Hey all!

I'm interested in what my fellow excel-enjoyers typically use or recommend for their keyboard and mouse combination.

I've been using a basic 100% mechanical keyboard alongside a G602 for a while now and though they've worked well, my 602 has started doubleclicking (classic logitech). I've been interested in swapping to a split ergo keyboard since I've been experiencing some *very light* hand strain that I'd like to get a handle on before it becomes a WC claim, but I'm open if you have a keyboard you're exceptionally enamored with.

So what keyboards and/or mice do yall enjoy?

I've failed Exam 5 twice now, with a 5 each time. I mainly used TIA for the first sitting and the Source for my second sitting.

I felt confident for my second sitting but I was going over the same practice problems from TIA, so I guess I was just memorising those specific problems.

I was considering using Mahler or BattleActs so I would have some new problems. Which one would people suggest using, or should I consider a different study manual?

how do y’all do this module in 1-2 weeks or so??? idk if i’m just overthinking it or what but i’ve been working on it for months…. what am i missing. there’s so much content

How soon after the APC course do you receive your ASA credential? What is on the ASA application?

I'm working on different projects. How do you effectively manage multiple projects? Sometimes I start working on one project, switch to another, and forget about the first one until it's too late.

Registration for the February 2025 CAS Course on Professionalism will open THIS WEDNESDAY December 4th for candidates that are very close to ACAS, and Friday December 6th for all other eligible candidates. The COP will be offered in Austin, TX on February 10-11, 2025. We have 75 seats available and expect the course to sell out quickly.

The CAS is hoping to offer a 2nd course in February, we should have details on that course soon. We are also working on plans to offer several courses over the summer to meet the expected demand before the PCPA becomes a requirement for ACAS in November 2025.

https://www.casact.org/exams-admissions/exams/acas-exams/course-professionalism

Hi! Anyone have experience doing the FSA modules? I’ve done ERM already but looking for feedback on the best/ easiest modules to do!

Thank you!

Registration opens Wednesday, Dec 4th, at 12pm ET for qualified candidates.

Registration fees will be refunded for cancellations received by December 1, 2024, less a $200 processing fee.

So if I submitted the October 1 to January 31 assignment now, I still have to wait until mid March next year to get the mark?

Does anyone else have a mental countdown of the days left until the supposed release date? Are we 100% sure that the results are dropping next Tuesday? How is everyone feeling compared to on test day?

I am looking to include some model summaries in my ATPA final report and I see that there is a note at the bottom of the assignment about specific formatting for tables. Does anyone have any suggestions on how to export model summary info to an acceptable SOA format without having their paper disqualified?

I am waiting for my ILA-LPM grade release which I took this November. I feel like I am on the edge of passing or getting a 5. Meanwhile, I want to start learning either LFMU or LAM. Is it possible to retake LPM if I fail and also take a new exam next May as well? If so, what will be the strategy for learning for the failed exam?

I just purchased it for SRM because it is very cheap compared to CA. Getting used to their UI which is more confusing then CA but I like the way the courses are structured. But I am wondering if this on its own is enough to prepare for the exam?

Thanks in advance!

I know the SOA doesn’t release the pass rates for ATPA, but just curious to hear what people would guess it is. I don’t know anyone who has taken it before, and I’m the only one at my company who has to take this freaking thing. Really hoping for a high pass rate so I hopefully don’t have to take again.

Is anyone planning on starting the final assessment this weekend? I started mine today and am curious if anyone else is taking it during this time period and wanted to start a Discord chat or already has one going?

Hi,

I’m preparing for the April 2025 sitting of the ALTAM exam using the first edition, third printing of the ACTEX ALTAM study manual. I’ve been working through problems in the book, and they frequently reference the SOA Illustrative Life Table with a 6% interest rate. However, I know that for the current exam, we are expected to use tables with a 5% interest rate.

Here’s my issue: I’m trying to figure out the differences between the illustrative life tables provided in older exams (like the 2008–2013 versions) and the ones being used for the current sitting. I’ve been searching for the exact tables on SOA’sMortality Table page, but I can’t figure out which table name or type corresponds to the ones we use on exams. The tables on the site seem much more complex, and the ones provided on the exams feel almost overly simplified.

I’ve tried mimicking the current life table in Python by converting the SOA-provided Excel formulas to Python functions. For example, I used parameters like these:

codeActuarialParams(
    i=0.05,  # Interest rate
    m=12,    # Payment frequency
    sel=0.9, 
    A=0.00022, 
    B=0.0000027, 
    c=1.124
)

The output of my Python script ties exactly to the Excel table provided by SOA for the upcoming sitting, but I’m still confused about the history and purpose of the tables we reference.

For reference, the 6% table in my book uses Makeham's mortality law for ages 13 and above, with the force of mortality formula:

1000⋅μ(x)=0.7+0.05⋅100.04⋅x

Does anyone know:

1. What the exact name or type of the tables used on ALTAM/FAM exams is?
2. Why the tables differ in interest rates (6% in older exams vs. 5% now)?
3. Where I can find these specific tables on the SOA website or elsewhere?

Any help or clarification would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks!

Are you completely new to the actuarial world? No idea why everyone keeps talking about studying? Wondering why multiple-choice questions are so hard? Ask here. There are no stupid questions in this thread! Note that you may be able to get an answer quickly through the wiki: https://www.reddit.com/r/actuary/wiki/index This is an automatic post. It will stay up for two weeks until the next one is posted. Please check back here frequently, and consider sorting by "new"!

