The SOA 3F/MFE exam is a 3 hour long exam with no breaks in between. It consist of 30 multiple choice questions. MFE test theoretical basis of financial models and the application of those models to insurance and other financial risks. It is a little advanced level course and therefore a thorough knowledge of calculus, probability and interest theory with knowledge of risk management is assumed. Therefore, it is ideal that the candidate should appear for Exams P and FM prior to writing MFE.
Registration:
There are two ways to write MFE:
1) Computer Based Testing (CBT)
Since May 2011, Exam 3F/MFE has been administered using computer-based testing (CBT). Under CBT, it is not possible to schedule everyone to take the examination at the same time. As a result, each administration consists of multiple versions of the examination given over a period of several days. The examinations are constructed and scored using Item Response Theory (IRT). Under IRT, each operational item that appears on an examination has been calibrated for difficulty and other test statistics and the pass mark for each examination is determined before the examination is given. All versions of the examination are constructed to be of comparable difficulty to one another.
2) Paper/Pencil
There is essentially no difference as far as difficulty is concerned between the two methods of appearing for exams. But the paper/pencil exam have a single date in a registration window, whereas, in CBT the candidate has a range of dates to choose from. Further details about the registrations can be found on the Society of Actuaries website.
Syllabus:
MFE was initially part of Exam 3 but now Exam 3 has been broken down into two parts MFE (Model for Financial Economics) and MLC (Model for Life Contingencies). The names explain the basic differences between the two. The syllabus for MFE for July 2014 is not a lot different from the first MFE exam syllabus. Only the frequency of different course material appearing in different exams has changed.
Important Dates:
A candidate can appear for MFE thrice in a given year. MFE exams are scheduled to take place in March, July and November, however, the registration deadlines for all the exams are usually two months before the date of exams.
Exam MFE, Models for Financial Economics Dates
|
March |
July |
November |
|
| CBT |
7-13 |
10-16 |
13-19 |
| CBT in Quebec City |
13-14 |
N/A |
N/A |
| Paper & Pencil (selected sites) |
7 |
10 |
13 |
| Registration Deadline |
Jan. 23 |
May 29 |
Oct.2 |
Calculators:
SOA is very precise about the calculators that can be used in the exam, so make sure you have the right one for your exams or you would not be allowed a calculator. Also bring with you a spare battery. A candidate can bring more than one of the approved calculators to the examination centre. The acceptable models are:
- Texas Instruments BA–35,
- Texas Instruments BA II Plus,
- Texas Instruments BA II Plus Professional Edition,
- Texas Instruments TI–30Xa
- Texas Instruments TI–30X II (IIS solar or IIB battery),
- Texas Instruments TI–30X MultiView (XS Solar or XB Battery)
Study Schedule:
It is essential that you start the preparation for your exams as early as possible. The standard time spend on preparation is 300 hours, but it may differ from person to person. For the mathematical questions, a candidate should try to solve as many questions as possible and even make “trial/mock” examination questions to gain a true understanding of the subject. It is also better to approach questions from more than one perspective as it provides a deeper understanding of the course.
Sample Questions:
It is expected that a candidate has familiarized himself with the method of questioning present in MFE examination and for this purpose SOA has provided a number of sample examination questions. In addition to that SOA has also provided some past examination questions and their solutions.
Grades:
The grades are released about six to eight weeks after the date of examinations and the released results are posted on the SOA website. CBT exam candidates will receive an unofficial pass/fail result at the conclusion of their exams. However, the official scores will be released along with paper/pencil exam. Bear in mind to still read the results very carefully at the conclusion of the exams. There has been very few instances of a different result so the unofficial pass/fail result is essentially the candidates result in most cases.
