FRM Exam

FRM exam is conducted by Global Association of Risk Professionals (GARP). Members come from over 100 countries, and work in regional and global banks, asset management firms, insurance companies, central banks, securities regulators, hedge funds, universities, large industrial corporations and multinationals. FRM Certification is  globally recognized and accepted benchmark for competency in financial risk management.

About the Exam: The FRM Exam is a 5-hour, approximately 140 multiple choice question examination. The exam is split into two sections of 2.5 hrs each (morning and afternoon session). You have approximately 2.15 minutes per Question.  Questions are clubbed together for all five categories, i.e. Quantitative Analysis (10%), Market Risk (30%), Credit Risk (25%), Operational, Integrated Risk management & Legal (25%), Accounting & Ethics and Risk Management and Investment Management (10%).

The exam is a percentile based exam and there is a sectional cut-off for all the subjects, thus it’s necessary to pass in all the 5 subjects.

FRM Certification Requirements

     1. A passing score on the FRM Examination.

    2. Active membership in the Global Association of Risk Professionals.

    3. A minimum of two years experience in the area of financial risk management or another related field including,

        but not limited  to, trading, portfolio management, academic or industry research, economics, auditing, risk

        consulting, and/or risk technology.
 

Exam Registration

FRM 2008 registrations will be open from 3rd March onwards. The Last year  fees are given below , they are indicative of what 2008 fees will be.  All individuals interested in appearing for the  FRM Exam must submit on-line registration form on GARP website. The exam will be held on November, 15, 2008.

 

                   Registration Deadlines

 New Candidate

 Returning Candidate

Early Registration(March 1 - April 30, 2007)

   USD 550.00

       USD 450.00

 Standard Registration(May 1 - August 31, 2007)

   USD 700.00

       USD 550.00

        Late Registration(Sept 1 - Oct 15,2007)

   USD 950.00

       USD 750.00

 >Click to download the FRM Exam Study Guide.

Career Opportunities

Earning your FRM not only broadens your skill set, but it also demonstrates a standardized level of knowledge in the field, identifying you as an expert in financial risk management.

The increasing awareness about Enterprise Risk Management in Corporates & Financial Institutions and Basel Implementation in Banks has created ample job opportunities for Risk Management professionals. A certified FRM have requirements with Investment Banks, Commercial Banks, Asset Management Firms, Insurance Companies, Securities Regulators, Hedge Funds, Universities, Large Corporations, Multinationals and Credit Rating Firms.
 

How to prepare for the FRM Exam

 

FRM Exam is a very tough exam, a reasonable estimate to prepare for the exam would be 300 hours, i.e. 20 weeks (15 hours per week). Depending on an individual's academic background and work experience, preparation for the exam would take approximately 4 months. In reality, you need to spend nearly every weekend between June to October to prepare for the exam.

GARP suggests “FRM Core Readings” and the Phillip Jorian Handbook should be referred for preparing for the Exam. But since the Core Readings are very comprehensive, you can refer to Schweser Notes, they are prepared on lines of the AIMS/Leaning objectives given by GARP; and wherever you feel the AIMS are not adequately covered in Schweser, refer to the “Core readings”

You will need more than just a set of notes/assigned reading in getting you passed. Pristine have designed an Exam-focused Classroom Training Program starting in April to speed up your exam preparation by covering the major topics in the training, which can reduce your exam preparation time from 300 hrs to 150hrs.