{"id":3904,"date":"2019-06-30T04:36:00","date_gmt":"2019-06-30T04:36:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/34.239.104.200\/?p=3904"},"modified":"2023-05-26T08:05:41","modified_gmt":"2023-05-26T08:05:41","slug":"frm-part-1-exam-3-month-study-plan","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/analystprep.com\/blog\/frm-part-1-exam-3-month-study-plan\/","title":{"rendered":"FRM Part 1 Exam \u2013 3-Month Study Plan"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>I sat and passed FRM Part 1 in May 2018, in Frankfurt. Easy as that sounds, make no mistake \u2013&nbsp;it was a tough ride!<\/p>\n<p>Even with an MSc. In Business Administration and specialty in corporate finance, I still knew I had a lot to do to crack FRM Part 1 in my first attempt. My five years of working experience as a financial consultant would definitely help, but deep down I felt that wasn\u2019t enough. And as a full-time employee, I didn\u2019t have a lot of free time. I had to strike a delicate balance between office work and study. With such a tight schedule, you have to make every minute count. For these reasons, I decided to dedicate three months to prep work.<\/p>\n<p>If my profile sounds a lot like yours, you will find the following study formula immensely helpful.<!--more--><\/p>\n<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_82_2 counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-grey ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<div class=\"ez-toc-title-container\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title\" style=\"cursor:inherit\">Table of Contents<\/p>\n<span class=\"ez-toc-title-toggle\"><a href=\"#\" class=\"ez-toc-pull-right ez-toc-btn ez-toc-btn-xs ez-toc-btn-default ez-toc-toggle\" aria-label=\"Toggle Table of Content\"><span class=\"ez-toc-js-icon-con\"><span class=\"\"><span class=\"eztoc-hide\" style=\"display:none;\">Toggle<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-icon-toggle-span\"><svg style=\"fill: #999;color:#999\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"list-377408\" width=\"20px\" height=\"20px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M6 6H4v2h2V6zm14 0H8v2h12V6zM4 11h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2zM4 16h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path><\/svg><svg style=\"fill: #999;color:#999\" class=\"arrow-unsorted-368013\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"10px\" height=\"10px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.2\" baseProfile=\"tiny\"><path d=\"M18.2 9.3l-6.2-6.3-6.2 6.3c-.2.2-.3.4-.3.7s.1.5.3.7c.2.2.4.3.7.3h11c.3 0 .5-.1.7-.3.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7zM5.8 14.7l6.2 6.3 6.2-6.3c.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7c-.2-.2-.4-.3-.7-.3h-11c-.3 0-.5.1-.7.3-.2.2-.3.5-.3.7s.1.5.3.7z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/a><\/span><\/div>\n<nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 ' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/analystprep.com\/blog\/frm-part-1-exam-3-month-study-plan\/#What_Do_You_Need\" >What Do You Need?<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-2\" href=\"https:\/\/analystprep.com\/blog\/frm-part-1-exam-3-month-study-plan\/#You_have_Your_Prep_Materials_What_Next\" >You have Your Prep Materials. What Next?<\/a><ul class='ez-toc-list-level-3' ><li class='ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-3\" href=\"https:\/\/analystprep.com\/blog\/frm-part-1-exam-3-month-study-plan\/#Do_You_Really_Need_to_Peruse_Through_Every_Page_of_the_Official_Study_Books\" >Do You Really Need to Peruse Through Every Page of the Official Study Books?<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-4\" href=\"https:\/\/analystprep.com\/blog\/frm-part-1-exam-3-month-study-plan\/#Book_1_%E2%80%93_Foundations_of_Risk_Management\" >Book 1 \u2013 Foundations of Risk Management<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-5\" href=\"https:\/\/analystprep.com\/blog\/frm-part-1-exam-3-month-study-plan\/#Book_2_%E2%80%93_Quantitative_Analysis\" >Book 2 \u2013 Quantitative Analysis<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-6\" href=\"https:\/\/analystprep.com\/blog\/frm-part-1-exam-3-month-study-plan\/#Book_3_%E2%80%93_Financial_Markets_Products\" >Book 3 \u2013 Financial Markets &amp; Products<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-7\" href=\"https:\/\/analystprep.com\/blog\/frm-part-1-exam-3-month-study-plan\/#Book_4_%E2%80%93_Valuations_Risk_Models\" >Book 4 \u2013 Valuations &amp; Risk Models<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-8\" href=\"https:\/\/analystprep.com\/blog\/frm-part-1-exam-3-month-study-plan\/#Whats_Up_Next_Revision\" >What\u2019s Up Next? Revision!<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-9\" href=\"https:\/\/analystprep.com\/blog\/frm-part-1-exam-3-month-study-plan\/#Mock_Exams\" >Mock Exams<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-10\" href=\"https:\/\/analystprep.com\/blog\/frm-part-1-exam-3-month-study-plan\/#The_Exam\" >The Exam<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-11\" href=\"https:\/\/analystprep.com\/blog\/frm-part-1-exam-3-month-study-plan\/#Final_Word\" >Final Word<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"What_Do_You_Need\"><\/span>What Do You Need?