How many FRM Practice Questions Do I Need To Pass the Exam?

The Financial Risk Manager (FRM) qualification is considered the leading professional certification in the financial risk management field, including insurance companies, banks, regulatory agencies, and asset management companies. Therefore, FRM candidates should aim to obtain the necessary knowledge as competent finance professionals.

If you’re studying for the Financial Risk Manager (FRM) exam, you might wonder how many FRM practice questions you must do to pass the exam. This article explains the FRM practice questions you should complete to understand the concepts better and get more comfortable with the actual exams.

How Many FRM Practice Questions Should You Do? 

To get FRM certification, candidates are required to pass a two-part exam and complete two years of work experience in financial risk management. GARP releases practice papers for FRM candidates for every session to give an insight into the actual exam. These practice papers are important because they help in knowing the type of exam questions and difficulty level of the exam. 

The GARP FRM practice paper consists of 100 multiple-choice questions for FRM Part I and 80 multiple-choice questions for FRM Part II. However, it’s important to note that the number of questions may vary yearly, so it is best to check with the official resources for the most updated information. Furthermore, it is worth noting that the FRM Part I exam is divided into two sections, with 50 questions in each section. These sections cover various topics, and candidates must pass both sections in order to pass the overall exam. 

Due to the varying set of practice papers for every session, candidates try to collect previous practice papers to get more questions to practice and get a better idea of the exam. The catch here is all practice papers, previous and current have the same questions. But suppose you notice any difference in the previous question set, in that case, it’s because GARP deleted some questions from the previous practice papers to update practice papers in line with the current curriculum. Most questions are the same. Therefore, solving multiple FRM practice papers will not add value to your exam preparation.

Therefore, the answer to the above question is there’s no magic to the number of that FRM practice questions to guarantee success on the exam. Also, you don’t have to complete over 3000 practice questions to pass the exams. For instance, if you are already familiar with the concepts and have a good background in risk management, solving a few GARP practice questions should be enough.

What Are The Topics Covered in FRM Practice Questions?

The FRM Part I test the tools used to evaluate financial risk and focuses on four topics, weighted as follows:

• Foundations of risk management – 20%
• Quantitative analysis – 20%
• Financial markets and products – 30%
• Valuation and risk models – 30%

The FRM Part II 80 questions focus on applying the risk evaluation tools learned in FRM Part I. And the topics are:

• Market risk measurement and management – 20%
• Credit risk measurement and management – 20%
• Operational risk and integrated risk management- 20%
• Liquidity and treasury risk measurement and management – 15%
• Risk management and investment management – 15%
• Current issues in financial markets – 10%

What’s The FRM Minimum Passing Score?

The GARP sets no fixed defined minimum passing score as a minimum passing percentage. FRM candidates aim to acquire the necessary knowledge as competent finance professionals rather than aiming for a specific score to beat since the exam difficulty can vary. Nonetheless, knowing a range of passing scores is a valuable reference point for FRM candidates to estimate their performance when doing the FRM practice questions.

Like other exams’ passing score estimates, the FRM minimum passing score estimate is the ‘best estimate of the passing score.’ However, your minimum passing score may vary depending on the exam version you have taken.

FRM Part I Passing Score Estimate

Averagely, you need to get 50-60 questions out of 100 questions correct in the FRM Part I exam to just make the cut-off score. Therefore, aiming for a score of 65% and above in FRM practice questions is an excellent place to be because minimum passing scores can vary by exam as they get modified.

FRM Part II Passing Score Estimate

For FRM Part II exams, you’ll need to get at least 48 out of the 80 questions correct to ensure a high chance of passing the actual FRM exam.

Tips on How To Use FRM Practice Questions Effectively

While completing FRM practice questions is vital to preparing for the FRM exam, it is important to use these questions effectively to improve your chances of success. Here are the tips on how to use the practice questions effectively;

1. Don’t rely on a single source for practice questions. Using a variety of sources gets you a broad range. 
2. Start practicing with the FRM practice questions early so that you can get ample time to identify your strength and weakness and tailor your study accordingly. Starting early also boosts confidence and reduces exam anxiety.
3. Analyze your performance after completing your practice questions to identify your strength and weaknesses. This will help you understand why you got some questions wrong and how to improve them. It also helps save time on topics you already understand
4. Take notes on key formulas and concepts to help review and reinforce your knowledge later
5. Time yourself while practicing, and aim to complete the questions within the allocated time. Putting yourself under exam conditions helps you get comfortable with exam pacing and format.

Conclusion

The FRM exam is a rigorous and challenging test requiring a deep understanding of complex concepts. The best way to develop the needed knowledge is by practicing with the FRM practice questions. These questions will help you identify your strengths and weaknesses to enable you to tailor your study plan to individual needs. Therefore, it is best to answer as many practice questions as possible following the guidelines we’ve discussed to build the skills and knowledge you’ll need to pass the actual exam.