₦airaland Forum

holllandis:
God punish devil

Useless Mikel wants to spoil the little progress we had without him

What is his own?

Seriously, we don't need him at this time. He doesn't have that fire and push to win. He appears very slow and doesn't seem to be under pressure to win. I wasn't surprised that Bonfree Joe, our former coach said the same thing a few days ago in an interview he granted either TVC or Channels TV (not sure of the TV station). I have this fear if he plays, we may end up losing that match. I was happy when I read in the news that he may not play till the end of the tournament. We need players that have a sense of urgency and fire on the inside to win and are ready to go all out to give us the victory we need at this critical moment.

I see what you mean. I think GARP awards the Energy Risk Professional (GRP) designation but that is not our area of focus now. We believe as that certification gains popularity, holders should be able to start a tutorial. The best you can do currently is to go on self study which is the common thing. There are no useful information on Schweser and Bionic Turtle websites as regards the ERP, so you might need to do self study.

735 i: Naa... i meant Energy Risk management man!
I know all about the FRM and PRM...it's Energy Risk that i had in mind.....

Enterprise Risk Management (ERM) is not really a separate field in risk management. It is simply an approach to risk management where we look at the risk facing a firm from the top down (you can call it a top-down approach) as against a bottom-up approach that considers the various categories of risks such as market, credit, operational risks, etc in silos. ERM is akin to risk from a portfolio or enterprise perspective (the totality of risks a firm is facing) where we consider the correlations and cross correlations between the various risk categories. Both approaches have their strengths and limitations and are covered in the two most popular risk certifications (FRM and PRM), so you do not need any form of special training in ERM. What you need is a risk management training.

735 i: Brilliant idea.. i have friends in Lagos that will definitely be interested. Will you be offering classes in ERM too? That seems to be the next big thing....How can you be contacted?

madambini said exactly what you need to do.

madambini: It is best you buy the PRMIA handbook for all the Exams. the handbook is self explanatory and is co-authored by risk professionals and academics.
You can also buy riskprep's access to its question Bank for exam 1 or kesdee's question bank..

All the best.

Hello FRM Candidates,

I want to have an idea about the number of candidates preparing for the FRM Exam as I am planning to start an FRM tutorial center here in Lagos. If the number is reasonable, I will approach some other high profile individuals and prospective tutors who are also certified FRMs and some of whom are also CFA charter holders so we can commence an FRM tutorial center in Lagos. Lectures may not commence before the next 2013 November exam considering the logistics that need to be put in place but we can provide mentoring for those who may need that for the November exam.

Regards.

Hello FRM Candidates,

I want to have an idea about the number of candidates preparing for the FRM Exam as I am planning to start an FRM tutorial center here in Lagos. If the number is reasonable, I will approach some other high profile individuals and prospective tutors who are also certified FRMs and some of whom are also CFA charter holders so we can commence an FRM tutorial center in Lagos. Lectures may not commence before the next 2013 November exam considering the logistics that need to be put in place but we can provide mentoring for those who may need that for the November exam.

Regards.

Hello FRM Candidates,

I want to have an idea about the number of candidates preparing for the FRM Exam as I am planning to start an FRM tutorial center here in Lagos. If the number is reasonable, I will approach some other high profile individuals and prospective tutors who are also certified FRMs and some of whom are also CFA charter holders so we can commence an FRM tutorial center in Lagos. Lectures may not commence before the next 2013 November exam considering the logistics that need to be put in place but we can provide mentoring for those who may need that for the November exam.

Regards.

jtgpt: RixExpat! (Risk Expert) Please say something sir/ma. I think you are a staff in HB!

What informed you of that opinion that I'm a staff of HB? Do you know what part of the world I'm based in?

scobaba: Fellow Nairalanders...greetings!

I hold a first degree in Accounting and also a chartered Accountant.

I wish to write the CFA exams but just wondering why i should.

I currently work as a Budget Analyst in an Oil exploration Company.

This is my first job as an Accountant as i wasted 5yrs in the Banking sector doing branch operations which almost killed my Accounting career.

While undergoing training in this new job i discovered that topics like financial reporting,financial planning/forecast and corporate finance are key issues here.

I want to give this new job my best, hence my desire to write the CFA exams.

For the experienced ones among us, kindly advise me on way forward.

your speedy response will be appreciated.