<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>As the very first step, you need to choose the materials you will use in your pursuit of the knowledge needed to pass the FRM Part 1 exam. Looking back in retrospect, my choice of prep material played an important role&nbsp;toward&nbsp;my success. And that\u2019s because I didn\u2019t just need books; No! I needed materials that would help me apply knowledge in a range of scenarios. I went out of my way and acquired learning materials even before I had officially registered for the exam. If you\u2019re wondering just how many sets of prep materials are available, I have broken them down for you:<\/p>\n<ol>\n<li>Textbooks \u2013 there are three main alternatives\n<ol>\n<li>GARP\u2019s own books (can be purchased with your exam registration or at a later time; cost: USD 250-300 at&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.garp.org\/#!\/frm\/study-materials\">https:\/\/www.garp.org\/#!\/frm\/study-materials<\/a>)<\/li>\n<li>3<sup>rd<\/sup>&nbsp;party books \u2013 courtesy of a host of vendors. However, I\u2019d advise you to do some research before making the order. Some vendors are better than others, no doubt about that!<\/li>\n<li>Direct sources \u2013 the textbooks and published research papers used by GARP while developing the FRM Part 1 curriculum (GARP provides the source of every chapter of its textbooks free of charge)<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/li>\n<li>Questions \u2013 the most critical aspect of your prep, if you ask me\n<ol>\n<li>The GARP \u2013 provided sample test papers may be freely available, but there aren\u2019t too many of them. In my opinion, these exams should be your supplements at best. To understand the application of all the main points in every chapter, you need much more. Perhaps even more crucially, beware that there are&nbsp;<u>no<\/u>&nbsp;questions in GARP\u2019s textbooks.<\/li>\n<li>3<sup>rd<\/sup>&nbsp;party question banks \u2013 available from vendors of FRM study material (e.g.,&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/analystprep.com\/frm\/\">analystprep.com\/frm\/<\/a>)<\/li>\n<li>Direct sources \u2013 most of the textbooks used by GARP while assembling its own textbooks have questions after every chapter. (If you opt to take this route, you will emerge from it all with a rich vein of knowledge, but be sure to commit a lot more of your time to your prep. Not everything you might find&nbsp;there&nbsp;is relevant for the FRM Part 1 exam. And that\u2019s partly why GARP has provided a list of learning objectives.)<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/li>\n<li>Other Performance tools \u2013 these include flashcards, quick sheets, mind maps, one-pagers, etc. Also qualified for this list are the study notes you will make in the study phase, but if you can outsource trustworthy summary notes, you might not need your own.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"You_have_Your_Prep_Materials_What_Next\"><\/span>You have Your Prep Materials. What Next?<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>Preparing for the exam and having a full-time job (especially with dynamic workloads) can limit your ability to efficiently study the content and go through all the chapters in depth. I allocated two weeks to each book. In my experience, you might need more than a fortnight for each especially if you don\u2019t have a strong financial background like me. It was a marathon! And of course, you cannot operate at 100% all the time. There were days when I wasn\u2019t so productive. It happens to everyone, but the important thing is to fix your mind on the prize.<\/p>\n<p>Weekends present an opportunity to catch up and make up for the time lost during the week. Personally, I spent nearly as much time studying over the weekend as I did&nbsp;in&nbsp;the rest of the week. Of course, this may not fit your schedule. And yes, you still need a round of golf once in a while. But you have to find your \u201cweekend\u201d and make the most out of it.<\/p>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Do_You_Really_Need_to_Peruse_Through_Every_Page_of_the_Official_Study_Books\"><\/span>Do You Really Need to Peruse Through Every Page of the Official Study Books?<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>Doing so is highly recommended. In fact, if you have the resources and the motivation, it can be in your best interest to go through GARP\u2019s sources (the relevant chapters from the list of recommended textbooks). However, the vast majority of the candidates (including me) do not have the time for such an extensive studying process.<\/p>\n<p>That\u2019s the reason why a vast majority of candidates go for GARP\u2019s textbooks or 3<sup>rd<\/sup>&nbsp;party alternatives. Focusing precisely on what the exam covers is imperative for a time-efficient preparation. In addition, mind maps, formula sheets, or summaries offered by 3<sup>rd<\/sup>&nbsp;party vendors (or ideally your own notes) can be of help during the final revision.<\/p>\n<p>In the course of studying for the FRM Part 1 exam, everyone will face different challenges. Your experience and mine cannot be the same. But there are certain things that you ought to know to make the whole process a lot more palatable to your specific situation. Here are my tips on how to approach each book:<\/p>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Book_1_%E2%80%93_Foundations_of_Risk_Management\"><\/span>Book 1 \u2013 Foundations of Risk Management<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<ol>\n<li>Carefully go through the part covering past crises and \u201cfinancial disasters\u201d as well as the part about the principles for data aggregation &amp; reporting. The milestones of modern financial history and the facts behind the events that shaped the financial industry \u2013&nbsp;as we know it today \u2013 are easy fodder. These are sources of what I would call free marks in the exam. Not&nbsp;much&nbsp;changes in the actual exam. You only need to recite what happened in history, albeit in context. You can save yourself precious time for the quantitative section, which is more time-consuming.