Had a weird dream last night where I saw my exam results early. I had passed and was in borderline tears. Woke up and I was sad because it was just a dream. I had also shit myself. Anyone know what this means? Also, asking for a friend.

I became ASA this year April, and was not touching the materials for FSA until now.

With the changes coming , I would like to knock off the modules so I can waive 1 exams.

Since I heard the modules aren’t that bad, I am thinking of doing 1 per month. But then it leaves me to an inevitable time gap before SOA implements the new exams.

What do you guys recommend me to do? Wait till next fall or just finish the modules and do 6h fsa exam?

Can anyone please advise the formatting of the multiple choice questions on this exam?

I just want to know if it is multi-select or literally standard, one answer choice is correct per question?

(Please remove if violating any rule)

Thank you!

To all the people who have passed ATPA, does anyone know the rules of presenting in report?

1. Are we allowed to paste charts, graphs, summary()?
2. if yes, how do you extract from R or python?

In the past year sample solution, some are screenshots, some are tables, I thought screenshot are not allowed?
Please kindly advise. Thank you so much.
*I have passed other modules, I know the "auto-fit to window" for tables from excel, but not sure how for the R or python.

I have been looking into the {ChainLadder} R package and learning how to use it. I have a particular dataset where in the first development period there are some origin periods that have 0 claims say:

Triangle

Passing this through this through the chainladder() function results in the error: Error in \lm.wfit()\:! NA/NaN/Inf in 'x'. I have looked into why this might be the case and found that to get the volume weighted factors, this package takes advantage of the lm()` function in base R. A linear regression is performed where y = next development period and x = current development period, with amounts given weights according to their size. For example, taking the first development period as x, this is what the function would look like:

Linear Regression

The issue comes in at the point of weights, infinite values are being generated for the values with zero (i.e. 1/0). I have tried replacing these infinite values with zero, NA and 1 but the function does not give the expected volume weighted factor as the output (the origin periods with zero claims are not being assigned the correct weights).

Anyone experienced this before and is there any work around to it? I have a few work arounds regarding how to get the squared triangle and volume weighted factors for the basic chainladder method but I am locked out of the useful functions from the {ChainLadder} package such as MackChainLadder(), BootChainLadder() etc given that they depend on the chainladder() function.

Any help would be highly appreciated. Thank you!

CAS released the Spring 2025 exam schedule this week and it seems pretty early to me. I dug through exam dates/windows for the past 10 years and I can confirm that April 21 is the earliest Spring sitting date by 8 days! The study period, which I define as days between final sitting dates, is the 3rd shortest in at least 10 years. The only other 2 shorter study periods are Fall 2024 (aftermath of the Spring 2024 debacle) and Spring 2021 (late and wide Fall 2020 window).

Personally, I find it ridiculous that CAS is administering the upper level exams so much earlier than usual. Fall 2024 was already a short window for most, especially because grading itself was significantly delayed. This is just unnecessarily cruel from CAS.

* Fall 2020 timeline was significantly impacted by COVID, as the Spring 2020 exam window was ultimately cancelled. Exams 7 & 9 were also administered offseason in the Fall 2020 window.

** Prior to CBT each exam was only administered on a single exam date. The window reflected here are the earliest and latest exam dates for exams 5-9.

*** Spring 2018 does not include the dates for Exam 5 or the Exam 5 makeup exam.

I work as an associate in actuarial retirement consulting for a mid size firm. I always meet my billable hours goal but never exceed it by much. I believe I have a full client book of business and generally receive good feedback from colleagues on my work. My employer recently told me that this is the bare minimum and that I should work more hours. They hinted that I would be compensated with a larger bonus but I am skeptical that it would make up for the extra hours. What are people's thoughts on this type of situation and how to approach it?

Currently I have ALTAM exam and FA left for ASA. But I am thinking if I can complete all 3 FSA modules by the end of 2025. Do you think it is possible to finish ALTAM + FA + 3 FSA modules within a year? How much time 3 FSA modules can take? I have 9 to 6 work.

One thing I have learned about alleviating the painful sting of failing an exam is to IMMEDIATELY register for the next sitting. Because you can then treat that failed exam as just another practice test (one of many you’ve taken), with the added advantage of being thrown back into that pre-exam stage we all love so much. It’s like time travel at the cost of an exam registration fee lol.

I’ll be taking ATPA next week and am not sure what to expect. It seems like most people pass, but can’t definitively say why they passed.

I hear you truly need to block out 4 days and commit 40+ hours to it. But even then, people don’t submit and feel “confident” in a pass.

I’m wondering if anyone who failed is willing to share their experience.

Do you think you failed due to lack of preparation, lack of time committed during the 4 days, or something else?

Did you feel confident that you failed when submitting the assignment?

Any information is appreciated. This seems like such a black box exam that we don’t know much about. Thank you and happy Thanksgiving.

Can anyone tell me what the capital charge would be on holding Microstrategy (MSTR) convertable bonds?

Hi everyone. A non-actuary here, so forgive me if the below is obvious...

I was wondering if anyone working in a reg capital position can assist me. How does one calculate the SII capital charge for real estate assests under SII?

Additionally, does anyone have any insight as to how many insurers make use of the matching adjustment allowed under under reg 42 of SII 2015? I'm curious to know how exactly this is practically implemented.

Thank you

Plan to get my fellowship (hopefully) next yr, but might be able to attend annual meeting next yr end. However, still want to get recognized in person as this is a great honor for many yrs of hardship. Just wondering if they allow to delay recognition and how much longer is allowed?