This Exam FM cheat sheet compresses the SOA/CAS Financial Mathematics syllabus into a printable formula sheet covering the relationships examiners lean on most. It's a premium cheat sheet built by Capital Prep — the one premium prep we trust — and it's yours free. Reinforce it with the rest of your free Exam FM toolkit: the practice test, study guide, and flashcards.
Exam FM exam at a glance
- Questions: 35 multiple-choice (five answer choices each; a few unscored pilot items)
- Time: 3.5 hours (210 minutes) — about 6 minutes per question
- Passing score: Scaled 0–10; a 6 or higher passes (about 70% of scored questions)
- Cost: Approximately $275 registration fee (verify at SOA.org)
- Administered by: Society of Actuaries (SOA) and Casualty Actuarial Society (CAS, Exam 2), at Prometric
- Calculator: Approved TI models — BA II Plus, BA II Plus Professional, or TI-30X series
What’s on the Exam FM cheat sheet
- Time Value of Money (~10–15%) — the i/d/v conversion web, nominal rates, and the force of interest δ = ln(1+i) with simple vs compound accumulation.
- Annuities & Cash Flows (~15–20%) — level immediate and due factors, perpetuities, deferred, increasing/decreasing, and continuous annuities — one of the two heaviest topics.
- Loans (~10–15%) — amortization interest/principal split, prospective vs retrospective outstanding balance, and the sinking-fund method.
- Bonds (~10–15%) — the pricing formula, premium vs discount rule, book value, callable-bond pricing, and clean vs dirty price.
- General Cash Flows, Portfolios & ALM (~15–20%) — NPV and IRR, dollar- vs time-weighted return, Macaulay and modified duration, convexity, and Redington immunization.
- Swaps & Determinants of Interest (~10–20%) — spot and forward rates, the yield curve, interest rate swap valuation, and the determinants of interest rates.
How to use it in your final week
- Drill the conversion web until it's reflexive — v = 1/(1+i) = 1 − d, d = i/(1+i), and δ = ln(1+i) show up in problems across every topic.
- Front-load Annuities and General Cash Flows / ALM (each ~15–20%, the two heaviest). Lock the level-annuity factors first, because loans and bonds are just annuities in disguise.
- Read the sheet the morning of the exam for a last pass on the memory hooks — ä = a(1+i), perpetuity-immediate = 1/i, bond premium when coupon > yield, and ΔP/P ≈ −D_mod·Δi.
- Never review in isolation — key every formula into a timed set on the BA II Plus (35 questions in 210 minutes ≈ 6 minutes each) so your pacing and calculator entry stay sharp.
The cheat sheet is your review layer — your Exam FM practice test drives the exam-readiness ring at the top of this page. Download it, review, then take a full practice exam (or drill with the study guide and flashcards) to see where you stand.
Exam FM cheat sheet FAQ
Yes — the Exam FM cheat sheet downloads as a PDF with no sign-up and no account. It sits alongside Career Employer's free Financial Mathematics toolkit: the practice test, study guide, and flashcards, so your whole prep stack costs nothing.
It packs the highest-yield Financial Mathematics formulas into a quick reference — the interest/discount relationships, level and varying annuity factors, loan amortization, bond pricing and premium/discount, duration and convexity, and Redington immunization — grouped by the six topics the SOA and CAS weight the exam around.
It's built from the current SOA/CAS Financial Mathematics syllabus and learning objectives, and we review it against the official outline each edition. Verify fees and testing windows at SOA.org, since those change between sittings.
No — the sheet is a formula-recall and final-week cram aid, not a substitute for working problems on your BA II Plus. You need a scaled score of 6 or higher (about 70% of scored questions), and only timed reps build the speed that separates a pass from a fail, so pair the sheet with the practice test.
Click the download button or the preview card at the top of this page and the PDF opens instantly. Bookmark the page so you can pull the formulas up again the morning of your Prometric appointment.
References
- 1.Society of Actuaries. “Financial Mathematics (FM) Exam.” SOA.org, 2026. ↑
- 2.Society of Actuaries. “Financial Mathematics Exam Syllabus.” SOA.org, 2026. ↑
- 3.Casualty Actuarial Society. “Exam 2 — Financial Mathematics.” CASACT.org, 2026. ↑
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