This is an on-demand intensive exam prep course for the SOA's Quantitative Finance & Investment Track - Advanced Exam. When you register for this course you will gain access to the following items (except as noted) from the day you register for 6 months.
What's Included?
This online course contains everything you need to pass the SOA's Quantitative Finance & Investment Track - Advanced Exam
Create a study plan
- Create a custom study schedule with our provided spreadsheet format version
- Study schedule and time tracking integrated directly into lessons page
- Study the syllabus readings in a logical order
Learn Key Concepts
- Video lessons (25+ hours) covering the entire syllabus
- Handouts for each video lesson
- 100+ drill style problems
Practice & Review
- 2 full-length 100-point TIA-original practice exams with solutions
- Detailed listing of relevant past SOA exam questions
- 475+ drill problem style flash cards for practice and memorization
- Formula sheet review videos
- Tips, advice, and strategy for taking fellowship exams
APPS FOR THIS COURSE
Learn
Download video lessons to watch on the go and track your way through the course
Flashcards
Track, filter, and flip your way through all your TIA flashcards to have you ready on exam day
COURSE SAMPLES
- Spring 2019 - Suggested Study Sched... download file
- Intro to Credit Risk Modeling: Chap... watch video
- QFIA-100: Modeling of Mortgage Defa... watch video
- Interest Rate Models: Chapter 4 ... watch video
- Interest Rate Models: Chapter ... watch video
- Detailed Study Guide Sample download file
- View More Samples
Instructor
Zachary Fischer
Zak joined TIA in 2013 and teaches fellowship-level actuarial exams. He graduated from Brown University in 2013 with a bachelor's degree in mathematics and economics, and he became a Fellow of the Society of Actuaries (FSA) in 2014.
He began his career as a consulting actuary at Milliman Financial Risk Management in Chicago, IL, where his work primarily involved hedging variable annuity risk for life insurance companies. Zak now works as a senior associate for a small private equity firm. As a senior associate, Zak works on valuations for target acquisitions and sales of portfolio companies. ... read more
Instructor
Ken Qian
Ken graduated from Arizona State University in 2013 with a B.S. in Mathematics, Finance, and Economics. At Arizona State, Ken worked as a math tutor and teaching assistant for a variety of different finance courses. Ken is currently a consulting actuary in Chicago, IL. Before that, he was part of the Actuarial Development Program at Genworth Financial. Ken became a Fellow of the Society of Actuaries in 2015, and went through the QFI track when taking the F.S.A. exams.
In his free time, Ken enjoys tennis and following the Portland Trail Blazers.
Expanded Features
Comprehensive Course
Comprehensive video lessons (25+ hours) covering the entire syllabus that simplify complicated info into more understandable terms and illustrate important concepts through examples and graphics.
Online Discussion Forum
Active dedicated course forum loaded with existing questions and answers on syllabus material and past SOA exam questions. Instructors and our Support Team try to ensure everyone's questions are answered in a timely manner.?
Practice Exams
This course includes 2 full length TIA sample exams and 100+ additional drill problems, with each question having a solution walking you through the best way to answer it.
Full Instructor Access
Full-time instructor support! Your instructor(s) created 100% of the video lessons for this online seminar and will answer any questions you have by email or in the TIA forums.
Detailed Study Manual
A detailed study manual covering all of the syllabus readings, along with examples and instructor commentary that simplifies difficult concepts and builds links to other readings on the syllabus.
Exam Day Checklist & FAQ
You might be wondering -- what score is needed to pass? What do I need to bring to the exam? How should I approach reading period? This FAQ document answers these questions and more to help you know what to expect on exam day.
Offline Videos
Take our videos with you everywhere you go and don't worry about a data cap or WiFi signal. Use our Learn app on iOS and Android to download lessons or solutions videos and have them right at your fingertips. ?
Variable Speed Playback
Watch our lessons and video solutions at your pace! When watching our videos on a desktop or our Learn App you can select the speed that makes the most sense for you. The variable speed increases all the way up to 2x.
Study Schedule
Built directly into the lessons, just enter the day you are going to start studying and select your exam day. We will then populate a suggested completion date for every lesson and the sample exams to have you on track to pass! This course also offers a downloadable spreadsheet version to customize yourself.
Past SOA Questions
Comprehensive spreadsheet listing of all past SOA questions relevant to the current syllabus with the ability to filter and sort to your exact specifications.
Flashcards
This course offers 475+ digital flashcards written in a "Q&A" style to facilitate recalling information for exam-oriented questions. They are available on your computer or via our Flashcards app on iOS and Android. The app will download all the flashcards for the course to your device so can study at a moments notice!
