CAS Exam 9 study plan
CAS Exam 9 · Give each week a clear focus.
8 weeks · About 7 hours per week
Risk Management
Map the Domain 1 syllabus into a one-page topic inventory covering risk taxonomy, governance, appetite, and control cycles
Define each core risk term (expected loss, unexpected loss, tail risk, risk tolerance) in your own words and record them in a glossary
Work 15 basic risk-measurement problems (frequency-severity aggregation, VaR interpretation, TVaR intuition) and log every error with its cause
Build a spaced-repetition deck of 40 cards drawn only from material you have already read
Your checkpoint
A dated one-page Domain 1 topic map plus a 40-card deck and an error log with at least 15 entries
Risk Management
Solve 25 mixed-difficulty Domain 1 practice items under a 60-minute timer and score them
Re-derive from memory the relationships among risk retention, transfer, and mitigation choices in a short written summary
Explain aloud, in under three minutes each, how risk appetite links to limits, monitoring, and escalation
Rehabilitate every missed item by writing the correct reasoning path without looking at the solution
Your checkpoint
A timed 25-item Domain 1 set with score, plus rewritten solutions for all misses
Financial Risk Management and Portfolio Theory
Construct a formula sheet for portfolio return, variance, covariance, diversification, and the efficient frontier from first principles
Compute by hand the mean and variance of a two-asset portfolio at three correlation levels and interpret the diversification effect
Derive and apply the CAPM, beta, and security market line to at least 10 numerical variants
Distinguish systematic from idiosyncratic risk and state which is priced and why, in a written paragraph
Your checkpoint
A hand-written formula sheet with 10 fully worked CAPM and portfolio-variance problems showing every step
Financial Risk Management and Portfolio Theory & Risk Management
Work 30 Domain 2 items spanning portfolio theory, asset pricing, and financial risk measures
Complete a 40-item mixed Domain 1 and Domain 2 set under exam pacing and record per-topic accuracy
Reconcile any conflicting notation between your formula sheet and the source material and finalize one canonical version
Identify your three weakest subtopics from the accuracy data and schedule targeted review
Your checkpoint
A topic-by-topic accuracy table for Domains 1 and 2 with a ranked list of your three weakest subtopics
Enterprise Risk Management
Diagram an ERM framework linking strategy, risk appetite, culture, and reporting into a single integrated picture
Compare at least four ERM frameworks and note where they converge and diverge on governance and risk aggregation
Analyze two short case scenarios and write risk registers identifying exposure, likelihood, impact, and mitigation
Explain how economic capital, risk-adjusted performance, and capital allocation interact within an ERM program
Your checkpoint
Two completed risk registers with narrative analysis plus a one-page ERM framework diagram
Enterprise Risk Management & Insurance Company Financial Analysis and Capital Management
Summarize the key financial statements of an insurer and the linkages among them in a written outline
Compute and interpret at least eight ratios covering liquidity, leverage, reserve adequacy, and profitability
Work 20 items on capital adequacy, capital modeling, and regulatory capital requirements
Trace how an ERM decision propagates into capital needs and reported financial results in a short worked example
Your checkpoint
A ratio workbook with eight computed ratios, interpretations, and one end-to-end ERM-to-capital worked example
Insurance Company Financial Analysis and Capital Management & Enterprise Risk Management
Complete 30 Domain 4 items on financial analysis, capital management, and regulatory frameworks
Perform a full financial analysis of a hypothetical insurer using the ratio workbook and write a two-page assessment
Rehearse explaining capital modeling trade-offs and model limitations in concise written answers
Refresh Domains 1 and 2 with 20 rapid recall items and log any regressions
Your checkpoint
A two-page insurer financial assessment with ratio support and a regression log from the recall set
Risk Management & Financial Risk Management and Portfolio Theory & Enterprise Risk Management & Insurance Company Financial Analysis and Capital Management
Take two full-length timed practice exams across all four domains and score them by domain and subtopic
Rebuild your weakest five subtopics from scratch using only the formula sheet and glossary
Consolidate the glossary, formula sheet, and error log into a single final review packet
Run a final pacing and strategy rehearsal covering question triage and time allocation
Your checkpoint
Two scored full-length practice exams with a final consolidated review packet and a written pacing plan
Milestones
Week 2: Score at least 70% on the timed 25-item Domain 1 set and show a complete error log with corrected reasoning for every miss
Week 4: Score at least 65% on the mixed Domain 1 and Domain 2 set, with a finalized formula sheet and a ranked list of the three weakest subtopics
Week 6: Produce eight correctly computed and interpreted financial ratios and complete 20 capital items with at least 70% accuracy
Week 8: Score at least 70% overall on both full-length practice exams with no single domain below 60%, and finish the consolidated review packet