100+ Free CAS Exam 9 Practice Questions
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In the Capital Asset Pricing Model (CAPM), the expected return on a security is best described as:
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Key Facts: CAS Exam 9 Exam
100
Practice Questions
OpenExamPrep CAS Exam 9 bank
4 hrs
Exam Length
CAS 2026 Admissions Schedule
30-35%
Recent Pass Rate
CAS sittings 2024-2025
~$1,200
Exam Fee
CAS 2026 fee schedule
2x/yr
2026 Sittings
Apr 14-21 and Oct 19-27
400-600 hrs
Recommended Study
Typical CAS Fellowship guidance
CAS Exam 9 is a primarily essay-format four-hour CBT on the Fellowship pathway, with a recent pass rate of about 30-35% and a fee near $1,200. It is administered twice a year (April 14-21 and October 19-27 in 2026) and tests insurance pricing and underwriting profit at 20%, CAPM and multifactor models at 15%, ALM (duration, convexity, immunization) at 15%, cost of capital at 10%, MPT for insurer investment at 10%, risk measures (VaR, TVaR, spectral) at 10%, catastrophe bonds and ILS pricing at 10%, and ERM economic capital modeling at 10%. Candidates typically already hold ACAS or near-ACAS standing before sitting.
Sample CAS Exam 9 Practice Questions
Try these sample questions to test your CAS Exam 9 exam readiness. Each question includes a detailed explanation. Start the interactive quiz above for the full 100+ question experience with AI tutoring.
1In the Capital Asset Pricing Model (CAPM), the expected return on a security is best described as:
2A stock has a covariance with the market of 0.024 and the market variance is 0.016. What is the stock's beta?
3The risk-free rate is 3%, the expected market return is 9%, and a stock's beta is 1.2. What is the CAPM-implied expected return?
4On a security market line (SML) plot, a stock with positive Jensen's alpha lies:
5The Fama-French three-factor model adds which two factors to the CAPM market factor?
6Which two factors does the Fama-French five-factor model add to the original three-factor model?
7The Carhart four-factor model extends Fama-French by adding which factor?
8Compared with CAPM, Arbitrage Pricing Theory (APT) is best characterized as:
9An insurer's three-factor model gives factor sensitivities b_market = 0.9, b_SMB = 0.3, b_HML = 0.4 with risk premiums 6%, 2%, and 3% respectively. With Rf = 3%, what is the expected return?
10A portfolio's beta is 1.4. Over a year, the realized portfolio return was 16%, the market return was 12%, and the risk-free rate was 4%. What is Jensen's alpha?
About the CAS Exam 9 Exam
CAS Exam 9 is a Fellowship-track essay exam that tests the Capital Asset Pricing Model and multifactor models (Fama-French, Carhart, APT), cost of capital (WACC, Hamada equation, unlevered industry beta), insurance pricing and underwriting profit provision (Myers-Cohn, Fairley, Ferrari), modern portfolio theory applied to insurer investment portfolios, asset-liability management (duration, convexity, immunization), coherent risk measures (VaR, TVaR, spectral), catastrophe bond and ILS pricing, and ERM economic capital modeling under Solvency II and NAIC RBC.