The Pass Mark:
SOA uses a 0-10 grading scale. The grading is as under:
|
Score |
Represents |
|
6 |
raw scores of at least 100 percent, but less than 110 percent of the pass mark |
|
5 |
raw scores of at least 90 percent but less than 100 percent of the pass mark |
|
0 |
raw scores that are less than 50 percent of the pass mark |
|
10 |
raw scores of at least 140 percent of the pass mark |
Study Guide:
The following free courses on FinanceTrainingCourse.com cover various topics outlined in Society of Actuaries Learning Outcomes for Exam MFE, the Financial Economics Segment of Exam M and the CAS 3F exam. They provide supplementary prep materials for some of the more difficult concepts covered in the course.
As part of your preparation for your final attempt you have been looking for anything that can provide the extra edge for your MFE / 3F attempt. While the material below was not prepared keeping the SOA curriculum in mind it takes a hands on excel based approach in illustrating the many concepts covered in the SOA MFE /CAS 3F exams. Our hope is that this extra bit will clear the final muddle about those elusive Stochastic calculus, Continuous Time Finance, Option Greeks & Delta hedging concepts that you had been struggling with.
The links below covers interest rate models (CIR and BDT), Binomial Trees, Black Scholes Model, Pricing Derivative securities, differentiating between N(d1) and N(d2), exotic product and options, interpreting Greeks, Delta Hedging, investment and portfolio management concepts and other related topics.
Please note that the material below does not include treatment for :
- Vasicek bond price model
- Ito’s Lemma
- Derivation of the Black Scholes equation
- Theoretical background around the many theorems that build the foundation for Black Scholes Analysis
SOA Exam 3F/MFE Exam Prep – Interest Rate models
SOA Exam 3F/MFE: Cox-Ingersoll-Ross interest rate model
We discuss the simplest of interest rate models, the Cox Ingersoll Ross interest rate simulator and review the model as well as the steps required in its calibration.
- Interest Rate Simulation & Forecasting: Using CIR (Cox Ingersoll Ross) Model: Introduction
- Interest Rate Simulation & Forecasting: Using CIR (Cox Ingersoll Ross) Model: Estimating Parameters & Calibrating the CIR Model
- Interest Rate Simulation & Forecasting: Using CIR (Cox Ingersoll Ross) Model: Simulating the term structure of interest rates
- Cox-Ingersoll-Ross (CIR) interest rate model – Parameter calibration, Short rates simulation and modeling of longer term interest rates – An example
SOA Exam 3F/MFE: Black-Derman-Toy interest rate model
A slightly different application is used to illustrate the construction and calibration of the one factor no arbitrage Black, Derman and Toy (BDT) model
- Interest Rate Simulation Models: Black, Derman and Toy (BDT): Building BDT in Excel: Introduction
- Interest Rate Simulation Models: Steps for building Black, Derman and Toy (BDT) model in Excel: Define Input Cells
- Interest Simulation Rate Models: Building Black, Derman and Toy (BDT) in Excel: Define Output Cells
- Interest Rate Simulation Models: Steps for building Black, Derman and Toy (BDT) model in Excel: Define Calculation Cells: Construct short rate binomial tree
- Interest Rate Simulation Models: Steps for building Black, Derman and Toy (BDT) model in Excel: Define Calculation Cells: Construct State Price Lattices
- Interest Rate Simulation Models: Steps for building Black, Derman and Toy (BDT) model in Excel: Define Calculation Cells: Calculate Prices from Lattice
- Interest Rate Simulation Models: Steps for building Black, Derman and Toy (BDT) model in Excel: Define Calculation Cells: Calculate Yields & Yield volatility from Lattice
- Interest Rate Simulation Models: Steps for building Black, Derman and Toy (BDT) model in Excel: Define & Set Solver Function & Results
- Interest Rate Simulation Models: Steps for building Black, Derman and Toy (BDT) model in Excel: How to utilize the results of a BDT interest rate model: Derivation of Short Rates
- Interest Rate Simulation Models: Steps for building Black, Derman and Toy (BDT) model in Excel: How to utilize the results of a BDT interest rate model: Pricing Bonds
- Interest Rate Simulation Models: Steps for building Black, Derman and Toy (BDT) model in Excel: How to utilize the results of a BDT interest rate model: Pricing Options
SOA Exam 3F/MFE Prep- Valuation of derivative securities
SOA Exam 3F/MFE: Derivative Products
The following courses provided a detailed introduction to Options and Derivatives/ Options pricing. This material includes discussions on the put call parity, Black-Scholes option pricing model, Greeks, Exotics, etc.
