On Saturday, May 19, over 13,000 candidates at 90 Exam sites around the world are scheduled to sit for the FRM Exam, capping a very successful Exam cycle. For the May 2012 Exam, FRM Part I registrations are up 18% year-over-year, while FRM Part II registrations have risen by 34%. While most countries and regions showed a strong increase in registrations, growth was led by the US, UK, and China.

In 2012, the FRM Program has been enhanced by several new initiatives, including:

• To ensure that the FRM designation remains reflective of industry best practices GARP, we:
  • Continued the integration of the 2011 Global Job Task Analysis into the FRM Exam development process.
  • Initiated a formal question development process that involves the participation of FRM subject matter experts from around the world.
• To improve the resources we provide to help candidates prepare for the FRM Exam, we:
  • Created a new FRM Exam Preparation Handbook that offers study plans for completing the reading material outlined in the FRM Study Guide.
  • Revised the FRM Part I Books to include actual FRM Exam questions and answers to complement the readings.
  • Published new Practice Exams to further strengthen the self-study offerings.
  • Published FRM Part I Book Collection (currently available) and FRM Part II Book Collection (available in May 2012) with Pearson.
  • FRM Part I Books to include actual FRM Exam questions and answers to complement the readings.
• As a way of showing our appreciation for the FRM community and to further develop the FRM network:
  • GARP's Risk Manager of the Year, Aaron Brown, Head of Risk Management, AQR Capital, spoke to Certified FRMs at an "FRM/ERP Only" luncheon at GARP's 13th Annual Risk Management Convention.
  • We are planning several more networking and knowledge opportunities exclusive to Certified FRMs in 2012.
• To foster advances in risk management thought and understanding GARP, we:
  • Welcomed several colleges and universities into our growing Partnership for Risk Education community.
  • Launched the Partnership for Risk Education Fellowship Program specifically designed to support meaningful FRM-related research at the Masters level.
• To advance the acceptance of the FRM in industry, we added BlackRock and several other major financial firms to the growing list of companies that provide financial support and encouragement to employees taking the FRM Exam.