hi guys,
i have a querry; what is the eligibility criteria for appearing for FRM exam?
tried looking on the site but couldn't find anything
I just saw this thread and was surprised to many FRM aspirants. Indeed its a good and a very practical course. The key to clear it, is to remain patient and have a presence of mind. The paper isn't though but is rather very practical. You would not be asked questions which needs huge calculations. There would be hardly few of them. To crack this thing one needs to interpret things. The questions are not hard but are rather very tricky. And yes be ready for unpredicted questions. Do go through the Amaranth case study. We were expecting it last year, however it wasn't in the syllabus and I am not surprised that they have included it this year. I would suggest all of you who are appearing to go through the Garp Risk Review and Garp Risk News for few mins daily. It really helps.
Some important areas I think one can focus:-
Quant - Focus on GARCH, EWMA models, Monte Carlo Simulations (You can expect a simulated model to be thrown at you and would be asked to identify the error in it).
Market Risk - Read Hull (you will have to until and unless you have a Fin background). Also read Tuckman for Fixed Income.
Do try to read on German-Kohlagen model for FX though its not in the course. A bit on Exotics. We had a problem on Knock In-Knock out put option in FX.
Credit Risk - Focus on that research paper by Ashish Dev. Its very irritating but its very important. You can be tested on questions such as the philosophical difference between S&P; and Moody's. So do get your fundamentals clear over there. CDS pricing is surely imp. Also they have added more of Securitization this year. So do focus on that.
Operational Risk - Not many of us are masters in this field. So I believe its easy to crack this section. Basel will make or break. Expect atleast 10 questions on it. Also you will be given questions on Ethics which forms a part of this section. Unlike CFA where you are given a situation, here you will be given a situation as well as a responsibility such as - If you were the CFO of the company, If you were the CRO of the company.....etc.
These kind of questions are very irritating by nature and all the options seems correct.
Investment Management- Hedge Funds strategies. Do gulp them. Also they have added a reasearch paper this year. Focus on the formulas such as Sortino ratio, treynor ratio etc. it will definitely come. Coz no one tries to remeber it very carefully. This is the section where most of the people flunk. Thats what I have heard. But not very hard to crack.
Having said all this, do remember there are sectional cut-offs. So one cant just get away by scoring heavily in one section. You need to get sectional cut-offs and a overall cut-offs. A friend of mine got sectional cut-offs clear but didn't manage to get the over all cut-off i.e. 75% of the top 5% candidates (which is also same for all the sections).
But at the end of the day, you need to believe in yourself and as I said before one has to have patience.
And if anyone of you are wondering about the future prospects, its an open ticket to bank's treasury (though I am not working in any).
One can clear without a CFA or a Fin background. But if one has an engineering background it definitely helps in understanding things quickly. I cleared it which I had just finished my 1st year of PGDBA and I hardly had any Fin background. But definitely one has to work really very hard.
So guys do prepare well and after all its just another paper.
Just remember "There are various degrees of excellence... The danger lies, not in failing to achieve perfection, but in giving up the chase..."
Do let me know if I can help you all. I would definitely, if I can.
Apologies for the long reply
Prayagraj Patel
Hi Ryan,
With all due respect, why do you think CFA L1 exam is happening? They arent even letting any Indian to register!:neutral:
hehe...have "info"...m taking bets too 😃
hi guys,
i have a querry; what is the eligibility criteria for appearing for FRM exam?
tried looking on the site but couldn't find anything
well...you have to be a graduate...that is enough.may be even final year of grad will do i think.
the 2 years exp criteria can be completed after the exam also.
"One can clear without a CFA or a Fin background. But if one has an engineering background it definitely helps in understanding things quickly. I cleared it which I had just finished my 1st year of PGDBA and I hardly had any Fin background. But definitely one has to work really very hard."
Dood...i dint get how an engg degree can help sum1 understand FRM concepts quicker than other grads !
??:
Dood...i dint get how an engg degree can help sum1 understand FRM concepts quicker than other grads !
