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The pass mark for all IAI exams was 50, unless I'm mistaken.

I wrote them independently in subsequent attempts, so I don't fulfill your criteria but I'd say there is significant overlap between the two in...

Most exams are set with a pass mark around 55 but get adjusted upward to 60 depending upon general performance in that diet. 60 is usually a...

OK, this time even I can do this in excel: =8-WEEKDAY(VALUE(CONCATENATE(A1,"-1-",A2)),12)

There is a flip side to this. Equities have a social impact since they are cheap and relatively safe source of funds for business owners in the...

In a put call parity, we have: Put(t) + Share(t) = Call(t) + Ke^-r(T-t) Let's take a simplified example of a dividend paying share, where the...

Thanks Steve

Matched benchmark is used in a passive strategy, where the objective is to entirely replicate the movements in liabilities. Strategic benchmark...

E[exp(Zt-Zu)] is not exp(E[Zt-Zu]). You can approximately visualize this from a simple Taylor series expansion: LHS: E[1 + (Zt-Zu)/1! +...

Expectation under lognormal distribution = Mean + .5*Sigma^2 From Brownian Motion: E[Zt - Zu] = 0 Var[Zt - Zu] = t-u = E[ (Zt-Zu)^2] -...

But in this case, you will have to pay ground rent too. So the net income will be the difference between rent received and rent paid (and net...

In PAYG, it's not from the time the event happens but at the time the benefit is due. Otherwise, you are correct.

Would you happen to have a formula for calculation of rental yield in leasehold? I'm struggling in putting this into context myself since there is...

I'm not sure if that's the only (or primary) reason that goes into deciding bond term. The govt will try to issue bonds whose payments matches the...

Yes, general insurance contracts (with certain exceptions) are mostly renewable every year and investments are mostly held in low yielding liquid...

The shortfall will arise when the basis used for reserving is more conservative than the basis used for pricing, and it almost always is.

1) Let's take a benefit payment of $100 every month on retirement. In PAYG, you pay $100 as it arises. In paying the amount at the time when...

Perfect! Thanks!

Pricing need not always be on a best estimate basis, especially when there is a lot of uncertainty surrounding the data used for setting...

Thanks Steve!

When a company pays out dividend, it's stock prices reduces by the value of the dividend (ex-dividend). Forward prices will need to be adjusted to...

Yeah that's what I meant in the underlined.

I don't get how this is low risk. Selling a put => there is scope for virtually unlimited loss (limited by value of strike of course). Buying a...

Thanks Steve! I'm afraid I'll have to bug you a bit more on this. Isn't expected appreciation of the dollar over £ here the same as % change in...

That's a relief! Thanks!

I think the equation assumes the spot price of dollar/pound will remain unchanged. If interest rate in US increases x%, futures price of...

Congrats!

The economic cycle lasts about 8 years in developed countries. The statement otherwise is a gross generalization.

I think it was derived from 250 actuaries out of 25k registrations. That ignored censoring of course. Survival models needed!

LOL - I meant if I studied something after breaking my neck for fellowship, I'd be insane and be tempted to do something as crazy as homeopathy....

After qualifying, I'm planning to consider a doctoral degree in homoeopathy.

I protest against this post on the grounds that it's becoming a running joke! :p

I had a commerce degree. Not very difficult to shift since actuarial is more about logic than raw math.

Dang :D

Merton model has an analytical way of calculating recovery rates. You might want to check that out.

Most countries follow a progressive tax system - as income increases, the % of tax payable on that incremental income also increases. It could be...

Duration measures the sensitivity of price to a unit change in interest rate. It's arrived by differentiating present value of bond cash flows...

It's funny because another person asked me this exact question yesterday. You don't have to detail your personal life to your employers - it's not...

I see, so ALM is the broader concept and LDI is a technique within ALM framework. Thanks Colin.

Quoting Martin Luther King: I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a forum where they will not be judged by the colour...

The obligatory MATLAB answer. a = iptnum2ordinal(20); b = a(end-1:end)

The papers patterns are simply not predictable. As long as you are comfortable with the "objectives", you should do well. Otherwise, we're...

Yeah! Especially CA2! Mainly because I've passed it already...

I'm not competing with others Steve - just trying to troll this thread!

Sneaking in with another MATLAB Answer: a = 'Enter String'; if sum(a == a(end:-1:1))==length(a); disp('Palindrome'); else disp('No Palindrome');...

I'm writing ST5 in Nov from India - booked my flight tickets. How's study going?

Think from the employers perspective. What do you have to offer that local candidates don't that makes you worth the extra cost, effort and hassle?

It's interesting because correlations increase in bad economic climates where volatility is highest while decrease in good periods. That's where...