MP3 Lessons
Don't want to download the video lessons using our Learn App, but still have access to the lessons offline? We have you covered! Download the audio only versions of the videos and follow along with the instructor using the printable handouts. The MP3s will work in your MP3 player of choice.
Excellent Customer Service
You're never alone with The Infinite Actuary. Get help from your instructor and assistants in our online forum. Anything else you need help with, not related to the course material, just reach out to our customer service team and they will get your questions answered!
Free Extension
Life happens, and despite your hard work, you may fail an exam. If that happens to you, we offer one free 6 month extension for this online course. Once you activate your extension, you will have 6 months access to the entire course again. Learn more about our extension policy here. ?
What others are saying
I have used TIA for the FSA level exams and could not imagine passing the exams without them. Zak and Ken are both great instructors, both extremely knowledgeable and willing to help. In addition, TIA provided numerous amounts of resources helped me with the momentum task of completing the examination process. Among those resources are the video lessons, detailed study guide, flash cards and past exam problem breakdowns. They offer numerous practice problems which range from easier concept building problems to exam level difficulty practice tests. They are extremely detailed, even giving advice on study methods and how to prepare for the day of the exam. One of the most useful lesson was a walk through of the formula sheet, that helped me recognize which formulas I needed quickly and saved me time during the exams. Thank You TIA! You helped me become the Actuary that I am today.
Jeffrey Lyons Senior Actuarial Associate, New York Life Insurance Company
Frequently Asked Questions
- If I purchase a product, how often can I use it?
- Can I have an extension if I do not take or if I fail the exam?
- I've used other sources and failed. Is there something unique in the online seminar that others haven't provided?
- I am not taking the exam, but it looks like the syllabus contains a lot of information relevant to my job. Do people use the online seminar for non-exam purposes?
- Are your pass rates above average?
- Can I share my account with others?
- The videos aren't working on my personal computer. What can I do?
- The videos will not play on my work PC. What can I do?
- Can I download the videos to my hard drive so that I can view them without an Internet connection?
- Why can I not download the PDFs? I always get an error message or an empty zip file.
- Do I need to buy the study notes and textbooks on the syllabus, too?
- How can I obtain a student discount?
If I purchase a product, how often can I use it?
You can use it as many times as you want up for 6 months after purchase. If you feel that you are weak in a certain section of the syllabus, then watch the segment for that material again. If you want to simulate an intensive review seminar, watch the entire library of lessons for your exam over a four/five day span. It all depends on your preferences and we believe that it is this kind of convenience, coupled with the best instruction, which will produce great results for our users.
Can I have an extension if I do not take or if I fail the exam?
Yes! If you buy the seminar and don't pass or take the exam, then we give you access for a 2nd sitting for free. Even if the syllabus changes you still get a 2nd sitting (6 months of access) with all the updated lessons. See more information about this here.
I've used other sources and failed. Is there something unique in the online seminar that others haven't provided?
Absolutely. Every sitting we work with people from a variety of backgrounds. Some are taking the exam for the first time. Others are taking it again. In some cases they are using a free extension, while in other cases they are using TIA for the first time. Regardless, we have helped many, many people pass after failing in the past. The online seminar contains a wealth of TIA-unique material that you won't find anywhere else. We also have a general list of things to think about changing for your next attempt.
Can I purchase my next online seminar without knowing if I passed my last exam?
Yes. If you later find out that you didn't pass your last exam, simply email us at customerservice@theinfiniteactuary.com, and we will pause access to your new online seminar. This will preserve your new online seminar allowing you to study for your last exam again. When you are ready to resume the paused online seminar, just email us, and we will reactivate it. You will have access to all current materials (same as anyone else using the online seminar at that time).
I am not taking the exam, but it looks like the syllabus contains a lot of information relevant to my job. Do people use the online seminar for non-exam purposes?
Yes. We increasingly see people do that very thing. The upper-level exams contain a lot of information relevant to people's work. Of course our products are developed first and foremost the goal of helping people pass the exam, and we don't make any guarantees that our own unique examples are relevant to your actual job and don't assume any responsibility for the application of formulas and methods outlined in the online seminar. But if you're looking for in the first principles and fundamental foundations, there is a great deal of useful information. If you are interested in using the online seminar for this purpose, we recommend contacting us with any questions you might have.
Are your pass rates above average?
