Understanding the Changes to the SOA Exam FAM: What They Mean for You

By Joana Amorim, PhD, FHEA, Vice President, Global Product Development and Strategy

The Latest SOA Exam FAM Updates.

On July 18, the SOA announced changes in the Fundamentals of Actuarial Mathematics (FAM) syllabus for the November 2024 sitting.

Were we surprised? Not really!  We've consistently heard feedback that the FAM exam was “too long” and “too hard”, from both students using our study materials and professors teaching this content. In fact, just last week, in a meeting with actuarial professors from many different countries (a session of the Actuarial Faculty Development Program), a young academic was asking for advice on how to teach the FAM syllabus in “just 2 semesters".

What are the actual changes?

The total number of questions on the exam will be reduced from 40 to 34. The syllabus material has been reduced to accommodate this reduction in questions. The time for the FAM Exam will remain at 3.5 hours.

Citing the SOA site:

• Consult the published syllabus for the topics now being tested. The following is a high-level summary of the topics being removed.
  • From Topic 1, material on identifying the different types of short-term insurance coverages
  • From Topic 8, material population mortality curves
  • All of Topic 9 on parametric and non-parametric estimation”

We compared the required readings in the syllabus and the Tweedie distribution and some other minor topics were removed.  Loss Models 9.7, which covers the impact of individual modifications on aggregate payments was added.  Besides these tweaks, the major changes include the removal of mortality estimation and the descriptions of P/C and health coverages.

When we looked at these changes, we speculated whether some of the removed topics might be moved to ASTAM/ALTAM. However, no material changes have been published at the moment.  We will keep an eye on the updates and let the students know as soon as there are any changes to the syllabi of the advanced exams.

Is the exam easier now?

The answer is: probably yes! It's not so much that the dropped topics were especially difficult, but mostly due to the reduced size of the exam, which now has 6 fewer questions. Dr. Gabriel Necoechea, one of our Directors of Content, took the “old” version of FAM last year (and passed! But that is beside the point!), and I remember one of his main comments the day after was how long the exam was.  Check out Gabe's blog on FAM Study Strategies.

Status Update of the ACTEX Study Materials.

If you are studying and preparing for the November sitting of FAM, here is a status update on the ACTEX Study Materials.

• Our formula sheets are now updated and only contain material on the new syllabus;
• GOAL FAM is updated, including the simulated exams;
• The video library has been updated;
• Our live FAM Bootcamp (starting in September) will reflect the syllabi changes:
• The study manual authors are working as we speak to get the new editions out soon.  

And an important note: the exam might be marginally smaller now, but there is still a LOT of content in there and 34 questions to answer in 210 minutes, i.e., just over 6 min per question! Prepare well, or you might find yourself out of time anyway!

If you have any questions do not hesitate to email us at support@actexlearning.com.