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Hi Hong We will email you to discuss the marking of your script. Kind regards Helen

Hi Thank you for your post, this is a difficult area to provide definitive advice on. It is inappropriate to discuss the exam material with...

Hi Trevor From past experience, the markers receive a colour copy of the script to mark. Helen

Hi Thanks for your post. Yes, if you feel it is important to bring a technical term in (perhaps because you want to refer to that technical...

Hi Carmen The requirement to meet a certain word count has now been removed from the exam, so no you do not need to calculate the number of words...

Hi Trevor The main focus in CP3 in terms of language is that it is simple and will be understood by the audience, and this is where most of the...

Hi Trevor I would say that as a general rule we should always aim to err on the simple side, ie give the minimum necessary to explain the issue...

Hi Trevor Thanks for your post. I think it is always a good idea to offer to answer questions and I would expect that normally the examiners...

Hi Sankar Thank you for your message. We have a decision to make in the exam as to whether to introduce terminology and immediately explain what...

Hi Gabriella Thank you for your post. Indirect costs of regulation arise where we think there is a negative effect (cost) of regulation but it...

Hello Thank you for your post. In Qn 5(iii), I agree that it is the overall direction of the question, ie the earlier parts of the question...

Hello Thank you for your post. Long-term bond yields will be affected by the expectations of interest rates over their term, ie by the current...

Hi Trevor Thank you for your post. Re the second point I would say I agree that Kylie wants to understand what has really happened in the recent...

Hello Thank you for your post. The first point I would make in relation to this is that one or two sentences which are a little long in a script...

Hi Thank you for your post. Lets think about say a pension scheme which has active members who are either manual workers, office staff or...

Hi Sankar Thank you for your post. I would say that the level of detail we require in our solution should be such that we will have a 'satisfied...

Hello Thank you for your post. Can I please ask that you contact the IAI direct for advice on this as I'm sure they will be able to provide you...

Hi Thank you for your post. The scenario in the question is that a DB scheme has been in operation but closed 5 years ago. Members have then...

Hi, as far as we are aware these abbreviations are fine as they are very common. You might though want to be a little careful about situations...

Hi Trevor Thank you for your post. The CP3 exam is more generous in terms of time, deliberately so to try and ensure that the exam is a real...

Hi Trevor Thanks for your post and again you raise some interesting issues. Re the reflective questions I would usually expect there to be some...

Hi Imy thank you for your post. The canons of lending are not explicitly covered in the reading for CP1, but can be useful for answering...

Hello Trevor Thank you for your post. This is an interesting question. I would say that the CP3 exam requires us to apply very limited...

Hi I would expect the executive summary to set out sufficient background of what the report is about (ie material we would normally include in an...

There is often a little flexibility around the marking schedule for points to score even if not explicitly on the marking schedule, in particular...

Hi It is certainly possible to do CP3 at this stage. You might find the scenarios easier to understand with the benefit of having sat the other...

Hi Paudi A student in our CP3 discussion forum posted the following: The IFoA sent an email to all students booked onto 2021 April exams on 26...

Hi Michal The sample solution provided is just that, a solution that is a good Pass ... but not the only solution that would pass so a very simple...

Hi Darshan Thank you very much for this info, in which case yes it does look like you do need to use this 2.0 line spacing. Many thanks Helen

Hello apologies but I am struggling to find this bit of guidance. I'm very happy to help but can you please confirm where in guidance it is...

I would normally not include a summary at the end if the executive summary report has been produced, instead I would look to include the 'answer'...

Hi Thanks for your question, as I understand it no negative marking ... just a case of not picking up marks. For example, a question might ask...

Hi Colin We are told in the background information that the proposed investment strategy (as recommended by the actuary) contains undated bonds,...

The section of the marking schedule headed 'How to maintain profitability' does include [2] marks for the idea of offering annuities with a...

Hi The 'Discuss' command verb is quite commonly used on questions that require application rather than just a pure recall of the bookwork. Such...

Hi Prab The advance material is usually released a few days ahead of the exam. Regards Helen

I would expect there to be very little / no change to the marks allocation, certainly not in a way that would affect chances of passing. As mavvj...

Hi Mulita Firstly really sorry to hear about your experience with SP4. I don't know if you attempted the assignments and or mocks as part of...

Hi - see the following previous (CA1) thread on this topic:...

You are correct that in theory you could calculate this yield curve for a fixed-interest bond but investors purchasing fixed-interest bonds are...

For unit trusts the expenses are primarily taken explicitly, for example through the bid/offer spread, rather than implicitly and therefore...

Hi Nimisha If we take a simplified example and imagine just 100 policies sold (and live with idea of being able to buy part of a policy!) we would...

Hi Ananya In relation to CP3, a good idea that you have asked family to review your answers, this helps you understand whether you are pitching...

Hi I think the key issue is that the question does say 'provide a balance between the beneficiaries’ interests and the costs of the protection...

Hi Mayowa As a starter I would say in questions with multiple parts always make sure you read all the parts before you start working on your...

Hi Just to say that the cover sheets are now available in word format on our website. thanks Helen

Hi Thanks for raising this. If you can please send the cover sheet as a separate scanned pdf that would be great and we will consider adding the...

Hi Christina The key issue here is that the loan from the finance house is a repayment loan. Under a repayment loan little capital is repaid...