- Options Crash Course for dummies
- Options & Derivatives Products
- Advance Options & Derivatives Crash course
- Options Pricing reference
SOA Exam 3F/MFE: Calculate the value of European and American options using the binomial model
This course focuses on an alternative method of implementing a two-dimensional binomial tree compared to the traditional method of building a binomial tree in excel presented in most option pricing text books. The alternate approach is based on the techniques documented by Professor Mark Broadie at Columbia Business School as part of his coursework in Security Pricing and Computational Finance courses at Columbia University and allows us to extend a simple 3 step tree to a 50 – 100 step option pricing tree in a few minutes.
The course starts with pricing European calls and put options, followed by pricing American options and closes by reviewing option pricing for Knock out and Knock in (Sudden Death). We also review the special case of a down and in option.
- Options pricing – Using binomial trees to price options in a spreadsheet
- Options Pricing – Pricing Call Options – Option pricing spreadsheet – Binomial trees
- Options Pricing – Pricing American Options – Calls and Puts – Spreadsheet implementation – Binomial trees
- Options Pricing – Pricing Put Options – Option pricing spreadsheet – Binomial trees
- Options pricing–Exotics Options–Pricing a Capped Call–Excel implementation – Binomial trees
- Options pricing – Pricing Knockout exotic options – Sudden Death Options – Down and out call options
- Options Pricing – Binomial Trees – Pricing Sudden death Options – Down and in call options
- Option Pricing – Black Scholes – Probabilities Explained: Understanding N(d1) vs N(d2)
SOA Exam 3F/MFE: Interpret option Greeks & Delta Hedging
- Delta Hedging – Dynamic Hedging – Option Greeks Guide
- The understanding option Greeks reference resource for dummies
- Understanding Greeks – Introduction
- Understanding Greeks – Analyzing Delta & Gamma
- Understanding Greeks – The Guide to delta hedging using Monte Carlo Simulation
- Delta Hedging – Cash PnL Simulation – Excel Spreadsheet walkthrough
- Understanding Greeks – The Delta Hedging Simulation extended for Put Options
- Understanding Greeks – Quick Reference Guide to Delta, Gamma, Vega, Theta & Rho
Monte Carlo Simulation SOA Exam 3F/MFE: Simulate lognormal stock prices.
- Computational Finance: Monte-Carlo (MC) Simulation method– Building Equities, Commodities, Currencies and Interest Rate MC Simulators in Excel
- Computational Finance: Building your first Monte Carlo (MC) simulator model for simulated equity prices in Excel
- Extending MC simulation for currencies and commodities
- Computational Finance: Monte Carlo (MC) Simulation method: Understanding drift, diffusion and volatility drag
- Computational Finance: Linking Monte Carlo Simulation, Binomial Trees and Black Scholes Equation
SOA Exam 3F/MFE: Use variance reduction techniques to accelerate convergence
- Monte Carlo Simulation: Convergence and Variance reduction techniques for option pricing models
- Monte Carlo Simulation – Variance Reduction procedures: Antithetic Variable Technique & Quasi Random sequences
Risk Management Technique Exam 3F/MFE: Control risk using Delta-hedging
- Dynamic Delta Hedging for European Call Options
- Dynamic Delta Hedging – Extending the Monte Carlo simulation model to Put contracts
Other External Free Links
There are other free materials available online that might be of use to the candidate including the Rational Argumentator website.