God's grace to all those who wrote L1,2 N 3 yesterday

Quite frankly, you do not need the CFA charter to do well on your job as a budget analyst. The CFA charter will be too grueling (especially if you do not have a finance/maybe a decent quantitative background) for you to put in an average of 4 years that may not be very relevant to your job. If you are not into investment management or asset management, I bet you, after you will have acquired the charter, you will have realized that you spent a lot of energy on a qualification that may not really enhance your career as an accountant. I will suggest that you simply enrol in a top M.Sc program in Finance in Nigeria if you really need to improve on your corporate finance skills and you are sure of graduating in 1 year or at most 2 years if you wish to take it slowly and you are guaranteed of graduation. The CFA charter will be extremely useful if you are into investment management, investment research, asset management and the likes. It might be relevant in an oil company if you are involved in managing, say pension funds, but most likely your company will outsource pension fund management to an investment/asset manager. Alternatively, you can go for the charter as there are people who sit for the CFA exams as a mark of personal achievement even though they may not be involved in managing any form of investment.

madambini: If its for PRM you need TI-30XS Multimedia view calculator, don't bother. You get to use an electronic calculator embedded in the computer for the exams.
ALl the best in your exams.

That is very true. Just go and learn how to use the calculator on Microsoft but you need to select the scientific calculator option.

kushkush: I need major help. I just a job as. market risk officer and I really do not know much of market risk

You can buy any of these books from amazon.com:

1) http://www.amazon.com/Measuring-Market-Risk-Kevin-Dowd/dp/0470013036

2) http://www.amazon.com/Value-Risk-Benchmark-Managing-Financial/dp/0071464956/ref=pd_bxgy_b_img_y

3) http://www.amazon.com/Management-Financial-Institutions-Wiley-Finance/dp/1118269039/ref=pd_sim_b_2

They are some of the industry's best books on market risk management and most leading risk certifications reference these materials but you require some advanced knowledge of statistics, math, finance,and maybe macro economics to have a full grasp. Much of the materials are graduate level (masters level) based curriculum. In the long term, if you really want to become a professional risk manager, you should consider to enrol in either the Financial Risk Manager - FRM certification (by GARP) or the Professional Risk Manager - PRM certification (by PRMIA) or even both. You have a lot to learn from these certifications and moreover, you will have rare opportunities to network with a global elite of risk professionals around the world and you will have access to tons of best training in risk management (mostly via the web) as well as other forums and ongoing professional education to learn from the industry leaders in risk and finance generally.

Congrats for such a role.

yamakuza: ^ lets do the question & answer here na?

I still believe there are little to no opportunities for risk mgt professionals in Nigeria, especially at the entry level.

Apart from financial institutions and oil companies, i doubt that there are [so many] other sectors in which they'd be in high demand.

Am i right or am i correct?

Why will you say that there is little or no opportunities for risk professionals in Nigeria? Is Nigeria not part of the global financial system being swept by the recent global regulatory overhaul brought on by Basel II and Basel III? Risk management is still at its rudimentary level in Nigeria. Part of it is because the Nigerian financial system is not deep ; mostly plain vanilla products like equities and fixed income (no active markets for derivatives and structured products) and the CBN is yet to talk tough on Basel II (maybe they lack sufficient staff members with the technical skills required to enforce Basel compliance). Virtually, almost all parts of the world have implemented Basel II long before even 2011 except few countries mostly found in Africa which is not unusual as we are always the last part of the world to catch up in most things. That said, I think as the risk profession grows, the potentials are enormous. Risk is the language of well run organizations now. Risk management is no longer the traditional 'avoiding unwanted risks' but modern risk management which is part of organizational strategy is about taking intelligent and well informed risks to achieve organizational objectives. In future, risk professionals in Nigeria will command the respect accorded their counterparts in other parts of the world who now have a voice in how organizations are being run. In fact, in some organizations with revolutionary thinking, risk management is not a separate unit but integrated in the investment management decisions. If there is anytime to get into the risk profession, I think it is now.

opendo21: I know for a certainty that the Chartered Enterprise Risk Analyst (CERA) program offered by the Society of Actuaries (U.S) and the Institute and Faculty of Actuaries (U.K) is the most robust Risk Management Program available. Since actuaries are natural risk-managers, they are well positioned to understand risk mgt and how to mitigate it, Most of the examples given by the OP relates to the insurance industry where 60% of actuaries work but over the past few years we have been able to expand into other specialities like Pensions,Consulting, Health and investment Banking. Although the road to becoming a qualified actuary is a long and arduous one- a major factor contributing to the dearth of actuaries worldwide. But if you can put in the effort, the pay is very rewarding. For more info, you can visit www.ceranalyst.org/non-soa-exam-process.asp

What is your metric in reaching this conclusion? I do not disagree that actuaries manage insurance and pension risks, but it will interest you to know that in the financial services globally, there are two most respected risk certifications:

1) The Financial Risk Manager (FRM) certification awarded by the Global Association of Risk Professionals (GARP)
2) The Professional Risk Manager (PRM) awarded by the Professional Risk Managers' Int'l Association (PRMIA).

