showing how effectively it generates profit from shareholder investments. For more free exam prep tools, practice questions, and AI-powered explanations, visit https://open-exam-prep.com/ or YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@Open-exam-prep
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    4 mins
  • [Series 65] 8, Financial Statements and Accounting Fundamentals

    [Series 65] 8, Financial Statements and Accounting Fundamentals
    Apr 1 2026
    This podcast is made by Ran Chen, who holds an EA license, Insurance and Securities licenses (Series 6, 63, 65), and the CFP® designation. He is passionate about opening access to high-quality exam preparation resources and helping learners prepare more effectively for professional certification exams. In this episode you will learn: - The purpose and key components of the income statement, including the difference between revenue and net income. - How the balance sheet provides a snapshot of a company's financial health through the accounting equation: Assets = Liabilities + Shareholders' Equity. - The function of the statement of cash flows and its relationship to the income statement, particularly concerning non-cash expenses like depreciation. - The distinction between cash and accrual accounting, and why GAAP mandates the use of the accrual method for public companies. - A simple mnemonic to help you remember the core function of each of the three main financial statements. For more free exam prep tools, practice questions, and AI-powered explanations, visit https://open-exam-prep.com/ or YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@Open-exam-prep
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    4 mins
  • [Series 65] 7, International Economics and Balance of Payments

    [Series 65] 7, International Economics and Balance of Payments
    Mar 31 2026
    This podcast is made by Ran Chen, who holds an EA license, Insurance and Securities licenses (Series 6, 63, 65), and the CFP® designation. He is passionate about opening access to high-quality exam preparation resources and helping learners prepare more effectively for professional certification exams. In this episode you will learn: - How a strengthening U.S. dollar negatively impacts U.S. exporters and benefits U.S. importers. - The direct relationship between a strong dollar and a U.S. trade deficit. - How a weakening U.S. dollar can help reduce a trade deficit by making exports cheaper and imports more expensive. - The concept of the balance of payments, including the current account and the difference between debits (money out) and credits (money in). - The connection between Federal Reserve monetary policy, interest rates, currency strength, and the balance of trade.
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    4 mins
  • [Series 65] 6, Interest Rates and Yield Curves

    [Series 65] 6, Interest Rates and Yield Curves
    Mar 30 2026
    This podcast is made by Ran Chen, who holds an EA license, Insurance and Securities licenses (Series 6, 63, 65), and the CFP® designation. He is passionate about opening access to high-quality exam preparation resources and helping learners prepare more effectively for professional certification exams. In this episode you will learn: - The inverse relationship between interest rates and bond prices, often visualized as a seesaw. - A normal, upward-sloping yield curve typically signals expectations of economic expansion. - An inverted, downward-sloping yield curve is a classic indicator of a potential economic recession. - The Federal Funds Rate is the volatile overnight lending rate between banks, which is targeted by the Federal Reserve to conduct monetary policy. - The Prime Rate is the benchmark rate banks charge their best corporate clients and is directly influenced by, and higher than, the Federal Funds Rate. For more free exam prep tools, practice questions, and AI-powered explanations, visit https://open-exam-prep.com/ or YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@Open-exam-prep
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    3 mins