Thanx for the links man .....I had been looking for HULL solutions for past two months....ad finally I got it .....
Today Is my first day of preparation for the FRM.....I am from a non financial back ground and I know it wil be a tough road ahead to balance hardcore studies with spine breaking work.... ..but as some one said.....NO PAIN NO GAIN........and some one else also said...WHERE THERE IS A WILL THERE IS A WAY....
So lets get started...and give our best...
Sidd
Thanx for the links man .....I had been looking for HULL solutions for past two months....ad finally I got it .....
Today Is my first day of preparation for the FRM.....I am from a non financial back ground and I know it wil be a tough road ahead to balance hardcore studies with spine breaking work.... ..but as some one said.....NO PAIN NO GAIN........and some one else also said...WHERE THERE IS A WILL THERE IS A WAY....
So lets get started...and give our best...
Sidd
For Guys with non-financial background, i wud suggest going through a simpler book on derivatives. Hull is very concise and not exactly for beginners. You can go through the e-book on Derivatives by AIMR for CFA Level 1. (Its a recommended reading for CFA L1)
Puys,
I have uploaded following ebooks
Hey Man, The files are corrupt. Could you please upload them once again?
Can anyone give a high level idea of the diff between PRM and FRM? What's the difference in the exam papers, what about the opportunities after certifications?
:oops:Hello Girish,
I am not able to download file.Could you please help uploading the files in ZIP format.I shall be highly greatful to you
Thanks
Abhaya
Puys,
I have uploaded following ebooks
1. FRM Handbook 3rd Ed (Scanned Copy)
JORION_FRM_Handbook_3rd_ed..rar
2. FRM Handbook 2nd Ed (ebook)
Financial.Risk.Manager Handbook. 2nd Ed.rar
3. Options, Futures and other Derivatives 5th Ed (Scanned Copy)
Hull-Options Futures And Other Derivative Securities 5Th Ed.rar
4. Solutions to "Options, Futures and other Derivatives" 5th Ed (Scanned Copy)
Hull_Solutions.rar
5. Options, Futures and other Derivatives Supplements
Options Futures And Other Derivatives - Supplements - Hull.rar
Hope these may help you. I am not sure of the period after which these files will be deleted from the website. So plz. d/l ASAP.
Wish u all the best.
......................................
Hey Dude,
Great,It worked fine .
Thanks a lot for your advise.
Regards,
Abhaya
Hi I suppose u mean to say you are not able to open the file after downloading, hence you are asking for zip format.
In google, search for 'Winrar' and download the software application, Its free and will be pretty useful if you want to get ur hands on ebooks.
You will then be able to view those files.
Regards,
Shyam :grin:
Hi guys,
As I said I have formed a "GARP India Aspirants 2008" group in Orkut,
The link for the same is
http://www.orkut.com/Community.aspx?cmm=45341645
I have just started with this group, so havent made any posts as of now, but will upload stuffs this weekend.
Rgds,
Shyam 
He guys...I too am planning to take FRM'08...but I also planned to take CAT.......I just want a suggestion is it a good idea to take both at a time with just one day between both the exams...have you met ne guy who has done it before....also do pour in your views regarding which is better PRM or FRM...which is more suitable in my case
Hi there,
You will hardly 
find a Student planning CAT & FRM at the same time, but me giving both this year.
If you are aware about CFA, then the difficulty level of FRM is pegged to be at CFA L2 & L3 level, so its not just any another easy exam,
My Suggestion for you is
1. CAT only
If you are a Fresher or never have given CAT or any other B School entrance exam, then concentrate on Cracking CAT and getting into a B-school. You can enroll into FRM, after u make it to the B-School. Dont waste your time on giving FRM now.
2. FRM or CFA only
But if its like, Its not the right time for me, I will take around 2-3 years of work ex before I enroll for a full time MBA, then my Advice is go for FRM or CFA.
3. FRM and CAT
If you have given CAT & prepared for it before, and also If you want to maximise your chance of getting both a Professional degree and getting admitted to an IIM then only go for FRM & CAT
P.S. Higher the Risk, Higher the chance of Loss.