Questions
100 scored questions
Time Limit
4 hours
Passing Score
Scaled (6-10 = pass on the CAS 0-10 scale)
Exam Fee
~$1,200 (Casualty Actuarial Society (CAS))
CAS Exam 9 Exam Content Outline
Insurance Pricing & Underwriting Profit
Myers-Cohn IRR-based fair premium, Fairley CAPM underwriting profit (UWP = -k*Rf), Ferrari surplus model, target combined ratio from required ROE, NPV of UW profit plus investment income on policyholder funds
CAPM & Multifactor Models
CAPM E(Ri) = Rf + beta*(E(Rm)-Rf), security market line, beta from Cov(Ri,Rm)/Var(Rm), Fama-French 3-factor (SMB, HML), 5-factor (RMW, CMA), Carhart momentum (UMD), APT factor models
ALM (Duration, Convexity, Immunization)
Macaulay D = -Sum(t*PVcft)/P, modified D* = D/(1+y), effective duration for embedded-option bonds, convexity, price change dP/P approx -D*dy + 0.5*C*(dy)^2, immunization, cash flow matching, key rate duration
Cost of Capital
WACC = (E/V)Re + (D/V)Rd(1-Tc), Hamada beta_L = beta_U(1 + (1-T)D/E), unlevering and relevering an industry beta, country risk premium adjustments
MPT for Insurer Investment
Mean-variance efficient frontier, tangency portfolio = market portfolio, Sharpe = (Rp-Rf)/sigma_p, Treynor = (Rp-Rf)/beta_p, Jensen's alpha, information ratio, Black-Litterman views
Risk Measures
VaR alpha-quantile, TVaR (Expected Shortfall) E[L|L>VaR_alpha], coherence and subadditivity, spectral risk measures, Wang transform g(F)=N(N^-1(F)+lambda), distortion and PH transforms
Catastrophe Bonds & ILS Pricing
Parametric, indemnity, industry-index, and modeled-loss triggers, attachment and exhaustion, expected loss EL, premium = EL * multiple (typical 2-4x indemnity, 1.5-3x parametric), peak perils (US wind/EQ, Japan, Euro wind)
ERM Economic Capital
Economic capital required to remain solvent at target rating (e.g., AA = 1-in-1000-yr) over a 1-year horizon, internal model vs standard formula, Solvency II SCR/MCR, NAIC RBC C-1/C-2/C-3/C-4 charges
How to Pass the CAS Exam 9 Exam
What You Need to Know
- Passing score: Scaled (6-10 = pass on the CAS 0-10 scale)
- Exam length: 100 questions
- Time limit: 4 hours
- Exam fee: ~$1,200
Keys to Passing
- Complete 500+ practice questions
- Score 80%+ consistently before scheduling
- Focus on highest-weighted sections
- Use our AI tutor for tough concepts
CAS Exam 9 Study Tips from Top Performers
Frequently Asked Questions
How is CAS Exam 9 structured?
CAS Exam 9 is a four-hour computer-based test built primarily around essay and constructed-response items. Candidates work through multi-part problems that combine numerical calculations (CAPM beta, Myers-Cohn fair premium, duration and convexity, TVaR, economic capital) with written justifications grounded in the syllabus papers.
What is the pass rate for CAS Exam 9?
Recent sittings have cleared roughly 30 to 35 percent of candidates, in line with other CAS Fellowship exams. CAS reports outcomes on a 0-10 scale, where any score from 6 to 10 is a pass; CAS does not publish a fixed numeric cut score for Exam 9.
When is CAS Exam 9 offered in 2026?
Per the 2026 CAS Admissions Examination Schedule, Exam 9 has two sittings: a Spring window from April 14 to 21, 2026 and a Fall window from October 19 to 27, 2026. Registration deadlines fall several weeks before each window, and Pearson VUE handles scheduling.
How much does CAS Exam 9 cost?
The exam fee is approximately $1,200 in 2026, with discounted pricing for early registration and surcharge pricing for late registration. The total cost typically grows once you include study seminars, source-paper materials, and any retake attempts.
What prerequisites should I have before sitting Exam 9?
CAS strongly recommends having Exams 7 and 8 in hand and ACAS standing (or being one exam away from it). Exam 9 assumes comfort with corporate finance, statistics from MAS-I and MAS-II, and the ratemaking and reserving content from the upper-level path. Without that base, the asset-pricing, ALM, and economic-capital material will be hard to follow.
How should I study for the essay format?
Most candidates spend 400-600 hours over four to six months. Build a paper-by-paper outline of the syllabus, write timed essay answers on past CAS Exam 9 problems, and practice formatting CAPM, Myers-Cohn fair premium, duration/convexity, TVaR, and economic-capital calculations into clear bullet workings. Memorize the Hamada equation, Fama-French factors, and Solvency II/NAIC RBC structures so you can deploy them under time pressure.