You’ve truly developed an inspirational study program. Just yesterday, I saw my candidate number on the pass list, making me a Fellow. Your study materials played a large part in that achievement. I can’t thank you enough.
About
We’ve helped +1,000 actuaries pass their exams to get their FCAS — and we can help you, too.
What We Do
The CAS exams are changing and the exam you’re studying for will look different than the released exams from 2019 and before.
To pass, you need to understand a huge amount of material and know how to apply the concepts to solve challenging exam questions in the CBT format. This is why so many candidates simply run out of time and lose points on blank answers, even after studying for hundreds of hours.
We help CAS actuaries like you prepare for the changing exams so that you can go into the exam room with confidence and have your best sitting yet.
Who We Are
Rising Fellow is a team of FCAS actuaries that combine professional study materials with top-notch instruction to help actuaries like you pass upper-level CAS exams. We’re perfectly positioned to help you pass because we’ve been in your shoes — our review materials are derived from the very study tools we developed throughout the course of our own studying.
Our exam online courses and study material will help you:
Instructors
Steve Roll, FCAS
Steve is the co-owner of Rising Fellow and the instructor for CAS Exam 8. His past work experience includes personal lines pricing/ratemaking, reinsurance risk analysis, and reinsurance reserving. Steve is an expert problem-writer and the actuary behind the Rising Fellow Cookbook. He passed all of his exams the first sitting and has been offering CAS exam preparation materials since 2015.
Michael McPhail, FCAS
Michael is co-owner of Rising Fellow and serves as the instructor for Exam 7. His past work experience includes personal lines reserving, commercial lines reserving, and personal lines ratemaking across both the carrier and consulting spaces. In addition to his work experience, Michael has taught at the university level and presented at a number of industry meetings. He has been offering CAS exam preparation materials since 2012. He founded Casual Fellow, which combined with Rising Fellow in 2022.
Geoff Werner, FCAS
Geoff Werner is an FCAS with over 30 years of experience focused on insurance pricing and product innovation. He has held executive-level positions at a top 10 US insurer, two global consulting firms, and a leading telematics service provider. He has extensive experience training clients on actuarial topics, predictive modeling software, telematics, etc. Geoff co-authored Basic Ratemaking, the ratemaking textbook on CAS Exam 5.
Scott Merkord, FCAS
Scott is the instructor for CAS Exam 6. His past work experience includes personal lines pricing and economic capital modeling. He also previously led the recruiting, training, and actuarial exam program for candidates at his workplace.
Shayla Carey, FCAS
Shayla Carey is the assistant course instructor for CAS Exam 8. She received her FCAS in 2023. Her work experience has been primarily in personal lines pricing and modeling, where she has developed a passion for training and developing future actuaries. She has also volunteered on the CAS Syllabus and Examination Committee.
Steve Giusti, FCAS
Steve is the instructor for CAS Exam 9. Steve Giusti received his FCAS in the Fall of 2018. His past work experience includes personal lines reserving and ratemaking. Prior to his current role as a practicing actuary, Steve taught high school math and science for ten years.
I gotta say: you rock, man!
Getting my FCAS would have been harder without Rising Fellow
I used Rising Fellow for all of my upper-level exams, including passing Exam 9 in Spring 2022 to get my FCAS. I’m certain it’s still the best seminar on the market, particularly in preparing you for the CBT environment. As a mid-30s career changer, I have no doubt getting my FCAS would have been much more difficult had I gone with something other than Rising Fellow for my fellowship-level exams.