Regarding PRM vs FRM
PRM is more Quant Oriented, while FRM is to a bit less extent - 10%,
Advantage of PRM is you can attempt papers according to your choice separately in 2 years, and also get exemptions in CFA L1. In PRM you also have a choice of selecting your own test date.
but FRM is more globally recognised, & exam can be taken only once a year. Also GARP provides, other certificate courses in Risk Management once you clear FRM, while PRM doesnt.
Globally the debate is FRM vs CFA, on which is better, never heard about a debate on PRM vs CFA.
Its for you to decide what you want.
Rgds,
Shyam
achiles49 SaysHe guys...I too am planning to take FRM'08...but I also planned to take CAT.......I just want a suggestion is it a good idea to take both at a time with just one day between both the exams...have you met ne guy who has done it before....also do pour in your views regarding which is better PRM or FRM...which is more suitable in my case
it necessary to have graduate degree to take FRM
Hi,
FRM is not very clear on its eligibility requirements, but I believe you need to be a graduate before you give the FRM exam.
Please address your query to the FRM officials on the GARP website, and wait for the official answer
Rgds,
Shyam
achiles49 Saysi m a final yr IIT grad...is it necessary to have graduate degree to take FRM
@achiles49: You can take the FRM while you are studying. I have passed the exam and know of people who were without a degree while taking the exam.
The condition to receive the certificate and use the FRM designation is to 1)pass the exam 2)have 2 years relevant work-ex(as mentioned on site) and 3)be a member of GARP.
You have 5 years from the day of the exam to get your work-experience certified. So, plan accordingly.
@ derivativeguy oh...thnx a lot man....as you have cleared it...can u specify the benefits of it and how much one has to put himself to clear it? You can put your example also :)
Which study material should one opt for?? Is core reading necessary or "Sch..." will do.And what about handbook. Though I have read the thread completely...still I want a clear view from your side.
The FRM is a young certification... it started in 97 or so... so it'll take some time before it achieves a cult status say like the CFA. But, its great on the knowledge front... if you dont have a finance background, it would atleast give you a good insight into risk management, different asset types, valuations, pricing etc.
I am an engineer and am working in technology for an investment bank. I didnt want to take a chance and gave myself 6 months for the exam. That should be enuf to clear it. I referred the GARP "core readings" primarily. Schweser notes are good, but I dont believe thats the approach to be taken if you look to assimilate thorough knowledge. They should be used only for revision.
Also, look at bionicturtle.com. This provides some good free lessons relevant to the curriculum.
Handbook again is a condensed version and is good only for revision.
This yr's FRM was much tougher than the earlier exams, and that is seemingly gonna increase in years to come( not freaking you out :)) ... but then that just improves the weight that it carries, right?
Best of luck.
oh thnx for the reply....from where can one get the core reading........you cleared FRM and still in technology...why so ???
achiles49 Saysoh thnx for the reply....from where can one get the core reading........you cleared FRM and still in technology...why so ???
Hi,
Core Readings are released by Garp, you can get them from garpdigital library. This year Core Readings price is $240
Rgds,
Shyam
As I said before, dont look at the FRM as your ticket to the domain side. It is recognized, but I guess not enough to get you a great profile. I believe you need to have a MBA/masters in finance etc to get you in a good profile. I took the exam primarily for some good knowledge and not for a shift.
The core readings are officiallyy available from the garp site, but its pretty expensive.. you could team up with other applicants and share the resources.
hi, nice to know that from you, Do stick around with this thread and do mentor us for the preparation on the FRM exam
Rgds,
Shyam
As I said before, dont look at the FRM as your ticket to the domain side. It is recognized, but I guess not enough to get you a great profile. I believe you need to have a MBA/masters in finance etc to get you in a good profile. I took the exam primarily for some good knowledge and not for a shift.
The core readings are officiallyy available from the garp site, but its pretty expensive.. you could team up with other applicants and share the resources.
Hey
Any one help me in getting Knowledge about Basel.
Thanks
Abahay:shock:
Hey Guys,
Its 3rd March, 2008 today and I am very excited to state that FRM 2008 registrations will start today.
Last year, I happened to read some interesting articles on FRM, and I would like to post some of these articles for the benefit of all PG members,
The 1st in this series is CFA vs FRM
=======================================================================
CFA(Obviously AIMR) versus FRM
This article originally belongs to Bionic Turtle, and was written by
David Harper
CFA, FRM, CIPM
Heres the article in its original context.
