Basic mechanics of interest rate swaps, including fixed and floating legs and swap rate determination.
These are the key learning objectives for Interest Rate Swaps on SOA Exam FM. Paraphrased from the public SOA syllabus — we recommend also checking the current syllabus on soa.org before your exam sitting.
Describe the structure of a plain vanilla interest rate swap
Determine the fixed swap rate so the swap has zero initial value
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Because Interest Rate Swaps is 0–5% of your exam, losing it during review costs you. FSRS brings it back at the optimal moment.
SOA Exam FM has 8 topic areas. Interest Rate Swaps is weighted at approximately 0–5% of the exam — here is where it sits relative to the other topics.
| Topic area | Weight |
|---|---|
| Time Value of Money | 10–15% |
| Annuities | 15–20% |
| Loans | 10–15% |
| Bonds | 10–15% |
| General Cash Flows and Portfolios | 15–20% |
| Immunization | 10–15% |
| → Interest Rate Swaps | 0–5% |
| Determinants of Interest Rates | 0–10% |
Interest rates, discount rates, present and future value, and the relationships between different interest measurement conventions.
Level and varying annuities paid annually or more frequently, annuities due and immediate, and deferred annuities.
Loan repayment, amortization schedules, sinking funds, and varying loan payments.
Bond pricing, yield to maturity, premium and discount, and book value schedules.
Valuing arbitrary cash flow streams, net present value, internal rate of return, dollar-weighted and time-weighted returns.
Portfolio immunization strategies, Redington immunization, full immunization, and asset-liability matching.
Economic and market factors that shape interest rates, including inflation, risk premiums, and the yield curve.
Upload your ACTEX Exam FM digital edition, scanned ASM pages, TIA handouts, or your own notes. exclam.ai generates a fully guided study plan with adaptive flashcards and quizzes for this topic.