Professional Actuarial Qualification Pathways
Structured preparation for globally recognised actuarial and enterprise risk credentials. Select any examination below for full details.
Society of Actuaries — ASA Pathway
Exam P — Probability
Develops candidates' knowledge of fundamental probability tools for quantitatively assessing risk, including general probability, univariate and multivariate distributions, and conditional probability, applied to actuarial problems.
Exam FM — Financial Mathematics
Develops understanding of the fundamental concepts of financial mathematics, and how they are applied in calculating present and accumulated values of cash flow streams for reserving, valuation, pricing, and investment income.
Exam SRM — Statistics for Risk Modeling
Covers statistical methods for risk modeling, including regression, time series, and statistical learning techniques used to analyse and model actuarial and financial risk data.
Exam FAM — Fundamentals of Actuarial Mathematics
Builds on Exams P and FM to cover contingent cash flows, particularly those associated with life insurance and annuities, forming the foundation of life contingencies.
Exam PA — Predictive Analytics
A written-answer exam assessing candidates' ability to apply predictive analytics techniques to real business problems, building on the statistical foundations from Exam SRM.
Exam ALTAM / ASTAM — Advanced Actuarial Mathematics
Advanced long-term or short-term actuarial mathematics, extending the life contingencies and reserving concepts from FAM into more complex, real-world applications.
VEE — Economics
Validation by Educational Experience covering microeconomics and macroeconomics. Typically satisfied through approved university coursework rather than a sit-down exam, demonstrating an understanding of how markets allocate resources and how economies behave at the aggregate level.
VEE — Accounting and Finance
Validation by Educational Experience covering the construction and analysis of financial statements alongside corporate finance topics such as cost of capital and capital budgeting. Generally earned through approved coursework rather than a traditional exam.
VEE — Mathematical Statistics
Validation by Educational Experience covering sampling distributions, statistical estimation, and hypothesis testing. Builds the statistical foundation that Exam SRM later applies to risk modelling, typically satisfied through approved coursework.
FAP — Fundamentals of Actuarial Practice
An online learning module rather than a traditional exam, integrating the technical skills from earlier exams with professional judgement and decision-making through realistic case studies spanning multiple practice areas.
ATPA — Advanced Topics in Predictive Analytics
A module building on Exam PA, deepening candidates' ability to apply predictive analytics techniques to more complex business problems across a range of actuarial practice areas.
Society of Actuaries — FSA Pathway
FSA candidates complete two sequenced courses within one practice area below, then choose two further courses from any other practice area or the Cross Practice list, alongside the required Decision Making & Communications and Fellowship Admissions courses.
CFE 101 — Enterprise Risk Management
Covers the foundations of enterprise risk management, including identifying and evaluating organisational risk, embedding ERM into decision-making, and understanding risk capital concepts and capital allocation techniques.
CFE 201 — Corporate Finance
Develops a deep understanding of financial objectives, risk appetite, governance, capital structure, and value-based management, emphasising strategic decision-making and long-term value creation.
GH 101 — Benefits and Pricing
Covers group and health plan and product provisions, manual rating, underwriting and funding, and employee benefit strategy.
GH 201 — Valuation and Regulation
Builds on GH 101 to cover valuation, financial reporting, and the regulatory environment for group and health insurance, with separate U.S. and Canadian versions.
GH 301 — Health Analytics and Management
Covers healthcare data analytics, risk adjustment, and predictive modelling techniques applied to health insurance management and population health strategy.
GI 101 — Ratemaking and Reserving
Covers the core reserving and ratemaking approaches in general insurance, including preparing claims and exposure data and calculating projected ultimate values.
GI 201 — Operational, Financial, Regulatory and Legal
Builds on GI 101 to cover the structure and regulatory environment of general insurance companies, tort and insurance law, and financial reporting and health analysis for insurers.
GI 301 — Further Topics in General Insurance
Extends the reserving and ratemaking foundations from GI 101 and GI 201 into more advanced general insurance topics, including stochastic reserve variability models.
GI 302 — General Insurance in the U.S.
Covers U.S.-specific general insurance topics, including regulatory and financial reporting requirements particular to the U.S. market. Has no Canadian equivalent version.
ILA 101 — Pricing and Introduction to Valuation and Risk Management
Covers individual life and annuity product design and pricing, assumption development and experience studies, and an introduction to valuation and risk management for these products.
ILA 201 — Valuation and Advanced Product and Risk Management
Builds on ILA 101 with deeper valuation, product, and risk management topics for individual life and annuities, available in U.S. and International versions.
INV 101 — Portfolio Management
Covers the asset classes used in portfolio construction, portfolio construction and assessment, and credit risk management best practices.
INV 201 — Quantitative Finance
Builds on INV 101 with quantitative techniques used in investment analysis and risk management, including modelling approaches for pricing and hedging financial instruments.
RET 101 — Retirement Plan Design
Covers the design of retirement plans, including defined benefit and defined contribution structures, and the factors that shape plan design decisions.
RET 201 — Retirement Plan Valuation
Builds on RET 101 to cover the actuarial valuation of retirement plans, including funding methods and assumptions.
RET 301 — Actuarial Topics for Canadian Retirement Plans
Covers retirement plan topics specific to the Canadian regulatory and plan design environment. Has no U.S. equivalent version.