Hi Alex I'd say your introduction is too high level, although you don't want to repeat detail of the main body of your communication it...

Hi everyone In case you aren't already aware, the following info on the Profession's website re CP1 Paper 2 for this April 2020 sitting: "All...

Hi everyone If you missed this webinar and would like to watch it, the recording is available on the Profession's website in this section:...

Hi Falak Great advice from Darshan, thank you Darshan for your input on this. As pointed out understanding the overriding objectives of the...

Hello In the corrections document the reference at the bottom of page 2 to updating Chapter 28 Solution 28.5 should say Chapter 29 Solution 29.5....

Hello A revised A311 correction document is available on our website at https://acted.co.uk/Docs/2020/Corrections/A311%20Correction%202020.pdf...

The X Assignments do contain some questions that you might recognise from your CA1 materials but there are also a number of new questions and in...

In this type of question it is definitely a good idea to start with all the key factors directly from the chapter on the external environment as...

Hi ... I think the comment in Chapter 4 fits with the discussions above. Note the comment in chapter 4 goes on to say that pre-funding is a...

You are correct, in that the content is extremely similar across these two sections of the chapter and you've given a great summary here of the...

There is only the one unfunded approach, pay-as-you-go. This approach to financing means that the money to fund the benefits is only found when...

Hi Darshan That's fine. We need to work out the cumulative impact of inflation over the period: So for first year = (1.02)*(1.017)-1= 3.73% and...

Hi Darshan Thank you for your post, can I just check the reference you've given ... can you point out which bit in solution of this Mock is...

Hi Yes in line with your last point you do need the visual aid to be deemed appropriate to score marks in the second half of the subsection (as...

Hi Partha Great advice from Dar_Shan re jargon. Re the advance material, the aim of it is to provide you with enough information so you...

Hi Ester No, there are no rules re these areas. Just look to be consistent, eg if you choose a different font size for headings compared to the...

Hi Thanks for your post. Page 4 is saying that Solv II calculates provisions on a best estimate basis with a risk-based capital requirement in...

Hi Just to say a corrected solution to this question is provided in our corrections doc that you can download from our website:...

A separate mini-ASET with just the April 2019 exam paper will be available in August. We will send an email to CP3 students when it is available.

Hi Sorry it looks like this paper has been removed from the SIAS website. A good (and more up-to-date) alternative is the UK Corporate...

Hi Darshan Thank you for your post. The course notes are correct re moral hazard and fraud being different, but unfortunately the OCR unit is not...

Hi Minal An occupational DC scheme will most likely have employer and member contributions (although some schemes might be non-contributory, ie...

Hi Sophia Infrastructure assets were never explicitly covered in CA1 (and in the same way not explicitly covered in CP1). This question is...

Hi Erica Covered in the material in sections 0, 1.1, 1.2 1.3 and 1.4 of the chapter except for the material at the bottom of page 5/top of page 6...

Hello The dates should be available on the e-store during the week of 15th April.

Sorry the ASET grid is only available as part of the ASET product. Most of the CA1 questions are still relevant to CP1 (and are of course...

Hi Ester This is a challenging question. I agree in practice it would be usual for a single premium to be paid to secure the benefits (normally...

Hi Erica I think this is best thought of as the single run helping us understand the impact of changing many of the assumptions at the same time,...

Hi Minal 1. There is a table of CA1 past paper questions in the ASET grid if you have ASET. 2. If you have the CP1 CMP then in the X Assignments...

Hi Erica Yes "Discuss the merits" is likely to mean look at both advantages and disadvantages.

Hi Sarmed Is this a particular question that you are refering to? If so it would be helpful to have the reference. thanks Helen

Hi Erica This means that the ITCs are quoted on the domestic stock exchange (ie are part of the domestic securities mentioned) but these ITCs have...

The solutions for the Profession's CP1 Paper 2 Specimen exam paper are now on the Profession's website at:...

The Profession are planning to release solutions to their specimen CP1 Paper 2 exam in the next couple of weeks, this will then provide the detail...

Hi The Profession are aiming to release solutions to the CP1 Paper 2 Specimen paper within the next couple of weeks, the solutions will be...

Hello Thank you for your post. I'm sorry but we don't have an equivalent sticky thread or tables for the new CP1. I appreciate you don't want...

Hello Thanks for your post. 1. Syllabus objective 9.1.1 Where we feel it aids learning we do on occasions reorder the Core Reading, this is...

Thanks for your post. This was a challenging question, given the Core Reading on Value at Risk is limited. Parts (ii) and (v) are bookwork. In...

Hi I've not seen any communication on this issue, I'd suggest you contact the IFoA at education.services@actuaries.org.uk to see whether the...

There won't be a transitional product given the number of changes from CA1 to CP1, but you will be able to purchase the CP1 materials at a...

Hi this is difficult to answer! I would say perhaps around 10% with a number of other areas where there have been tweaks to wordings that don't...

Agree, the solution assumes that the online platform means there are no commission costs. If you hadn't though made this assumption and instead...

Yes I agree with the last post, in this situation I think an apology that any previous communications were unclear is appropriate. I would then...

Hello Sorry but I'm not sure of the answer to this one. I would hope that the instructions provided with the exam will make it clear if a...

It can be tempting to read this question as being about contract design, but the key wording is "... consider when planning this project". This...

Hello James Thank you for highlighting this, we will review this area for the next material release and make any changes needed. Apologies that...