??:
"One can clear without a CFA or a Fin background. But if one has an engineering background it definitely helps in understanding things quickly. I cleared it which I had just finished my 1st year of PGDBA and I hardly had any Fin background. But definitely one has to work really very hard."
Dood...i dint get how an engg degree can help sum1 understand FRM concepts quicker than other grads !
FRM is a very Quant heavy course ,it is easier to get up to speed on the Fin concepts not so easy to do so on the Quant part.So someone having an Engg background will find it easier to digest the concepts than someone who is not...
rajatb SaysFRM is a very Quant heavy course ,it is easier to get up to speed on the Fin concepts not so easy to do so on the Quant part.So someone having an Engg background will find it easier to digest the concepts than someone who is not...
At the risk of sounding unpleasant, I beg to differ from you Rajat.
FRM is not a quant-heavy course. In fact its a lot qualitative stuff.
Quant is just 10% in weightage.
Rest 90% is based on a cnadidate's understanding, I feel.
Its not necessary that an engineer may have an edge, rather it depends on a person-to-person aptitude.
This is my take on it. Please let me know if you still think differently.
At the risk of sounding unpleasant, I beg to differ from you Rajat.
FRM is not a quant-heavy course. In fact its a lot qualitative stuff.
Quant is just 10% in weightage.
Rest 90% is based on a cnadidate's understanding, I feel.
Its not necessary that an engineer may have an edge, rather it depends on a person-to-person aptitude.
This is my take on it. Please let me know if you still think differently.
10% of the weightage is explicitly Quant ,whereas as keeping aside the Operational Risk part aside most of the material is more Quant oriented than say the CFA course.Topics like Credit Derivatives, CDOs, CDS, Delta-gamma hedging etc are far more Quant oriented than say looking at a Balance sheet .
Remember that you have already done ICFAIs CFA course/MS Fin and are working in the industry .In the end these concepts boil down to qualitative aspects and the practical use is tested but a person like you is able to look at the big picture beacuse of your background ,think of someone who is from a commerce background and did not take up math in +2 with no fin exp.He will certainly find the course far tougher than a fresh engg grad.
10% of the weightage is explicitly Quant ,whereas as keeping aside the Operational Risk part aside most of the material is more Quant oriented than say the CFA course.Topics like Credit Derivatives, CDOs, CDS, Delta-gamma hedging etc are far more Quant oriented than say looking at a Balance sheet .
Remember that you have already done ICFAIs CFA course/MS Fin and are working in the industry .In the end these concepts boil down to qualitative aspects and the practical use is tested but a person like you is able to look at the big picture beacuse of your background ,think of someone who is from a commerce background and did not take up math in +2 with no fin exp.He will certainly find the course far tougher than a fresh engg grad.
well, a person who dint take maths @ 10+2...and who hasnt done ANY finance related course should really not think bout FRM !
ryan_g11 Sayshehe...have "info"...m taking bets too :)
Are you Seriously SERIOUS??
??:??:
ryan_g11 Sayswell, a person who dint take maths @ 10+2...and who hasnt done ANY finance related course should really not think bout FRM !
and with respect to the engg degree, there are soem colleges which are making engineers(and with distinction too) out of people who barely passed 12'th wid half decent marks ! so the quality of the engg grad is of importance.
all said and done, engg people r better @ quant (usually)...no doubt :grab:
foobar SaysAre you Seriously SERIOUS??
well...no1 can say with CERTAINTY...but exam should happen outside india at least...
By the way...is anyone finding Operational Risk MASSIVELY boring???
i was reading the core material and slept off after an hour !
ryan_g11 Sayswell...no1 can say with CERTAINTY...but exam should happen outside india at least...
Well dood it certainly would but the things is that they arent letting Indians register in the first place!! So it would occur outside for sure YES but minus indians as per CFA's stand right now. Which is again something due on Court 's Judgement. And I am not v hopeful that court matters are sorted out that fast in a great nation such as ours.
FYI, the suit filed by CFA (in 1997) against ICFAI for using CFA designation (even so it being a clear case in favor of CFA) took 10 years for the court to pass a judgement.