Copulas and Monte Carlo? 1) Get the list of instruments which the put options are based upon. Compute their volatility and correlation (you could...

Not about CEOs understanding Copulas or about the Copulas themselves. There is a huge conservatism bias when it comes to setting reserve...

The acted tutors realized you're just spreading ISIS propaganda masquerading as risk management posts and have banned you. Do you repent at least now?

Method 3: Office politics and top management pressure

Why only excel? MATLAB answer: datestr(datenum(date) + min((find((weekday(datenum(date) + (1:10000))==6).*(day(datenum(date) +...

The post-CT blip is expected since most people start working after their CT series. No point in passing all the 15 papers without equally stunning...

I did my bachelors in commerce before pursuing actuarial and I've done ok. It actually adds a complementary dimension to actuarial imho.

I remember the IAI instructors in the two day session mentioning it was around 65%.

"'Writing ST9 and SA5 on the same day - APRIL 30 2015, then I should be done with Actuarial exams?? '" You sir are attempting an actuarially...

Looks like you will have more flexibility, ability to be hands-on and more authority in your new role + the prospect of being able to build your...

Charges are levied by the provider (an income) - while expenses are incurred by the provider. There is a section in chapter 10 contract design.

That should sum it up. You would probably lose marks on the model and a good deal of summary. The questions are usually clear though.

Curious, are you from India? Where exactly are you teaching?

I'm not sure about the UK exam but we were suggested to use goal seek in an Indian CA2 exam when I wrote it. Documentation for it could prove...

I followed something similar and passed. Looks good. Ensure the model you build is flexible to incorporate the 2nd piece of information by not...

A small payoff for sacrificing study leaves, paper passing incentives and the security of being in insurance!

The problem is in people's belief of entitlement once they qualify. Have you ever been to a executive meeting where you try to sell your...

Indeed. I was at a talent analytics conference today and there was a mention of how a large process based company was able to reduce poor hires by...

They mean to use the vector auto regressive model. Let's say you are fitting a VAR model for series A and series B. After estimating the...

I'm not writing ST9 but I work with the above techniques. So that gives me dubious authority to answer you. Cholskey decomposition is used to...

I'm not sure about insurance because I've never worked in it, but in analytics, companies do not usually expect you to have superior SAS or MATLAB...

Fixed.

Direct international hiring is mostly restricted to associate actuary level + or through inter company transfer. Otherwise, the chances are close...

Unlike athletic events, self confidence has nothing to do with clearing exams. Either someone has covered the objectives or someone has not....

Congratulations!

I would strongly advice against these computer certifications. Employers usually take your computer skills as is mentioned in the resume and...

Sames rules. Cash goes out - inventory comes in. Debit inventory, credit cash (or "de-debit" cash).

View accounting as a language of translation. The basic structures of the language are: 1) Debit the receiver, credit the giver 2) Debit what...

It's so much easier to edit and format a word doc than an excel IMHO. From an examination perspective, I don't think word or excel matters - just...

This is madness! This is actuariaaaaaa(l)! :D

You're right. It could also be that buyer of protection delivers the asset and receives compensation, in cash the deal is not cash settled.

Corrected.

OK, I've been made to eat my words. Someone actually contacted me via linkedin for a good profile! This in spite of listing my skills as "nail...

I use IML extensively and I highly recommend it for the reasons you've mentioned. I've also found that for complex non-linear optimizations, it...

I wish I could do that! IAI won't allow me to write ST9 in the US and since I have one ST cleared from India, I have to have the other too - so...

Even Hawking's genius can't save England in the world cup. They need miracles from entities Hawking does not believe in...such as the flying...

I work in a job that involves coding in multiple platforms and languages, so I'm guessing I have dubious qualifications to comment on your...

Where did you get that?

A short position is called a "short straddle" usually

Not every bank/financial institution works like this. Companies (that aren't governed by statutory requirements) don't care about qualifications...

If I do it from -inf to inf, MATLAB says explicit integral can't be found. Is the density correct?

What's qt(0.75,4)?

Yup MATLAB can handle all that.

Do you mean like below? If so, MATLAB can do it. >> syms x y >> f = y^3 - y^2 + 1 f = y^3 - y^2 + 1 >> int(f,y,1,x) ans =...

In my professional circle (both in US and in India) - I've never heard of anyone getting an interview through linkedin, leave alone a job. I view...

Usually, the company that is hiring has a salary bracket for the job profile they are hiring and are very unlikely to break it irrespective of...

+1. High probability strategy.

nah - just done with 11 papers. I'm building this grand reserving model for my company which is involved in automotive financing. The model...