Illinois State University Mathematics Department
This class is delivered online on ReggieNet
Instructors
Dr. Krzysztof Ostaszewski
FSA, CERA, FSAS, CFA, MAAA,
Actuarial Program Director
Office: Stevenson Hall, room 313G
Telephone: 309-438-7226, Fax: 309-438-5866
E-mail: krzysio@ilstu.edu
Classes Meet
This class is held online.
Office Hours
By appointment. You can also make an appointment at http://smartURL.it/appointment. Contact the instructor by e-mail (krzysio@ilstu.edu), or inside ReggieNet, or call/FaceTime (309-287-1711).
Textbooks
There will study notes, exercises and videos provided online, which will cover all required material. You can also use any of the books listed as textbooks for the Course FM professional actuarial examination. The class materials posted online, as well as video lectures will refer to this text: BTDT Study Manual for the Course FM Examination, by Krzysztof Ostaszewski, available here. If you purchase the manual, and take our (free to ISU students) online seminar for exam FM (see: http://smartURL.it/onlineactuary) and pass the exam as our student, you will be reimbursed for the manual by the Actuarial Program (see: http://smartURL.it/examsreimbursements).
Objective
The objective of this class is to present the main concepts of basic deterministic financial mathematics. These include: time value of money, mesurement of interest, annuities, loans, bonds, stocks and preferred stocks, duration, convexity, immunization, determinants of interest rates and swaps. The class will cover the entire material tested on the Course FM professional actuarial examination. Note that the next available testing period for Course FM professional actuarial examination is August 9-20, 2019, and the deadline to register for this testing period is July 9, 2019. You can find all dates for Computer Based Tests for professional actuarial examinations here.
Grading
There will be four take home mid-term examinations, and two supervised final examination. You must schedule your supervised final examinations on campus of Illinois State University or at another supervised secure location (e.g., at a local university or community college at a location where you are, or at an insurance company office). One of the two examinations must be taken by Wednesday, July 31, 2018 at the latest, and the second one must be taken by Friday, August 9, 2019 at the latest. You are required to work on your take home tests by yourself, without obtaining help from anyone else, and submit written solutions (make it one file for each assignment) in ReggieNet, or send your work as an e-mail attachment to the instructor (make it one file for each assignment) or by sharing it through some other secure file sharing service. The better of the two finals will count as 40% of your grade, and the best two of the remaining five tests (four take home tests, and the second final) will count as 30% of your grade each. You will also get up to 10% extra credit for the best of the remaining tests. The grading scale will be as follows: 90% or better — A, 80% to 90% — B, 70% to 80% — C, 60% to 70% — D, below 60% — F. If you have an A after the first final, you will not be given the second final. After each test is graded, you will receive an e-mail with information on how to log in to a secure site where you will be able to view your grade(s). You will also receive a PDF file of your test with grading indicated, and you can submit any questions you might have about the grading to the class instructor. You will also receive model solutions of all tests after the tests are given.
Student Access and Accommodations Services
Illinois State University provides a welcoming atmosphere for individuals with disabilities by assisting each in functioning independently within the University community and providing equal access and opportunity in accomplishing educational, professional and personal goals. Student Access and Accommodation Services is the designated office to provide approved accommodation services for students, faculty, staff, and guests with disabilities. Student Access and Accommodation Service obtains and maintains documentation of disability, certifies eligibility for services, determines reasonable accommodations, and develops plans for providing such accommodations. This is accomplished in a confidential manner to ensure equal opportunity for participation in all courses, programs, activities and employment offered by Illinois State University. Please contact the Student Access and Accommodation Service in Fell Hall room 350, tel. 309-438-5853 (Voice), 309-438-8620 (TTY), web site: https://studentaccess.illinoisstate.edu. if you have needs that can be accommodate by that office.
Important dates
Illinois State University important dates information for the Summer 2019 semester is given here: http://registrar.illinoisstate.edu/downloads/calendars/2018/summer2018cal.pdf
- Monday, May 20, 2019: Classes officially start.
- Friday, May 24, 2019: You are expected to have studied notes and watched video lectures, including going through corresponding exercises, for topics: (i) Fundamental Concepts of Theory of Interest; (ii) Cash Flows and Interest Measurement.
- Friday, May 31, 2019: You are expected to have studied notes and watched video lectures, including going through corresponding exercises, for topics: (i) Annuities; (ii) Loan Amortization; (iii) Bonds and Other Securities. You will receive Take Home Examination 1, covering material through May 31, 2019, for which your solutions are due June 30, 2019, by 11:59 p.m. U.S. Central Time. Submission in one file named FirstnameLastname-Test1 is strongly preferred. Note that you can submit your work within Reggienet.
- Friday, June 7, 2019: You are expected to have studied notes and watched video lectures, including going through corresponding exercises, for topics: (i) Duration; (ii) Conv9xity and Applications of Duration; (iii) Immunizaton. You will receive Take Home Examination 2, covering material through June 7, 2019, for which your solutions are due July 7, 2019, by 11:59 p.m. U.S. Central Time. Submission in one file named FirstnameLastname-Test2 is strongly preferred. Note that you can submit your work within Reggienet.
- Friday, June 14, 2019: You are expected to have studied notes and watched video lectures, including going through corresponding exercises, for topics: (i) Yield Curve and Multivariate Immunization; (ii) Determinants of Interest Rates. You will receive Take Home Examination 3, covering material through June 14, 2019, given to you, and due July 14, 2019, by 11:59 p.m. U.S. Central Time. Submission in one file named FirstnameLastname-Test3 is strongly preferred. Note that you can submit your work within Reggienet.
- Friday, June 21, 2019: You are expected to have studied notes and watched video lectures, including going through corresponding exercises, for topics: (i) Stocks; (ii) Swaps. You will receive Take Home Midterm Examination 4, covering material through June 21, 2019, given to you, and due July 21, 2019, by 11:59 p.m. U.S. Central Time. Submission in one file named FirstnameLastname-Test4 is strongly preferred. Note that you can submit your work within Reggienet.
- Wednesday, July 31, 2019: You must take your first supervised final examination on or before this date. Please schedule it at least four days in advance. The arrangement must be approved by the instructor. The test can be supervised by a professor at a university or a community college, or a credentialed actuary, who agrees to do this and coordinates this process with the class instructor. You can always come to take the supervised test at Illinois State University, but you are not required to, any supervised setting is acceptable, as long as approved and agreed upon by the class instructor. Please ask Dr. Ostaszewski if you are uncertain of anything.
- Friday, August 9, 2019: You must take your second supervised final examination on or before this date. Please schedule it at least four days in advance. The arrangement must be approved by the instructor. The test can be supervised by a professor at a university or a community college, or a credentialed actuary, who agrees to do this and coordinates this process with the class instructor. You can always come to take the supervised test at Illinois State University, but you are not required to, any supervised setting is acceptable, as long as approved and agreed upon by the class instructor. Please ask Dr. Ostaszewski if you are uncertain of anything.
All deadlines are final and will not be extended under any circumstances. For any form of submission, the date and time sent must be prior to the deadline. Please make appropriate allowance for technology failures.
All information contained here is, to our best knowledge, correct, but it is merely a representation, and should not be considered to be any form of professional advice. This electronic publication should not be misconstrued as the official position of Illinois State University, or its Department of Mathematics. We are glad to provide as much information as possible here, but we kindly ask that in any decision related to matters listed here you seek additional counsel and information. Comments on this Home Page are welcome and should be sent to Dr. Krzysztof Ostaszewski at his e-mail address: krzysio@ilstu.edu.