CFA versus FRM
I often get this question about the CFA versus the FRM. I don't have a great answer because:
- Individual goals vary (we want different things from our certifications),
- Job markets are diverse. The CFA is helpful if you want to work in equity research or, say, become a distressed debt analyst. The FRM would be more relevant to a risk manager (but the FRM, at the moment, is probably not a prerequisite for any job). For other Financial Services jobs (e.g., consulting, sales, management), these credentials are elements that complement your overall presentation. Like the MBA (which has suffered some commoditization), they don't buy you advancement per se, rather they enhance your portrait.
- It's getting harder to generalize about job markets, even accounting for their diversity. Almost across the board, there is a higher bar on technical skills (e.g., visual basic) or specialized knowledge (e.g., CPA, SOX)
- Please also note that under the financial certification umbrella, you have more and more choices. Each with their own focus. Just two examples. In alternative investments, we now have the Chartered Alternative Investment Analyst. In performance measurement and evaluation, the CFA Institute recently opened a Certificate in Investment Performance Measurement. Certification fragmentation, I suppose, follows naturally from the trend toward skills specialization.
Both exams make extraordinary demands on your extracurricular time. A professional analyst once told me he hadn't sat for the CFA because it would require "giving up my Spring and my Summer" (that would be, in the case of the CFA, three years or six sacrificed "seasons"). I think he is roughly accurate about both exams. According to the published guidance, the CFA Level I requires a "minimum of 250 hours hours of study."
And while GARP does not, to my knowledge, provide formal timeline guidance for the FRM, I think the average FRM candidate probably needs at least 250 hours of study before the exam. Some can spend less time, but I bet among the majority who fail the FRM, their main regret is they underestimated the amount of preparation time required. But notice one difference already: the CFA is a minimum three year commitment (work experience aside) and the FRM is a one year commitment. Although the FRM is harder than any one CFA Level. I'd say it is about 150% - 175% more difficult than the Level I CFA.
Why sit for these exams? I can think of two reasons:
- To get a better job (or enjoy the prestige of a respected credential)
- To learn (new material, refresh old material)
Job market trends
Broadly, I perceive the following general trends concerning job markets in financial services (my perspective is partially informed by Pablo Triana's expert overview in the September/October Risk Review):
- Quant Finance occupies rarified air where the CFA/FRM won't really help you: Surely the headline in recent years is the soaring popularity and importance of Quantitative Finance, or if you like, Financial Engineering (the domain of the "Quants"). This will continue and I seriously doubt the recent subprime fallout, however bad, will put any dent on the demand for this talent. At the top of the skills pyramid, demand for quants will outpace supply for the foreseeable future. But the Quant Finance professional track is a specialized market; you need a Masters in Financial Engineering or a PhD to compete here. (I am not aware that either the CFA or the FRM even help, as much as I'd like to wish otherwise! I consulted for KMV years ago before they were acquired by Moody's and, those Quants were pretty typical in their disdain for anything less than a PhD. They viewed the CFA program as a sort of finance primer, maybe sort of like a nice extracurricular activity.)
- But Basic Quant and General Finance (quantitative talent) are relevant everywhere and more important than ever: Below the speciality level of hard core Quantitative Finance, basic quantitative skills and general finance (e.g., CFA or FRM) are becoming more relevant to all finance jobs. Years ago, when I consulted to asset managers, a typical relationship manager was an old-school salesperson. One prominent advisor to major pension funds quipped to me, "Do you know who gets the pension fund business?...the guy who bought the last cocktail." But this has changed. As the business has gradually institutionalized, the jobs have become more professional (i.e., requiring threshold sets of competencies). Nowadays, the salesperson (relationship manage, account manager) is often financially sophisticated. Often he or she has an MBA or maybe even a CFA.
- The bar has been raised. You now compete with talented hybrids. Students get credentials earlier. And experienced workers add credentials. Many are not satisfied to be mere experts (nobody wants to be an "expert in a silo" where they cannot understand how their expertise connects to the business), they want be facile across disciplines. And, if you think about it, leaders must bridge disciplines. You see more hybrid personalities: people who are expert in one domain and impressively exposed to additional domains. There seems to be everywhere a recognition that all key jobs are, to some degree or another, interdisciplinary. Nowadays, on the supply side, recent MBA graduates are often triple threats: the graduate degree, a "first degree" in a hard science (e.g., math, engineering), and off-path, valuable real-world experience (e.g., product manager).