You can confirm this information by just a simple google of the most respected risk certifications or just google financial risk management.

Financial Engineering in Naija? I'm not aware of any school offering it even at the masters level. Like tanimola22 rightly pointed out, I'm also a bit wondering how Financial Engineering (FE) or quant finance is under economics. Ideally, you will find FE under Math or Finance dept. depending on the concentration. Some are very heavy on just pure mathematical modeling, others emphasize applications in finance and risk management. The former is usually under the math dept. and normally go by the name Financial Mathemtics, the latter is more commonly referred to as Financial Engineering. FE (being multi disciplinary) whether housed in the math or finance dept. draws heavy from math, finance and programming. The Nigerian capital market and the financial system in general is still offering plain vanilla products (no derivatives) so one will not expect anybody to have a solid exposure in a graduate program in FE, much more research in quant finance. I will suggest you don't waste your time and resources for any FE program in Nigeria (if any at all).

You may take a look at the following list if you really want a serious training in FE or quant finance. They are mostly FE programs at the masters level but some of those schools offer concentration in FE or quant finance at the PhD leve (most FE concentrations are usually under Math or Finance PhD).

http://www.global-derivatives.com/index.php/news-topmenu-19

https://iafe.org/html/resources_acad.php

https://www.quantnet.com/mfe-programs-rankings/

Adesiji77: Sorry for the delayed response. You are right, hierarchy is from branch---region---zonal--Dist.Head--ED but there are many dotted line relationships along the way. You will get to know more when you join us eventually

Is your bank also recruiting for specialist roles in risk management, investment research, etc for experienced candidates? If yes, are you still accepting resumes?

bukkytroni: There is NO FRM lecture centre in Nigeria.

However, I am already preparing for the same exam. If you will like to join the study group, buzz me on 275D5D6A

It's sad that there are no centres in Lagos for such an exam in this era of risk management awareness. Nevertheless, most people (including myself) passed the exams purely on self study but it all depends on your academic and professional background. If you've got a strong quantitative background, you should be able to pull through relatively without much difficulty. If you can afford it, you may consider to buy some online products from www.bionicturtle.com which currently according to most candidates has the best practice questions which one cannot overlook. Alternatively, you can resort to Kaplan Scwheser study materials which are quite good but whose practice questions are not as challenging as Bionic Turtle's.

firstonajobi: Can someone help with details of where I could get GARP reading materials (book) in Lagos? I will appreaciate this greatly.

Make sure you are using the most updated materials as GARP updates the reading materials every year. Alternatively, you can buy from GARP website:

http://www.garp.org/frm/study-center/study-materials.aspx

Or you may consider to use a third party provider like Scweser. Personally, I used both in addition to Bionic turtle which is renown for very excellent practice exams.

This is the most credible ranking of world's universities for now. Is your school among the top 200? If yes, then we can comfortably say it is a world class university, otherwise...


http://www.topuniversities.com/university-rankings/world-university-rankings/2012

African universities have a poor showing as expected...

This is the most credible ranking of world's universities for now. Is your school among the top 200? If yes, then we can comfortably say it is a world class university, otherwise...


http://www.topuniversities.com/university-rankings/world-university-rankings/2012

African universities have a poor showing as expected...

mairamjo :
pls does any1 ve any idea on d format for the aptitude test! Just received a mail inviting me for the test which is schedule 2 take place on the 25th of this month in abuja! Any information ll be helpful!

Are you talking about the list of jobs by the FSS Directorate posted by yebuju? If I may ask, which of the positions did you apply for as I am wondering the place of aptitude tests for middle management jobs in CBN. Is it an entry level position that you applied for or the list of mid level management jobs posted in the first post above?

yomz1e: Any1 heard anything from the recruiters, I have done the aptitude test

Are you talking about the list of jobs by the FSS Directorate posted by yebuju? If I may ask, which of the jobs did you apply for as I am wondering the place of aptitude tests for middle management jobs in CBN.

violent: Barclays is not alone! UBS, Bank of America, RBS...most, if not all of them are involved with the fiddling of borrowing rates to make their financials appear stronger.