Only saving grace in favour of people like us can be that CFA might not like to lose out on a huge revenue component from India which might make them change their own stance to the issue.
"One can clear without a CFA or a Fin background. But if one has an engineering background it definitely helps in understanding things quickly. I cleared it which I had just finished my 1st year of PGDBA and I hardly had any Fin background. But definitely one has to work really very hard."
Dood...i dint get how an engg degree can help sum1 understand FRM concepts quicker than other grads !
Yes its true upto a certain extent and I would standby my statement.
An engineer can most of the time (I wont say always) understand it quickly as it consists lot of Higher Mathematics behind it.
Am not saying that in the paper you would find such questions. Rather you would hardly find such quant based questions. But its the higher mathematics background that helps an individual to grasp things quicks. And believe me it really helps in solving things in a better way.
And dont forget finance, especially risk management is very scientific.
However being an engineer it gives you no guarantee to crack the exam. An engineer also needs to work very hard.
Yes its true upto a certain extent and I would standby my statement.
An engineer can most of the time (I wont say always) understand it quickly as it consists lot of Higher Mathematics behind it.
Am not saying that in the paper you would find such questions. Rather you would hardly find such quant based questions. But its the higher mathematics background that helps an individual to grasp things quicks. And believe me it really helps in solving things in a better way.
And dont forget finance, especially risk management is very scientific.
However being an engineer it gives you no guarantee to crack the exam. An engineer also needs to work very hard.
Hummm...baat mein dum hai, agreed !
BTW friends, I was going through the VaR section in MRMM, and let me tell you frankly, that Schwesers has given it in a very lucid way.
The readings are really of decent quality and should be enough to clear the exam at least, thats what I feel.
The concept is explained in a clear-cut language with good examples and that makes it a good read. I am not reading VaR from anywhere else and will rely fully on Schwesers for it.
How is everyone's prep going on?
I think Ryan is the one making a killing right now !
What about you Rajat, Shankar et al?
How is everyone's prep going on?
I think Ryan is the one making a killing right now !
What about you Rajat, Shankar et al?
I haven't started yet ,still lazing off after the CFA exams....
This month I am in Paris on a business trip so will start preps in August.
Hi everyone,
I find this thread quite informative and interseting....
I have an engg degree and MBA in finance...FRM prep can bog any nerd down...i simply believe all the bla bla degrees can be of some attribute ....but nothing can match up to the effort one puts in to the preparation of this exam....
well i began prepaing sometime back...have completed quant section, John C hull, Rene stulz, bruce tuckman, some chapters of P Jorion, kevin dowd, Anthony Saunders.
My approach is different...I will complete core readings (to the extend i have) move on to schweser notes....though i find it pathetic...that would be sort of a revision. the sample question and jumbo revision. I have read schweser notes in parts...so perhaps you guys can advice me better which sections are better in it.
For now am reading Dan galai...then will do reto galati case studies...
Hey tumtum I must applaud you all for putting up such an effort...three cheers
Hey everyone,
I joined this group yesterday ....I wanted to ask you all how much of a diference is there between schweser notes 2007 and the older versions of it. I have the whole set of schweser notes ....but not of 2007. As I have been concentrating on core readings....and intend to just brush through schweser notes as revision and do the problems from it...could u guys let me know is it worth getting schweser 2007.
Thanks alot...Happy studying 😉
Hi everybody,
I hve been tracking this forum for the past few week, i m planning to appear in this 07 FRM exams. Thanks to this forum, i been very easy to access the study notes of Schweser.
However, going through the notes, i have covered Quant and VaR, must admit that Schweser is just 'Scratching the Surface' of these topics, there is absolutely no depth, for instance monte carlo simulation, simulating stock prices the stochastic differential equation has not at all been explained, somebody without prior knowledge of Stochastic calculus, under which Geometric Brownian Motion falls, would not be able to make up what is goining on.
to cut the story short, just want guidance from you guys whether Schweser would be sufficient. b'caz i have serious doubts.
Hope to hear from you all
Regards