The CFA was traditionally a credential for the sell-side equity analyst at an investment bank. But its appeal has broadened over the years. It is now typical to see job descriptions for Consultants that "prefer an MBA or a CFA." Or, the following are among the requirements for a Strategist at a major money manager: "1. Bachelors, Masters, or PhD in a quantitative subject (math, statistics, economics, finance); and 2. CFA, Actuarial or similar professional qualification."
In many cases, the CFA has more perceived value that an average Finance MBA (unless the Finance MBA is earned from a globally prestigious school). I sort of view the CFA as the today's Finance MBA. The Finance MBA, in my opinion, has suffered gradual commoditization over the years and is sort of stuck in the middle between two dynamic markets. One, true mathematicians with PhDs or Master's in Financial Engineering are wanted for the Quant jobs. Two, the supply for generalists now includes many streams of qualified, non-MBA candidates (e.g., economists, experienced workers; and my pick for tomorrow's hot job, anthropologist). And firms are more eager to directly recruit exceptionally talented undergraduates, some of whom amass credentials like the CFA seemingly before they've worked much.
Nowadays, an average Finance MBA plays a merely supporting role in a candidate's overall presentation. But the CFA still has glossy sex appeal. On the hiring side, the CFA enjoys a prestige that was, years ago, attached to the Finance MBA. Pretty much everybody knows what the CFA is, and they respect what it signifies about your education.
Organizationally, the CFA Institute is bigger and more mature than GARP; conversely, GARP is growing faster while the CFA has announced it is now entering its second big phase, dubbed the "Membership Era." Translation: we won't be adding new members as rapidly as in the past, so let's focus on our existing members. But the larger size and maturity of the CFA Institute confers the following perqs:
- One of the best job boards on the web (I routinely get requests to post jobs under my account due to the focused audience)
- A voluntary continuing education program that was good even before the CFA recently increased their focus on, and their resource allocation to, continuing education. The CFA Institute has fabulous continuing education resources
- The actual exam is the gold standard of financial certification exams. From soup to nuts, it is truly marvelous. The body of knowledge is carefully undated each year, their authors are typically "the final-word Gurus" in their area (e.g., Fabozzi in Fixed Income), and their reading materials continue to impress me each year. Recently, the readings were bundled into the exam; e.g. a six volume set for Level I. I think this six-volume set for Level I is just about the best, most well-organized introduction to finance that you can find anywhere. If you could take only one finance text on your desert island sabbatical, I think it should be the Level I CFA readings.
As the CFA is traditionally linked to an equity analyst, the FRM traditionally served to credentialize a risk manager at a bank. As proof, consider GARP now starts their advertising with "The FRM is not just for risk professionals in banks." Both organizations (CFA Institute and GARP) are actively seeking to broaden their appeal, and in my view they are both succeeding. But the CFA is further along.
I would say that the job market for an FRM is less concretely defined than the market for a CFA. When I talk to people, almost everybody knows what the CFA is. It continues to surprise me that not everybody knows what the FRM is! And if they don't know what it is, then it follows they don't know how much pain it took to earn it. Further, where it is common to see "Chartered Financial Analyst" as a job preference or job requirement, I cannot remember the last time I saw "FRM preferred or required."
But this is mostly due to the relative youth of the FRM credential. Risk is a hot topic and the FRM has a very bright future. Academic institutions are a rapidly growing FRM constituency. Both the CFA Institute and GARP (who administers the FRM) actively seek to partner with universities. Also, regulatory bodies. Even energy companies. And most recently, insurance companies. (In addition to the original constituencies, commercial banks and central/regulatory banks).
I would say that, against the traditional risk manager job market, the FRM is a solid and valued credential. But some qualifiers:
- Unlike the CFA which has no direct competition, the FRM has direct competition in the Professional Risk Manager (PRM) certification (so you have two choices for a risk designation)
- If you want to be an equity analyst, the CFA might be all you need (I would argue it is a pinnacle designation for many careers). At the moment, the FRM is generally (in my opinion) a complementary sort of credential, not a destination unto itself.
Next post, I'll compare the actual exams...
source: CFA versus FRM, Part 1: Job Markets | Bionic Turtle
Regards,
Shyam