Enrolled Actuaries Examinations (U.S. only)
EA-1, EA-2 Segment F, and EA-2 Segment L cover compound interest, life contingencies, demographic analysis, plan funding, and pension law, required to practice as an Enrolled Actuary on U.S. qualified retirement plans.
CP 311 — Strategic Management
A cross-practice course covering strategic decision-making frameworks relevant across multiple actuarial practice areas.
CP 312 — Model Development and Governance
A cross-practice course covering the governance, validation, and oversight of actuarial and financial models used across practice areas.
CP 321 — Disability, Long-Term Care, and Long-Duration Health Contracts
Covers the pricing, reserving, and risk management of disability, long-term care, and other long-duration health contracts.
CP 341 — Advanced Life Reinsurance
Builds on ILA 101 to cover advanced reinsurance structures and risk transfer techniques for life insurance business.
CP 351 — Asset Liability Management
Covers asset-liability management techniques relevant across actuarial practice areas, including matching investment strategy to liability cash flows.
Institute and Faculty of Actuaries — Core Principles
CS1 — Actuarial Statistics
Covers statistical techniques including regression, Bayesian statistics, and generalised linear models, applying core statistical inference to actuarial problems.
CS2 — Risk Modelling & Survival Analysis
Focuses on stochastic modeling and survival analysis, including practical computational and coding elements applied to risk and mortality modeling.
CM1 — Actuarial Mathematics
Covers interest theory, annuities, and financial mathematics, forming the foundation for valuing actuarial cash flows and liabilities.
CM2 — Financial Engineering & Loss Reserving
Covers financial engineering and loss reserving techniques, including modeling, simulations, and risk modeling using standard actuarial software.
CB1 — Business Finance
Covers business finance and accounting principles relevant to actuarial work, including financial statement analysis and corporate finance fundamentals.
CB2 — Business Economics
Addresses microeconomics and macroeconomics from an actuarial perspective, covering how economic forces affect financial and insurance markets.
CB3 — Business Management
Covers the management skills and business context actuaries need to operate effectively within organisations, building on the finance and economics foundations from CB1 and CB2.
Institute and Faculty of Actuaries — Core Practices
CP1 — Actuarial Practice
Builds on the technical and business skills from the CS, CM, and CB subjects, combining them with new material on applying these skills to solve real-world actuarial problems.
CP2 — Modelling Practice
Develops skills in modelling data, documenting the work, analysing the methods used and outputs generated, and communicating the approach, results, and conclusions.
CP3 — Communications Practice
Develops skills in identifying appropriate forms of written communication, selecting language for a non-specialist audience, and conveying key actuarial issues effectively.
Institute and Faculty of Actuaries — Specialist Principles
SP1 — Health and Care Principles
Covers the principles of health and care insurance products, including pricing, reserving, and risk management for health-related business.
SP2 — Life Insurance Principles
Covers the principles of life insurance product design, pricing, valuation, and risk management.
SP4 — Pensions and Other Benefits Principles
Covers the principles of designing, funding, and governing pension and other employee benefit schemes.
SP5 — Investment and Finance Principles
Covers investment principles, asset classes, and portfolio management techniques from an actuarial perspective.
SP6 — Financial Derivatives Principles
Covers the principles of pricing and using financial derivatives, including their role in risk management.
SP7 — General Insurance Reserving and Capital Modelling Principles
Covers reserving methodologies and capital modelling techniques for general insurance business.
SP8 — General Insurance Pricing Principles
Covers pricing methodologies and risk assessment techniques for general insurance products.
SP9 — Enterprise Risk Management Specialist Principles
Covers advanced ERM concepts, building on CP1 towards the Chartered Enterprise Risk Actuary qualification.
SP10 — Banking Principles
Covers the principles of banking, risk, and regulation from an actuarial perspective.
Institute and Faculty of Actuaries — Specialist Advanced
SA0 — Research Route Dissertation
An alternative route to the Specialist Advanced requirement, completed through an independent research dissertation rather than a sit-down exam.
SA1 — Health and Care Advanced
Applies the principles from SP1 to complex, real-world health and care actuarial problems.
SA2 — Life Insurance Advanced
Applies the principles from SP2 to complex, real-world life insurance actuarial problems.
SA3 — General Insurance Advanced
Applies the principles from SP7 and SP8 to complex, real-world general insurance actuarial problems.
SA4 — Pensions and Other Benefits Advanced
Applies the principles from SP4 to complex, real-world pensions and benefits actuarial problems.
SA7 — Investment and Finance Advanced
Applies the principles from SP5 to complex, real-world investment and finance actuarial problems.
SA10 — Banking Advanced
Applies the principles from SP10 to complex, real-world banking actuarial problems.
Qualification is more than an examination.
Professional qualifications require more than passing individual examinations. They represent the development of mathematical, analytical, financial, and risk-management capabilities that support progression throughout an actuarial career.
Professional Standards
Recognised qualification frameworks.
Technical Capability
Mathematics, statistics, finance, and risk.
Career Development
Progression toward professional credentials.
Chartered Enterprise Risk Analyst
A globally recognised credential focused on identifying, quantifying, and managing risk at an organisational level. Available through both the SOA and IFoA pathways.