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Book_2_%E2%80%93_Quantitative_Analysis\"><\/span>Book 2 \u2013 Quantitative Analysis<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<ol>\n<li>If you were not a mathematics major or did not take econometrics classes at&nbsp;university, you might have to dedicate quite a huge chunk of your time to this book. In a nutshell, there\u2019s a lot of statistical terminologies, linear algebra, and a bit of calculus. You need to do a good amount of exercises and grasp, not just the concepts but also sufficiently master the steps followed in every type of problem. Essentially, an exam question is a combination of concepts. As such, understanding each point in isolation is key.<\/li>\n<li>Bayesian Analysis is my personal&nbsp;favourite. The abstract and the accompanying theory might appear rather straight-forward, but therein lies a labyrinth of complex and intriguing concepts, so watch out!<\/li>\n<li>As for the modeling chapters, be prepared to show that you know the definitions, understand the concepts, can differentiate the models, and are able to use the stated formulas.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Book_3_%E2%80%93_Financial_Markets_Products\"><\/span>Book 3 \u2013 Financial Markets &amp; Products<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>The book is about the financial markets and financial products. It is similar to what you have learned either in the CFA level 1 exam or in your Bachelor in commerce classes, that is, if you were lucky enough. You have to know the content by heart\u2026 every part of it. A thorough revision of the content, chapter-related questions, as well as questions covering the book \u201cas a whole\u201d, are a must for your preparation.<\/p>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Book_4_%E2%80%93_Valuations_Risk_Models\"><\/span>Book 4 \u2013 Valuations &amp; Risk Models<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>In my opinion, here lies the core of the FRM Program. You must understand the theory behind the different risk models and be able to apply it very quickly. You need to be able to perform VaR and duration calculations, derivatives pricing, etc., so you need to practice a lot.<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Whats_Up_Next_Revision\"><\/span>What\u2019s Up Next? Revision!<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>Your prep won\u2019t stop once you have read all the study notes. In fact, the next phase \u2013 revision \u2013 is even more important. This is where you should endeavor to assimilate all the key points and test your understanding through exam-style questions. The following time plan would be helpful.<\/p>\n<p>After study notes, you will have followed your study program for about two months. Naturally, the content you covered first has started to fade. The next three weeks present the time to consolidate all you have learned in the past two months by doing exercises on the full syllabus (1) constantly \u201crefreshing\u201d the knowledge and (2) training yourself to apply it quickly. I can assure you that in the exam, the clock moves fast!<\/p>\n<p>I spent about a week and a half revising and answering questions on each topic. After that, I migrated to timed sets of 50 questions covering the full syllabus for a couple of days. I preferred sets of 50 questions for two simple reasons. First, I needed shorter correction cycles to be able to analyze my mistakes more often and to identify weak spots. This provided me with the opportunity to revisit the theory whenever I felt the need to. Secondly, working for four hours at full capacity, and \u201cjumping\u201d from topic to topic (yes, the questions on the exam are&nbsp;<u>not<\/u>&nbsp;sorted out!) is quite a challenge and it\u2019s only wise to gradually build this skill. After this phase, I switched to a timed full set of 100 questions. This brings me to mock exams. In my opinion, mock exams present the phase that gave me the biggest bust of confidence.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"wp-embedded-content\" data-secret=\"S0dhgV9DXt\"><p><a href=\"https:\/\/analystprep.com\/shop\/frm-part-1-and-part-2-complete-course-by-analystprep\/\">FRM Part I &#038; Part II Complete Course<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" class=\"wp-embedded-content\" sandbox=\"allow-scripts\" security=\"restricted\" style=\"position: absolute; clip: rect(1px, 1px, 1px, 1px);\" title=\"&#8220;FRM Part I &#038; Part II Complete Course&#8221; &#8212; AnalystPrep\" src=\"https:\/\/analystprep.com\/shop\/frm-part-1-and-part-2-complete-course-by-analystprep\/embed\/#?secret=bFd7dtpF5f#?secret=S0dhgV9DXt\" data-secret=\"S0dhgV9DXt\" width=\"600\" height=\"338\" frameborder=\"0\" marginwidth=\"0\" marginheight=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Mock_Exams\"><\/span>Mock Exams<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>This is where it starts to get real\u2026 Normally, mock exams are more difficult than isolated questions and offer cross-topic problems like the ones you are going to face on the big day. I used a combination of AnalystPrep mock exams as well as GARP\u2019s mock exams. Here, timing yourself is imperative. As a rule of thumb, don\u2019t spend too much time on one question. If a question appears complex, move on to the next and come back to it later. Your score is determined by your performance across the whole exam.