FRM Part 2 Study Plan: 300 Hours to Pass

Part 2 assumes mastery of Part 1. If your VaR, option pricing, or regression skills are rusty, spend a few hours refreshing before diving in. Don't start from scratch — build on what you know.

Part 2 tests whether you can apply concepts to realistic scenarios. For every formula you learn, practice interpreting the output in context — e.g., 'What does this LCR ratio mean for the bank's funding position?'

Market Risk, Credit Risk, and Operational Risk are each 20% of the exam. Liquidity and Investment Management are 15% each. Current Issues is 10%. Don't over-invest in lower-weight areas at the expense of the big three.

Part 2 topics interconnect heavily. Credit VaR uses market risk VaR methods. Operational risk scenario analysis mirrors credit stress testing. Climate risk spans market, credit, and operational risk. Use these connections to reinforce learning.

Part 2 has 80 questions in 4 hours (3 min/question vs. 2.4 min in Part 1). Questions tend to be longer and more scenario-based. Practice reading multi-paragraph stems efficiently and identifying what's actually being asked.

The Current Issues domain changes every year. Read GARP's assigned current issues readings carefully — they're typically shorter and more accessible than core domain material, but they're easy marks if you've read them.