FRM Part I: The Ultimate 90-Day Study Plan

Why 90 Days Is the Sweet Spot

FRM Part I covers four major topic areas across roughly 50 readings. GARP recommends 200 to 240 study hours, and spreading that across 90 days means averaging about 2.5 hours per day — ambitious but sustainable for working professionals. A shorter timeline risks burnout and shallow coverage; a longer one invites procrastination.

This plan divides the 13 weeks into five phases: Foundations of Risk Management, Quantitative Analysis, Financial Markets and Products, Valuation and Risk Models, and a final review with mock exams. Each phase includes specific readings, practice question targets, and checkpoints.

Before You Start: Setup Week

Before day one, gather your materials and establish your routine:

• Core study materials — Choose one primary resource (official GARP readings, a structured video course, or a third-party study guide) and stick with it
• Practice question bank — You will need at least 500 to 800 practice questions to build exam readiness
• Formula sheet — Start a running document of key formulas from day one and add to it each week
• Daily schedule — Block 2.5 hours each day, ideally at the same time, to build consistency

Phase 1: Foundations of Risk Management (Weeks 1-2)

Week 1: Risk Governance and the Risk Management Process

Start with the big picture. This section covers how financial institutions identify, measure, and manage risk at the enterprise level. Study the roles of the board, CRO, and risk committees. Understand the difference between risk appetite statements and risk limits.

Focus on the building blocks of risk management: risk identification, risk assessment, risk mitigation, and risk monitoring. These concepts frame everything you will study in the remaining 11 weeks.

Practice target: Complete 30 questions on governance, risk culture, and ERM frameworks.

Week 2: Case Studies and Modern Risk Failures

The FRM curriculum uses historical case studies to illustrate risk management failures. Study the key lessons from events such as the collapse of a major derivatives dealer due to unauthorized trading, the failure of a hedge fund brought down by excessive leverage in fixed-income arbitrage, and the systemic risk events of the 2007-2009 financial crisis.

For each case, identify: what risk was underestimated, what controls failed, and what lessons apply to current risk management practice.

Practice target: Complete 25 case-study-based questions. Focus on identifying root causes rather than memorizing dates.

Phase 2: Quantitative Analysis (Weeks 3-4)

Week 3: Probability, Statistics, and Distributions

This is where the math begins. Cover discrete and continuous probability distributions (normal, lognormal, chi-squared, Student's t, F-distribution), descriptive statistics (mean, variance, skewness, kurtosis), and hypothesis testing fundamentals.

Work through this example: A portfolio has daily returns that are approximately normally distributed with a mean of 0.04% and a standard deviation of 1.2%. What is the probability that the portfolio loses more than 2% in a single day? Using the z-score: z = (-2.0 - 0.04) / 1.2 = -1.70, corresponding to roughly a 4.5% probability.

Practice target: Complete 40 quantitative questions, emphasizing distribution properties and probability calculations.

Week 4: Regression Analysis, Time Series, and Simulation

Cover linear regression (single and multiple), the assumptions of ordinary least squares, common violations (heteroskedasticity, multicollinearity, autocorrelation), and how to detect and correct them. Study time series models including autoregressive (AR), moving average (MA), and ARCH/GARCH models for volatility estimation.

Finish the week with Monte Carlo simulation — understand its mechanics, when to use it, and its limitations. This connects directly to the risk modeling topics in Phase 4.

Practice target: Complete 40 questions covering regression interpretation, hypothesis tests on coefficients, and simulation concepts.

Phase 3: Financial Markets and Products (Weeks 5-7)

Week 5: Fixed Income and Interest Rate Risk

Study bond pricing, duration (Macaulay, modified, and effective), convexity, and the term structure of interest rates. Understand how changes in the yield curve affect bond portfolio values.

Worked example: A bond portfolio has a modified duration of 6.5 and convexity of 82. If yields increase by 75 basis points, the estimated price change is: (-6.5 x 0.0075) + (0.5 x 82 x 0.0075^2) = -4.875% + 0.231% = -4.64%.

Practice target: Complete 35 questions on duration, convexity, and yield curve analysis.

Week 6: Derivatives — Forwards, Futures, Swaps

Cover the mechanics and pricing of forward contracts, futures contracts, and interest rate swaps. Understand the no-arbitrage pricing framework, margin mechanics, and the distinction between exchange-traded and OTC instruments.

