Also, is this reinstatement permanent? I was thinking of doing it next year, then it got canned, now it is a choice again. Don't want to register, start studying just to have it canned again maybe next year. Also what does "Active Fellow membership in the Global Association of Risk Professionals" require of you? (A requirement now for the reinstatement).
This whole line of discussion bothers me! ST0 was brought in to allow individuals with a pre-existing, relevant, equivalent qualification to gain an exemption at ST level - thus speeding their process through the later exams. The intention was certainly not to allow people to shop around for courses which might be easier than an ST exam! Thanks goodness the reinstatement requires active membership of this other body - presumably with requisite CPD and subscription payments. Clearly the profession are doing their best to ensure that professionals who are members of this body have a quicker route to fellowship, whilst cutting down on number of actuarial students trying to short-cut their way through. The system will still be abused of course - lets hope just not by too many. Frankly, anyone who isn't up to an ST exam won't have a hope with the fellowship exam anyway - so is likely to be wasting their time. Rant over.
sorry these exams are not as chronological in terms of difficulty wise! i found SA the easiest paper - much easier than some of the Cts,ca3 and st6!
Talking about seeking easier alternative routes. Aren't those that are going to do/doing/did a masters or degree in actuarial science potentially seeking easier routes? What about that course at imperial college that practically gives you an exemptions for everything. FRM is not an easy exam and is certainly on par with a ST. Good luck to all those studying it.
The recommended study time for this exam is around 140hrs from what I've read, which I would say is around 6-9months comfortably. Also, the pass rate has been around 40-50% historically, so I wouldn't doubt the credibility of this exam at all, or the level of difficulty. Besides GARP is a highly respected and valuable membership, and the FRM title will be a definite career boost for students in the investment/banking/credit risk environment (like me
Erm How much overlap is there with the planned ST9 (ERM)? Will one be able to do both of these? Or would that leave you without a SA?
Compare this to around 200 hours for an ST with pass rates of 30-40%. (Perhaps only more intelligent persons write the FRM) The benefits of opening up exemption routes is that we get other professionals joining us which should lead to more exposure and a movement away from traditional lines (life and pensions) which is clearly necessary. Personally I'd prefer however, that "more demanding" qualifications be used, eg ACCA, MBA, which take a longer period (here lies the argument for cutting down on qualification time - FRM seems to one exam only). Not that I would like to suggest that FRM is not worth it. It just seems to me (as someone who is just glancing at it) that it is an obivous shortcut, which I am sure that some members would jump at.