Economic/Financial Armageddon is here to stay!...it's the nuclear one i'm much wary about.

This is one of the greatest challenges facing regulators nowadays, and though a strict regulatory environment is great, but it will still not solve the issue as smart market participants can always engage in regulatory arbitrage (which is legal). Charity, they say begins at home. There is no amount of regulation that can combat such unethical practices or even pre-empt the motives of unscrupulous market participants. We've got to imbibe sound ethics in our individual roles, which is where the CFA Institute stands out. Ethics is at the core of the whole program. Certainly, there have been unethical violations by CFA charter holders and candidates, but of course the violators know the penalties attendant to such and CFA Institute has always wielded the big stick. A sense of strong ethics as well as professionalism (which to some sounds albeit like a discordant tone) is what the the financial market needs at this time.

violent: LOOL

I always enjoy watching people defend what they believe in!.....I think the CFA is a brilliant designation but i feel a Phd is more challenging. I'm not studying for a Phd yet, but o boy, i dey always bow for those guys who are into some quantitative Phd.

One girl was hired in my office recently with a Phd in Algebra ...she did her thesis on near rings and all kinds of weird stuff. I tell you, this girl can manipulate a 10 by 10 matrix in her head ...i dey always bow each time i pass hin desk!

here's the rank on my list.

1) Phd
2) Ivy League MBA
3) CFA

since number 1 is a bit too ambitious for my IQ, i'd be gunning for 2. A friend of mine thinks 3 is a nice extracurricular activity!

CFA an extra curricular activity? Your friend must be kidding! The odds are that he took the CFA exams and 'banged' (which is normal) repeatedly and eventually gave up hope of passing the grueling exams. Most people who cast aspersions on the CFA program are more likely to have tried but failed to go thru the grueling exams. Even employers and senior executives of financial firms recognize the worth of the designation.

oyakhilomhe: why of the publication is this text invitation for is it for the banking supervision thing that ended on may 27

I wouldn't believe the invitation for aptitude test is for the banking supervision jobs as those jobs are middle level management. I would not expect CBN to administer aptitude test to middle level managers as part of recruitment or am I wrong?

Hedge Funds fail, it is the risk you bear for the returns you get!...But history has shown that 86% of fund mangers who pick their stocks based on fundamentals always fail to beat the market anyway. Despite this people employing dozens of accountants and CFAs to sniff through financial statements! This probably further highlights why wall street Giants like Goldman Sachs fail to commit so much resource to fundamental stock picking like they do on their Quant stuff...and people wonder why they just don't seem to ever get broke.[/quote]Every investment bank and asset manager has its own investment principle and strategies for managing investments. The fact is that most wall street banks make their windfalls from proprietary trading but I want to believe that they all explore available tactics - quant strategies, fundamental analysis, tax-aware strategies etc depending on what works for them and the capability of the personnels involved. There are a myriad of investment tactics and strategies to make money and wall street banks explore them that is why Goldman and others are among the top 10 highest employers of CFA charter holders/candidates (it is wrong to say CFAs) http://www.cfainstitute.org/about/pages/facts_and_statistics.aspx
because they know the value of the designation. To be frank, I will say that the CFA program covers more complex option and investment strategies than any graduate program in quant finance and it is easier to understand these complex option strategies in the CFA program than in a typical quant finance graduate program. Of course the CFA program does not cover the implementation of these strategies in a programming environment which is outside its scope.

