Failed FRM (Financial Risk Manager)? Here's Your Recovery Plan

Pro tip: Contact the exam provider directly for their specific retake policy.

• Turning up with an unauthorised calculator.
  GARP authorises only the HP 12C family including the Platinum, 25th Anniversary, 30th Anniversary and Prestige editions, the TI BA II Plus and BA II Plus Professional, the HP 10B II, the HP 10BII+ and the HP 20B. GARP states there are no exceptions and that using any other calculator means the exam is not graded. Buy an authorised model early and learn it, and fit a fresh battery before exam day.
• Bringing an electronic copy of the Confirmation of Appointment email.
  GARP will neither accept nor admit you with an electronic version. You need a printed copy, and it must sit on your desk for the whole exam alongside your original passport or driver's licence. Print it the week before, not the morning of.
• Assuming a name mismatch will be waved through.
  GARP requires the name on the Confirmation of Appointment email to match the name on your passport or driver's licence exactly, including first name, last name and any middle name or initial. Only the order is irrelevant. A mismatch means no exam, no reschedule and a forfeited fee.
• Waiting for a numeric score to judge progress.
  GARP grades pass or fail only and releases quartile results comparing you with other candidates. There is no percentage to aim for, so use the GARP practice exams as your calibration and track raw questions per topic area rather than an imagined pass mark.
• Building a formula sheet to take into the exam.
  GARP states formula sheets are not provided, and the exam supplies only two sheets of scratch paper and a pencil, which are collected and destroyed afterwards. The formulas you need are marked by the learning objectives beginning Calculate, Compute or Derive. Memorise from that list.
• Registering for Part I and Part II in the same administration without a plan for failing Part I.
  GARP states that if you sit both in one administration and fail or no-show Part I, your Part II exam is not graded. If you register for them in different administrations and fail or no-show Part I, the Part II registration converts into a Part I registration. Either way you cannot pass Part II before passing Part I.
• Leaving a phone in the locker on airplane mode.
  GARP requires the phone to be completely off, and states airplane mode is not sufficient. If a phone emits any noise during the exam, even from inside the locker or storage bag, the candidate is escorted out and the exam is not graded.
• Treating the four-hour clock as generous.
  Part I is 100 questions in four hours, about 2.4 minutes each, and Part II is 80 questions in the same four hours, about three minutes each. The on-screen clock is the official timekeeper and does not pause for restroom breaks. GARP grades only the final answers you confirm and submit, so leave time to submit deliberately.
• Letting the Part II deadline drift after passing Part I.
  GARP requires Part II to be passed by December 31 of the fourth year after passing Part I. Missing that means re-enrolling as a new candidate, paying all fees again and retaking both exams. Book Part II within the first two administrations after passing Part I.

• Two-part exam
• Heavy quantitative focus
• Strong in banks and hedge funds
• Study market, credit, operational risk
• Bionic Turtle or Kaplan for prep
• Calculator proficiency essential