Study how a plain vanilla interest rate swap works: Company A pays a fixed rate of 3.8% and receives SOFR on a $50 million notional. If SOFR settles at 4.2% for a semi-annual period, Company A receives a net payment of ($50M x (4.2% - 3.8%) x 0.5) = $100,000.

Practice target: Complete 35 questions on derivative pricing and payoff structures.

Week 7: Options and Structured Products

Study option payoffs, put-call parity, the factors affecting option prices (underlying price, strike, time, volatility, rates, dividends), and basic option strategies. Cover the mechanics of securitization, including mortgage-backed securities and collateralized debt obligations.

Understand how options create non-linear risk profiles that require different risk measurement tools than linear instruments like forwards and swaps.

Practice target: Complete 35 questions on option properties, put-call parity, and securitization structures.

Phase 4: Valuation and Risk Models (Weeks 8-10)

Week 8: Value at Risk (VaR)

VaR is the cornerstone of market risk measurement. Study the three approaches: parametric (variance-covariance), historical simulation, and Monte Carlo simulation. Understand the strengths and weaknesses of each.

Example: A portfolio worth $10 million has a daily standard deviation of 1.5%. The 99% parametric VaR is $10M x 1.5% x 2.326 = $348,900. This means there is a 1% probability that the portfolio will lose more than $348,900 in a single day under normal market conditions.

Practice target: Complete 40 questions on VaR calculation, interpretation, and backtesting.

Week 9: Expected Shortfall, Stress Testing, and Backtesting

Expected Shortfall (also called Conditional VaR) answers the question VaR leaves unanswered: when losses exceed VaR, how bad can they get? Study why regulators increasingly prefer Expected Shortfall over VaR for capital requirements.

Cover stress testing approaches: historical scenarios (what would happen if 2008 repeated), hypothetical scenarios (what if rates spike 300 basis points overnight), and reverse stress testing (what scenario would make the firm fail?).

Study VaR backtesting: compare predicted VaR to actual P&L over a historical period. The Kupiec test and Christoffersen test evaluate whether exceptions (days where losses exceed VaR) are consistent with the model's confidence level.

Practice target: Complete 35 questions on ES, stress testing methodology, and backtesting frameworks.

Week 10: Credit Risk and Operational Risk Models

Cover credit risk fundamentals: probability of default, loss given default, exposure at default, and expected loss calculations. Study the basic structural model approach (where default occurs when asset value falls below a debt threshold) and the credit rating transition matrix.

For operational risk, understand the Basel categories (internal fraud, external fraud, employment practices, clients/products, business disruption, damage to physical assets, execution/delivery) and the basic measurement approaches.

Practice target: Complete 35 questions on credit risk metrics and operational risk classification.

Phase 5: Review and Mock Exams (Weeks 11-13)

Week 11: Comprehensive Review

Revisit your formula sheet and fill any gaps. Focus on topics where your practice question accuracy is below 70%. Re-read your notes on the highest-weighted topics: VaR, derivatives pricing, and quantitative methods account for a large share of exam questions.

Week 12: Mock Exam 1 and Targeted Remediation

Take a full-length, 100-question mock exam under timed conditions (4 hours, no breaks or references). Score it honestly and categorize every wrong answer by topic. Spend the rest of the week drilling your three weakest topic areas.

Benchmark: Aim for 65% or higher on your first mock. If you score below 55%, consider extending your timeline.

Week 13: Mock Exam 2 and Final Preparation

Take a second full-length mock exam. Compare your scores to identify improvement and remaining weak spots. In the final days before the exam, focus on:

• Reviewing your formula sheet (aim to reproduce it from memory)
• Re-reading case study lessons — these are quick points on exam day
• Getting adequate sleep — cognitive performance drops sharply with fatigue

Benchmark: Aim for 70% or higher. Historically, candidates scoring above 70% on quality mock exams pass the actual exam at very high rates.

Daily Routine Template

Key Tips for Exam Day

• Arrive early — Prometric centers require check-in procedures
• Manage your time — 100 questions in 4 hours gives you 2.4 minutes per question. Flag difficult questions and return to them
• Trust your preparation — second-guessing changes more right answers to wrong ones than the reverse

Structured preparation is the strongest predictor of FRM exam success. AcadiFi's FRM course offers video lessons aligned with each topic area in this plan, plus a practice question bank with detailed explanations to accelerate your progress. Start your 90-day countdown today.