Whats an FRA and Maaa

[rad]

Name: Mr. X, FSA, FRM, MAAA

I just wanted to know what are those last 2 distinctions. I see a lot of people have MAAA and i have no idea what that is?

[FSA]

Name: Mr. X, FSA, FRM, MAAA

I just wanted to know what are those last 2 distinctions. I see a lot of people have MAAA and i have no idea what that is?

MAAA means Member of the American Academy of Actuaries, the professionalism and public policy organization for actuaries in the USA.

See www.actuary.org for their site.

Dunno the other off-hand, maybe Financial Risk Analyst?

[FSA]

Maybe this...

http://www.global-derivatives.com/reference/frm.php

[rad]

Oh, the finincial field seems to be a big one!

I just stumbled upon one called an EA (apparently you get that from SOA or something, im not sure)

I've heard of an EA before - thats an enrolled agent (somebody who does taxes and governemtn work etc...)

is this the same thing?

[bmathew22]

beanactuary.com gives a listing of actuarial designations and the organizations that grant them.

http://www.beanactuary.com/about/designations.cfm

[rad]

Oh cool, now that was helpful

[wat]

Oh, the finincial field seems to be a big one!

I just stumbled upon one called an EA (apparently you get that from SOA or something, im not sure)

I've heard of an EA before - thats an enrolled agent (somebody who does taxes and governemtn work etc...)

is this the same thing?

EA stands for "enrolled actuary". They deal with pensions - the ins and outs of the calculations, the applicable ERISA laws & regulations, etc. There's a few tests (3, I believe) you have to take in order to get the EA designation, independently of the ASA/FSA designation.

[wat]

Just FYI, since we're discussing designations - the SOA approved a separate designation recently - the ERM designation, which stands for Enterprise Risk Management. This designation focuses on issues that a traditional actuary may not necessarily encounter in his/her job. ERM is a relatively new concept that focuses on the management of both assets and liabilities and managing risk for more than just insurance companies or pension plans. For more information, it may help to do a search of the SOA website in the ERM track.

As for the designation, it is designed to be at approximately the ASA level. Some of the preliminary exams will count towards getting the ERM designation, along with a few of the FSA modules that the SOA will release at a later date, and a larger exam at about the Course 8 level focusing on Enterprise Risk Management and associated issues.

[rad]

Its funny how you just mentioned that WAT since i just stumbled upon some website talking about ERM.

So how does this work? You have to take a series of exams to get the ERM just like it is to get the FSA/ASA? I hope its not to far out of the way.

[wat]

Its funny how you just mentioned that WAT since i just stumbled upon some website talking about ERM.

So how does this work? You have to take a series of exams to get the ERM just like it is to get the FSA/ASA? I hope its not to far out of the way.

Yeah, just about. I believe it's about 2-3 exams that are similar to the preliminary SOA exams (like P, FM, M and C), 1-3 modules from the FSA module system (that hasn't been designed yet), and a larger, more intensive exam focusing on ERM (there's a current Course 8E that should be similar).