CA1 September Exams Comments

So we are now free to say what we want about the sept/oct exams - what did people think of the CA1 papers?

I thought they were not too bad, but as usual there were a few slightly odd /confusing questions, which is where I struggled:

(i) there were about 10 marks on a treating customers fairly/unfair terms question in the first paper - was this really testing anything in the course? I would have given exactly the same answer if i'd never read CA1, so i'm not sure what it was testing

(ii) Paper 1 Question 6 was about the project of introducing some new regulation (or something like that) and there was a 13 mark question asking what process you would use to manage the project. I assume they wanted you to apply to Actuarial Control Cycle here, but I made the mistake of applying the 'characteristics of a well run project'.

(iii) Paper 2, last question, a total of 37 marks about DC vs DB benefit schemes - I assume this mostly based around the 'risks in benefit schemes' chapter (around chapter 40) but I ran out of things to say fairly quickly. There was a 7 mark question about 'considerations for ongoing communications' - i'm not sure what they wanted there beyond a few basic points. And the final 10 mark questions about 'points to make in responding to the employers request to top up their pensions'. I think it was pretty tough to come up with 20 points (half a mark each) to answer this.

(iv) paper 1 last question - about the merchant exporting goods bought for 7m and selling for 10m. A nice question, with 5 easy marks for some adding up (I think), but how much could he claim for if he lost his cargo on the trip - 7m, 7.5m or 10m? Only one mark I think, but i'd like to know!

And nothing really about risk management in the 'actuarial risk management' paper! What a waste of time reading those last 8 chapters

 

I found it difficult. Passed all subjects comfortably up to now, but I am completely uncertain about the CA1 exam.

I answered Paper 1 Q6 exactly the same as you. Maybe most students did - we may be able to pick up some points there - especially if you motivated the points well (that will most likely cover many Actuarial-Control-Cycle-type points).

I thought paper 1 was difficult and expected an easier paper 2 - but to my dismay it was more difficult than paper 1!

Do you reckon that 55% will be sufficient to pass?

 

CA1 Sept 2010 papers

And what were the 4 measures of project progress they wanted? Was this IRR, NPV, DPP, and PP?

Re paper 1 question 6:
well that's kind of reassuring I suppose - I think a lot of people will not have realised it was an ACC question (assuming it was), but in hindsight I should have realised becuase the key word in the question was 'process', which I overlooked at the time. It was the fact that it was hidden in the middle of a question on projects that confused me. I'm hoping I still picked up at least a few marks, becuase I listed all the 18 well run project characteristics, and a line or two about each to make it more specific to the project they described, so hopefully some of that stuff will be relevant, but i'm not sure.

Re the pass mark: my target was 55%, as my tutorial tutor said that would usually be a pass, and i'd guess this sitting won't be much different. I think i'm probably somewhere around the 50-55% mark if I didn't mess anything up I haven't realised yet, so I might get away with it, but I'm not holding my breath.

I've failed a few CTs along the way, but this is the first time i've gone in feeling well prepared, and left feeling I probably failed! But alot of people struggle with this one I think.

 

CA1 sept 10

I thought that there was little bookwork in both papers and that paper 1 was more difficult than paper 2.

For the 4 measures to monitor the progress I just made up some ideas about setting up groups that were responsible for this and requiring the proj manager to give regular updates and document everything....prob all incorrect!

For Q7 paper 1 I used €10m to calculate the insurance premium the merchant would have had to pay. Should I have used €7m instead?

In paper 2 Q4 I wasnt sure how to go about explaining how to categorise and load for expenses so just wrote down everything I knew about direct/indirect, fixed/variable, product, department, function and loadings. What did everyone write down?

For Q5 paper 2 when describing the notional portfolio I put in 25% equities and 75% bonds but I think they were looking for 100% bonds...what does everyone else think?

 

CA1 September 2010 Exams Comments

funny, I just looked through the papers again, and the first paper seems much easier to me, but I'd guess I scored around 50%-55% on each, which I suspect will be an FA.

P2 Q5: I don't know what they wanted you to put for 6 marks about choosing a notional portfolio - I just put some general stuff about it reflecting the underlying liabs and the investment objectives etc. I doubt i'll get more than 1 or 2 marks on that.

P1 Q6: There were 4 marks asking what the 'reporting requirements' were for the project - i've no idea what that was about. I think homer has the right idea with the four measures of project progress but i'm not sure. I put a few points about measuring schedule against plan, and budget against plan etc, but also listed the four financial measures (IRR, NPV, DPP, PP).

P2 Q4: Expenses - I did the same as you homer - I think that's all you could do, so this should be some straightforward bookwork marks.

 

I suspect that 55% will be a pass - even a lower mark may be a pass. This exam was more difficult than the average CA1 exams over the last 5 years, I think.

 

mmm, i thought it was harder than the april 2010 exams, but probably not much different to the 09 and 08. I hope you're right though. If 50% is a pass then I might just squeeze in

 

what makes CA1 hard, except for the volume....if you read it over and over and over......you must just pass, am I right?

 

LOL Reading over and over must work for any exam right?

I assume u haven't done the subject hence the question right?

 

That's right!
I heard it was a biggie though, thus the question.

 

CA1 exams

sadly, not that simple - if it was just a bookwork exam the pass rate would be alot higher than 45%!

You'll need to know the bookwork really well to pass CA1 (50 chapters), but the main challenge is around enterpreting the exam questions and applying the basic bookwork knowledge to the questions they dream up, and generating a wide range of ideas. Typically you need to make a separate point for each half mark scored in CA1. Its a complete change from the CTs.

 

CA1 is considered to be the equivalent of 2 ST subjects so volume is going to be an issue naturally. But doing a higher subject is essentially the true way of seeing for yourself. Most people I know prefer to do the STs before CA1. They reckon it simplifys the subject.

Best wishes

 

in the olden days (3 or 4 years ago +) people would sit the STs after the CTs, and the CA1 equivalent was the last paper you would sit. But now we seem to be encouraged to sit CA1 after the CTs, and I think that works pretty well to be honest, as it just brings together all the CT material, and if I waited another year i'd probably have forgotten more of it.

And since you now can't take CA3 until you've passed CA1, it would seem to be a bad idea to put yourself in the 'passed all exams apart from CA3' group.

 

Does anyone know how it works with the marking? Do you have to pass both papers separately or do they mark it out of 200?

 

Ca1

its just the total mark that matters, i.e. they mark it out of 200.

how many marks you need out of 200 though is anyone's guess

 

I missed out on the ACC hint in the Projects question as well

Did anyone else find the house prices question annoying?

 

CA1 sept 2010 papers

well the bright side is that alot of people probably missed that it was a ACC question. If lots of people missed it, it would bring the average mark down, so maybe bring the pass mark down? A 13 mark trick question seems a funny way to write an exam paper to me.

the house price question was a bit of a funny one. It was fairly easy to come up with a few common sense responses, but with 12 marks at stake you need something like 24 points to get all the marks! I just didn't know quite what part of the bookwork we were meant to be applying. I guess it was the economic influences on property prices, but this was more about the influences of house prices on the economy(?)

In particular on the second part of the question (explain difficulties the authorities could face in trying to reducing the HPM) I struggled. It would be unpopular for various reasons, and difficult for various reasons was about all i could say.