RixExpat: Candylips, I agree with you as regards the nature of models and your thoughts regarding the comments made by Violent. Violent, I tend to think that you are trying to spur further arguments which for the purpose of this forum is healthy. The problem with most formal trainings in quant finance/financial engineering (which I also went thru) is the thinking that models are a perfect representation of a rather unpredictable market driven by irrational behavioral biases of participants. This myopic view of and absolute faith and trust in the "omnipotence" of models is one of the major causes of the financial crisis which the global economy has yet to recover till this day. One of the greatest quants of our time whom I respect so much is Paul Wilmott. Incidentally, he is the first to tell any modeler that models are at best an approximation of reality and can go wrong even when the assumptions may seem robust. I do not expect any serious finance professionals (including quants) of today to follow the way that almost brought the end of the global market. The crisis has taught all of us valuable lessons that should remain with us as long as the memory of the crisis lingers in our minds. To critics of fundamental analysis, I should point out that it is not just picking up annual reports and calculating ratios from information that were smartly manipulated by accountants and fitted to management objectives. Somebody mentioned off balanced sheet events which include contingent liabilities and events happening after the balance date; these information are incorporated in fundamental analysis. What then is fundamental analysis? In summary, fundamental analysis is all about determining the intrinsic value of an investment which is not an exact science but subject to the analyst judgments and conclusions after a thorough and exhaustive analysis which goes beyond a company's annual report to even trying to unravel accountants' intentional and unintentional misstatement of reports. Fundamental analysis is a whole gamut that is way beyond financial analysis and ratios. It even involves corporate governance and risk management. So there is no guarantee that the analyst using fundamental analysis is right because like all models, it is an approximation of reality that can go wrong.

Like Candylips pointed out, every would-be quant and serious finance professional should read "When genius failed:The rise and fall of Long Term Capital Management - LTCM". Each time I pick up that book (at least I have read it twice),I am moved emotionally at how the bests of the bests the market has produced could have fallen prey to the market. But, why not, the market can remain irrationally longer than any single or group of individuals. In essence "the market is always correct" whereas individuals can fall prey to its unpredictability.

candylips: There are always 2 sides to the coin



There two types of geeks. maths geeks and computer geeks

computer geeks do the algo stuff. but maths geeks are more concerned about mathematics

There are very rare species of humans that have the ability to combine maths n computer geekiness

Most times you are very brilliant in one and suck or average in d other.



i agree with u on this one.

balance sheet analysis has now become so complex with a lot of stuff hidden off balance sheet that it is almost pointless justifying a decision solely on fundamental analysis

This is were our God given instint [/b]comes in .

My former boss has this famous quote. [b]All models are wrong



Even Noble Price winners Merton and Scholes who where board members of LTCM coulndt prevent the hedge fund from sensational collapse.

For those reading who don't know about the hedge fund called LTCM

Read about it here http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Long-Term_Capital_Management

or this book

When Genius Failed: The Rise and Fall of Long Term Capital Management

http://www.amazon.co.uk/When-Genius-Failed-Capital-Management/dp/1841155047/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1329388160&sr=1-1

Candylips, I agree with you as regards the nature of models and your thoughts regarding comments made by Violent. Violent, I tend to think that you are trying to spur further arguments which for the purpose of this forum is healthy. The problem with most formal trainings in quant finance/financial engineering (which I also went thru) is the thinking that models are a perfect representation of a rather unpredictable market driven by irrational behavioral biases of participants. This myopic view of and absolute faith and trust in the "omnipotence" of models is one of the major causes of the financial crisis which the global economy has yet to recover till this day. One of the greatest quant of our time whom I respect so much is Paul Wilmott. Incidentally, he is the first to tell any modeler that models are at best an approximation of reality and can go wrong even when the assumptions may seem robust. I do not expect any serious finance professionals (including quants) of today to follow the way that almost brought the end of the global market. The crisis has taught all of us valuable lessons that should remain with us as long as the memory of the crisis lingers in our minds. To critics of fundamental analysis, I should point out that it is not just picking up annual reports and calculating ratios from information that were smartly manipulated by accountants and fitted to management objectives. Somebody mentioned off balanced sheet events which include contingent liabilities and events happening after the balance date; these information are incorporated in fundamental analysis. What then is fundamental analysis? In summary, fundamental analysis is all about determining the intrinsic value of an investment which is not an exact science but subject to the analyst judgments and conclusions after a thorough and exhaustive analysis which goes beyond a company's annual report to even trying to unravel accountants' intentional and unintentional misstatement of reports. Fundamental analysis is a whole gamut that is way beyond financial analysis and ratios. It even involves corporate governance and risk management. So there is no guarantee that the analyst using fundamental analysis is right because like all models, it is an approximation of reality that can go wrong.

What I want to point out Candylips is this: what you see happening in the world of quant finance is professionalism being given its proper place. Prior to the financial crisis, there was not much difference between gambling and what the so called quants were doing. Not surprising because most of them had no formal training/professional training in finance let alone risk management, most picked the little finance knowledge on the job and majority were physicists and mathematicians (even till now) who had complete trust in mathematical models as if market behaviors can be adequately modeled as obtainable in the physical sciences but we all know that market microstructure and it's workings are very dynamic (can anybody perfectly predict himself?) Financial Engineering to some extent is an attempt to marry mathematical science and finance together. In essence, risk management which was relegated to the background prior to the financial crisis questions the assumptions and robustness of quant models. What is going on now is what I called professionalism of quant finance: stress testing and questioning the assumptions of quant models which is the ideal thing to do but were rarely carried out because of greed and the human nature to maximize profits at any costs not minding the consequence and disregarding risks inherent in such strategies. So Quant FInance is not dying, it is only undergoing professionalism and rebirth.