Yes. As a company rule, we don't publish specific pass rates by seminar, however. We have found it to be too vulnerable to manipulation, too difficult to compare on an apples to apples basis across companies, and we also just don't think it is a very actionable piece of information. Everyone taking the exam is in a unique situation. Some have work experience. Some are taking it for the first time. Some are using multiple study aids. We also have increasing numbers of people who purchased the online seminar with for on the job training with no intention of taking the exam at all. Unless they notify us by email, we have no idea---but of course their name would never show up on a passing last. We also have many people who use the online seminar in overlapping exam periods. Again, we have found it it is just too difficult and too easy to manipulate a statistic like that, and we want to remain a resource that you can trust.
Can I share my account with others?
No, we do not allow sharing of accounts. Each registered user should take measure to avoid this as he or she has purchased the rights to our videos and associated bandwidth. If non-paying customers clog up our website traffic, it will negatively impact everyone. We also monitor login histories and have the authority to terminate user accounts for this type of abuse. While the gesture of sharing your account information with a friend or coworker may seem innocent, it can have far-reaching negative implications for you and other legitimate users.
The videos aren't working on my personal computer. What can I do?
You can try the suggestions listed here. Likely, these suggestions will solve the problem you are experiencing: (1) Try a different web browser. We suggest using Firefox for the best results with our website. Other browsers will work but make sure you are using the newest version of the browser. (2) Download the newest version of the movie player that you are using (Windows Media Player, Flash or QuickTime). (3) If one movie player does not work, try the other. (4) Test your bandwidth at the following site. Make sure it is at least 700kbps. Bandwidth Place | Internet Speed Test. (5) Clear the CACHE on your computer by clicking the "CTRL" and "F5" buttons at the same time. (6) Try clearing your browsers cookies. How to delete cookies. (7) Make sure your operating system has all its important updates. If you're on a Mac, run Software Update from your Apple menu (or Mac App Store if you're running OSX 10.8 Mountain Lion or newer). If you're on Windows, click the following link. Microsoft Windows Update. (8) If you are using third-party web browsers like Firefox, make sure you're running the latest version. (9) The previous suggestions should help. However, if you are still unable to open the videos please let customer service know what error message you receive and we will be happy to look further into your situation.
The videos will not play on my work PC. What can I do?
Usually, this is the result of your employer's network placing some restrictions in the company's firewall settings. You need to make sure that there is no block placed on the domain ( edgecastcdn.net ) from where our videos are streamed. Many employers will block sites like these to restrict video content from being streamed to their employee's PCs. Edgecast is a Content Delivery Network where we store all of our content. This network distributes our content to multiple servers all across the world so that if any one server goes down, there are plenty of backups in place. Websites like YouTube use their own CDNs and as a result, CDNs are not high on company's approved website lists. Feel free to call Tech Support (877-883-5275) if you need any further help.
Can I download the videos to my hard drive so that I can view them without an Internet connection?
Our videos are only viewable while logged in and connected to the Internet. While we realize the convenience of having all the files on your local drive, it also puts our company's assets at jeopardy. Our instructors spend hours upon hours creating the content for you. It would only take a few students, who illegally share their material with others, to discourage instructors from ever producing any more content. We do try to make our videos as accessible as possible by offering them in three different formats (Windows Media, Flash and QuickTime) and even through devices like the iPhone, iPad and Android devices. Given the global accessibility to the World Wide Web, we believe that the majority of the actuarial population will be able to view our videos without trouble. However, we do understand the need to study on the go and that internet access is not always accessible. You have two options: (1) Download the MP3 versions of the lessons and follow along in your notes. (2) Open the TIA site and let the video fully load before you leave, but do not press play. Just close the lid on your laptop and leave the browser open. When you are ready to watch the video just open the laptop and press play.
Why can I not download the PDFs? I always get an error message or an empty zip file.
Some computer networks are configured to not allow opening of zip files directly from an external site. Many of our downloadable files are in zip format. After clicking on the link, you should be given an option to either open or save the file. Try saving the file to your hard drive and then opening the zip file from there. You can also try right-clicking on the link and choosing the "Save Link As" option. If those do not work, then please contact customer service. They will determine if the link is incorrect or the file is missing from its proper location. At the minimum, they can email you the needed files so that you can move on with your studying.
Do I need to buy the study notes and textbooks on the syllabus, too?
We strongly recommend purchasing all source materials. This is simply because in our experience, people who read and reference the source materials in addition to using the online seminar have a higher chance of passing than those that don't. The online seminar is designed to make your use of the source materials much more efficient.
How can I obtain a student discount?
This course is not eligible for a student discount.