<\/p>\n<p>On the last day, I didn\u2019t study intensively. I took the time to quickly go through high-level mind maps and formula sheets. I would recommend something similar.<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"The_Exam\"><\/span>The Exam<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>Here, I can only share my own exam experience and some things I did not know and wished I would have beforehand.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>During the exam, you are allowed to use only one calculator at any given time. Your spare one (if you have any) stays under your table\/chair.<\/li>\n<li>You are allowed to only have the exam sheet on your table, the (one) calculator and up to two HB pencils. Nothing more. The exam ticket and your identification card are on the side of the table available to be checked at any moment. The remaining of your stuff (wallet, keys,&nbsp;<u>non-smart<\/u>(!) watch, etc.) remains under your table\/chair.<\/li>\n<li>The HB pencils that you are allowed to use are given to you and are most basic. Your own pencils are not allowed (be aware of that!).<\/li>\n<li>You do not need an eraser as correction guidelines do not require it.<\/li>\n<li>You are allowed to make only one correction on the answer sheet since it is done by filling in&nbsp;a second&nbsp;answer and writing the letter of your final answer on a dedicated place on the side of the answer sheet.<\/li>\n<li>During the exam, you will naturally need more than two pencils. Simply raise your hand and another set of two pencils will be brought to you (I personally used five sets of two!).<\/li>\n<li>In the exam room, there might&nbsp;<u>not<\/u>&nbsp;be a clock on the wall. Therefore, you either bend over and look at your&nbsp;<u>non-smart<\/u>(!) watch under the table or use the proctor\u2019s announcements every 30 minutes.<\/li>\n<li>If you want to eat or drink something, you must go outside. You cannot even drink water in the exam room.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>All in all, I would say that the controls are tighter than on the CFA Exams (I did the CFA L2 in 2015), but there are fewer people and, therefore, the rooms are smaller and quieter as compared to the CFA exam locations in Munich and Frankfurt. I took the FRM Part I exam in May 2018 in Frankfurt and we were about 120-150 people in a single conference room, whereas the CFA Exam was conducted in a single whole floor in an exhibition center building with a couple thousand candidates in the same area.<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Final_Word\"><\/span>Final Word<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>To sum&nbsp;up&nbsp;my thoughts, have a plan and follow it! There is no way to overemphasize the importance of organizing your time. Neither when studying for the exam nor on the exam day itself. The FRM Part I curriculum comprises a broad area of topics that need to be covered which takes time. The time needed heavily depends on your background as well as on your ability to comprehend and apply new knowledge, so having a study plan tailored to your strengths and weaknesses will for sure ease your learning phase.<\/p>\n<p>Photo by&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/unsplash.com\/photos\/cckf4TsHAuw?utm_source=unsplash&amp;utm_medium=referral&amp;utm_content=creditCopyText\">Andrew Neel<\/a>&nbsp;on&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/unsplash.com\/search\/photos\/study-plan?utm_source=unsplash&amp;utm_medium=referral&amp;utm_content=creditCopyText\">Unsplash<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>I sat and passed FRM Part 1 in May 2018, in Frankfurt. Easy as that sounds, make no mistake \u2013&nbsp;it was a tough ride! Even with an MSc. In Business Administration and specialty in corporate finance, I still knew I&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":5734,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[71],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3904","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-frm","blog-post","animate"],"acf":[],"post_mailing_queue_ids":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/analystprep.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3904","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/analystprep.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/analystprep.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analystprep.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analystprep.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3904"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/analystprep.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3904\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":10974,"href":"https:\/\/analystprep.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3904\/revisions\/10974"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analystprep.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5734"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/analystprep.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3904"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analystprep.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3904"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analystprep.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3904"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}