Available materials during the FRM Part 1 Exam?

[akcfa447]

Hello David,
I just started to study for the November 2011 FRM Exam Part 1.
After checking the 2011 practice exam provided by GARP, I have the following question concerning:
2011 Practice Exam / Part 1 / Exam 1 / Question 1 (page 17 with the answer)
The problem is to calculate the percentage of the distribution of a random variable between 55 and 65 with mean 50 and s.d. of 10.
The answer is very clear but also uses very precise numbers implying the use of P(Z =< x) = N(x) table. I don't see how we can do it otherwise!
So my question is:
Do we have access to the common statistical tables (cumulative probs of ND,..) during the exam in addition to the authorized calculators and what else do we have available?
Thanks in advance for your answer!
AK

 

[David Harper CFA FRM]

Hi AK,

Right, you can't find the normal CDF, N(.), with either calculator so GARP will provide the needed information; e.g., typically the question includes "N(z) = 1.xx"
More detail is here http://forum.bionicturtle.com/threads/memorizing-facts-about-distributions.4693/
incl. From GARP "If a question requires information from a specific distribution table, that information will be provided."

But, of course, you should know N(-1.645) = 5% and N (-2.33) = 1%. These are the common 95% and 99% normal VaR and GARP can expect you to know these, thanks, David

 

[[email protected]]

hey david its really nice that you are helping every one here
i am really pleased to see someone so much concerned
thanks alot
I will be appearing for the Level 1 FRM exam this 19th Nov.
i want to tell you that i have cleared first two levels of CFA but could not clear my level 3 exam
but now i want to know how much easy it will be for me to appear on the exam
will it be similar in some respect with the earlier exams i have been appearing for my CFA exam ?

 

[David Harper CFA FRM]

Hi faisalriaz, thanks for your kind words. It is hard to answer briefly, but in my opinion, the overlap between CFA L1+L2 and FRM L1 is significant but the FRM contains much material not in the CFA. They have in common, for example, financial instruments/products and their pricing, but the FRM goes much deeper on sensitivities and risk-related issues (e.g., hedging). The CFA has financial statements and economics, while the FRM does not. This is just the beginning of some variance.

I would say it this way: having passed CFA L1+L2 gives an FRM L1 candidate a significant head start. If the total required prep is (e.g.) 400 hours, maybe that head start is 100 to 200 hours (just musing), where the point would be: there is much material you would still want and need to review.

For more detail, i would simply compare the CFA LOS to the FRM AIMS. I hope this helps, thanks, David

 

[[email protected]]

thanks alot dear
may i know that what is the testing difference between the two
as when i was studying i found 80% material is same that i already knew
so what is the testing difference
and also what are the topic weights in FRM exam ?
and role of calculation questions in the exam and one last thing
do you thing shweser notes are enough for the FRM level one exam?

 

[David Harper CFA FRM]

Hi faisalriaz,

It is hard for me to answer such sweeping questions (it would hours to address in detail), apologies.
Here are the 2011 FRM AIMs: http://db.tt/vLJLB62k
Please note the weights are included (and also appear on our forum board titles)

80% overlap, in my opinion, is not correct. The exams are not that similar.
One testing difference is, the FRM is less mature, with questions sourced from practitioners. This has a positive and a negative: the positive is that we might expect more real-world type questions (in theory) and an exam more suited to candidates with a fundamental grasp (i.e., the exam really does not favor rote memorization. This is my favorite feature: GARP has a way of testing concepts and not memorized formulas). The negative is that it is harder to predict what will be tested.

RE: calculation: Level 1 is mostly calculations.

Re: schweser notes: i don't know enough about your situation, and I am biased (I haven't looked at their notes lately, but i always thought they were good and it sounds like they keep getting better). A lot of our customers use schweser notes plus our questions/videos/XLS, clearly.

Thanks, maybe some further research on your part is warranted ... thanks, David