Personal Financial Planning Courses
Our CFP program is 100% online. All courses are asynchronous, and course materials are available online for each student without scheduled meetings. Students are required to complete six CFP certification courses (18 credit hours) to take the CFP exam.
Please note that a bachelor's degree is required to take the exam. Students may take Personal Financial Planning courses in conjunction with their degree courses.
Learn more about the six required courses in our Personal Financial Planning program.
Learning objectives
- Personal Financial Planning
- Psychology of Financial Planning
- Financial planning process
- Financial statement
- Cash flow management
- Financial planning strategies and debt management
- Economic concepts
- Time value of money concepts and calculations
- Education needs analysis
- Education savings vehicles
- Education funding
- Gift/income tax strategies
Learning objectives
- Principles of Risk and Insurance
- Analysis and evaluation of risk exposures
- Health insurance and health care cost management (individual and group)
- Disability income insurance (individual and group)
- Long-term care insurance and long-term care planning (individual and group)
- Qualified and non-qualified annuities
- Life insurance (individual and group)
- Business owner insurance solutions
- Insurance needs analysis
- Insurance policy and company selection
Learning objectives
- Securities Markets and Money Market Instruments
- Debt Investments
- Equity Investments and Managed Assets
- Bond and Stock Valuation Concepts
- Alternative Investments and Derivatives
- Types of Investment Risk and Quantitative Investment Concepts
- Measures of Investment Returns
- Portfolio Management Theory, Portfolio Development, and Asset Allocation
- Qualified Plans Requirements and Regulatory Plan Considerations
- Defined Benefit and Other Pension Plans
- Profit-Sharing and Other Defined Contribution Plans
- Tax-Advantaged Plans and Nonqualified Plans
- Traditional and Roth IRAs
- Plan Distributions
- Social Security
- Retirement Plan Selection for Employer-Sponsors and Needs Analysis
- Deferred Compensation and Stock Plans
Learning Objectives
- Fundamental and current tax law
- Income tax fundamentals and calculations
- Characteristics and income taxation of business entities
- Income taxation of trusts and estates
- Tax reduction/management techniques
- Tax consequences of property transactions
- Tax implications of special circumstances
- Charitable/philanthropic contributions and deductions
Learning Objectives
- Property titling and beneficiary designations
- Strategies to transfer property
- Estate and incapacity planning documents
- Gift, estate, and GST tax compliance calculation
- Sources for estate liquidity
- Types, features, and taxation of trusts
- Marital deduction
- Intra-family and other business transfer techniques
- Postmortem estate planning techniques
- Planning for divorce, unmarried couples, and other special circumstances
- Planning for special needs and circumstances
Learning Objectives
Upon completion of this course, the student will be able to:
- Demonstrate a comprehensive understanding of the content found within the financial planning curriculum and effectively apply and integrate this information in the formulation of a financial plan.
- Effectively communicate the financial plan, both orally and in writing, including information based on research, peer, colleague or simulated client interaction and/or results emanating from synthesis of material.
- Analyze personal financial situations that include both qualitative and quantitative information, evaluating clients’ objectives, needs, and values to develop an appropriate strategy within the financial plan.
- Demonstrate logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of various approaches to a specific problem.
- Evaluate the impact of economic, political, and regulatory issues with regard to the financial plan.
- Apply the CFP Board Code of Ethics and Standards of Conduct to the financial planning process.