Quant Finance is not all about credit derivatives, stochastic calculus, interest rate derivatives and the likes. Quant Finance takes a rather more mathematical perspective to Finance. It gives one an edge in a variety of areas in finance be it equity research, fixed income, private equity, hedge funds and whatever you can imagine that involves taking a more quantitative approach. I beg to disagree that it is a dying field. Quant Finance is seriously employed in risk management of any kind of instrument. Credit derivatives may have slowed down as a result of its abuse leading to the financial crisis especially by those who lack a comprehensive knowledge of the risks embedded in those complex structures. If you have a passion for quant finance (Financial Engineering), please go for it as quant finance has a variety of applications in finance including equity research, fixed income, private equity, hedge funds, etc. Risk Management (which is a part of quant finance) has become the in-thing and an emerging field that has come to stay. My advice is to pursue a masters in Financial Engineering and also enrol in the CFA program to improve your investment management skills, you will also need the FRM/PRM to enhance your risk management skills as risk management is the field to be at the moment if you have a quant background and are interested in risk management.

I think a quantitative background like Physics is a plus for the CFA Program. Though the CFA exams are not about quant and finance, but can be as quantitative as they are qualitative in nature but your training in physics will help. On a second note, to maximize your potential, why not go for a graduate program (M.Sc)in Financial Engineering that employs extensively advanced math, finance and computer science and then cap it with a CFA designation, and if you like studying like me (haha!), complete it with a risk management designation like FRM or PRM. You should then be a mine of incredible substances and most valuable to any bank or financial institution. I will say what makes the CFA exam a bit daunting is not the level of difficulty (as it is not near what I went thru in an M.Sc in Financial Engineering), but the cheer volume/tons of materials thrown at you at one time to master and expected to pass with close to 70%. Undoubtedly, a science (with significant math content) background is a better foundation for a career in finance. In fact, the fields of quantitative finance and risk management are populated with Physics and Math PhDs.

You can just check their websites:

GARP - http://www.garp.org/frm/frm-program.aspx

PRMIA - http://www.prmia.org/

for registration details. Normally, you will need a credit card to register though you can write to them if you don't have a credit card, you can also pay by wire transfer but with additional charges.

As regards preparation for the exams, I will recommend "Risk Prep" - http://www.riskprep.com/ for PRM as I found them very useful and cost effective as well (I have the PRM already). From my detailed research, for FRM,I will recommend "Bionic Turtle" - http://www.bionicturtle.com/ (I will be writing the FRM in November as I am currently preparing for the CFA exams in June. Globally, these are the two most respected exams in Risk Management and Nigeria should not be an exception as finance and banking in Nigeria is well advanced and I have seen a couple of jobs requiring these certifications in Nigeria(though the CFA is more popular everywhere for those in investment management/research). Lastly, you've got to have a good/strong quantitative background, else you will find the FRM/PRM exams a bit distressing. Wish you all the best.

Risk Management tools and practices are applicable to all areas of finance and banking (be it non-bank (insurance) or commercial banking, investment management/banking) and even in energy which is an emerging area in risk management. Risk management in insurance is not that different from other areas in finance. As a matter of fact, insurance firms are involved in selling all forms of insurance/hedging products which actually requires an advanced knowledge of pricing and risk management of options/derivatives. In my opinion, risk management in insurance is as demanding if not more demanding. If you have a passion for a career in risk management and you want that career strong enough, that energy should be able to push you to pay any price required to achieve your dream. You need not be a rocket scientist or mathematical genius to be an effective risk manager. Risk management is not all about math (even though you require to be at least good in it), but much more to be an effective risk manager, you need to develop sound judgement, good imagination and a good business sense. Success is not cheap, but if you are ready to pay the price, you can be anything you want if you have a great dose of passion. Nothing is impossible to the man who knows where he is going. You need to understand the insurance business in and out, then go for the FRM or the PRM to complement your knowledge base if you want to be a global professional. There are no short cuts.