The Professional Risk Manager Program

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Sponsored by the Professional Risk Managers' International Association, the PRM program is designed for risk professionals or those looking to enhance their knowledge base within risk management.

The examination is offered on a continuous basis from May onwards on each business day and the format is either a 6 hour multiple choice exam or 4 separate 1-2 hour examinations. The 4 exams are broken down into:

Topic Outline:

Session 1: Financial Theory, Financial Instruments & Markets (90 Minutes)
Session 2: Mathematical Foundations of Risk Measurement (2 hours)
Session 3: Risk Management Practices (90 Minutes)
Session 4: Case Studies, PRMIA Standards of Best Practice, Conduct & Ethics (1 hour)

Although more numerically focused than the FRM examination, the PRMIA and FRM are often compared as being the 2 definitive risk management designations in the industry.

The PRMIA was only established several years ago, a few years after the FRM designation took a foothold, but that has not stopped PRMIA from expanding strongly over the recent period, and we believe that the PRMIA and FRM will continue to expand parallel to each other.

Something to consider at the moment is that if you have taken the Acturial, CFA or the FRM examination, you are exempt from taking all the PRMIA examinations, and costs are substantially lower than undertaking the full program; as seen from the following

One Exam: US$125
Two Exams US$195
Three Exams: US$250
Full Program: US$295
FRM Cross-Over Exam: US$195
CFA Cross-Over Exam: US$195
Actuarial Fellow Cross-Over Exam: US$195

And exemptions for particular designations are as follows:

Complete Professional Risk Manager Exam: (6 hours, including one hour break)
FRM Cross-over Exam (Exams II and IV, 3 hours)
CFA Cross-over Exam (Exams III and IV, 2 1/2 hours)
Actuarial Fellow Cross-over Exam (Exams III and IV, 2 1/2 hours)

Global Derivatives Viewpoint

It is difficult to say whether the FRM or the PRMIA is a 'better' designation, but we would choose the route of taking the FRM examination first, and then the PRMIA examination afterwards to reinforce risk management knowledge. We feel that as the PRMIA is still relatively infant; over the next few years, the PRMIA will establish a strong foothold in the risk community and act as a provider of knowledge throughout risk management.

 

- Note: All data and factual information was taken from the PRMIA website and PRMIA does not endorse nor contribute to this webpage.