This five-course certificate has been designed to fulfill the educational requirements for the Certified Financial Planner certification examination, administered by the Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards. Students learn the fundamentals of financial planning, including investment planning, income tax planning, financial planning, process and insurance, retirement planning, employee benefits, and estate planning.

Why pursue the CFP® certification?

The public's growing need for objective financial planning advice, combined with the rigorous standards demanded of CFP® certificants, have placed professionals with CFP® marks at the forefront of the financial planning profession.

Upon successful completion of this program you will have:

• Satisfied the course requirements of the Certified Financial Planner Board
• Substantive knowledge and technical skills for professional competence as a financial planner
• Knowledge of all 101 topics mandated by the Certified Financial Planner Board
• Proficiency with use of a financial calculator

Who Should Take this Course?

Investment Advisors, Stock Brokers, Accountants, Tax Managers, Insurance Brokers, and anyone responsible for the management of finances.

Program Objectives:

• To assess student learning to constantly improve curriculum design, teaching methods, the student learning experience, and beneficial learning resources
• To produce educational materials in all disciplines of personal financial planning that are of the highest academic quality
• To instill in students a commitment to engage in life-long continuing education to better serve their clients and communities, and to achieve career success

Faculty:

All courses are taught by experienced faculty with real-world experience who also hold the CFP® designation.

Tuition:

$695 per course. The tuition fee does not include the cost of the required study guides and online exam fees, which must be purchased to qualify for access to the online final exam.

Materials:

The CFP Certification Professional Education Program courses also require your knowledgeable use of a full-function financial calculator (similar to the HP-10B or HP-10BII). The College's materials support the Hewlett-Packard 10B and 10BII calculators, and all primary keystroke instructions refer to these calculators. Limited support is also provided for the HP-12C calculator. Several other financial-function calculators will perform the necessary calculations and may be used, as long as word-based formulas cannot be programmed into them. However, support for any calculators other than the HP-10B and the HP-10BII will not be provided.

Required Courses:

Financial Planning Process and Insurance
Investment Planning
Income Tax Planning
Retirement Planning and Employee Benefits
Estate Planning

Course Descriptions:

Financial Planning Process and Insurance
Presentation ofthe basics that form the foundation of knowledge you need as a working financial services professional. The financial planning process as well as the legal, ethical, and regulatory issues affecting financial planners, and the time value of money concepts are covered. The course continues with a discussion of the principles of risk management and insurance, allowing you to identify a client's risk exposure and select appropriate risk management techniques.

Topics Covered:

• Introduction to the Financial Planning Process
• Regulatory and Ethical Considerations for Financial Planners
• Introduction to the Time Value of Money
• Introduction to the Insurance Industry
• Introduction to Risk Management and Related Legal Issues
• Introduction to Life Insurance and Annuities
• The Life Insurance Selection Process
• Health Care Plans
• Disability Income and Long-Term Care Insurance

Required Textbooks:

Chandler, Darlene K., et. al., Risk Management for Financial Planners (current edition), The National Underwriter Company.

Leimberg, Stephan R., et. al., Tools and Techniques of Lfie Insurance Planning (current edition), The National Underwriter Company.

Tuition: $695
Dates: TBA
Times: 7:00 P.M. - 10:00 P.M.

Investment Planning
Learn about the wide variety of investment vehicles that may be included in a client's portfolio, as well as client assessment, tax considerations, economic factors, valuation methods, asset allocation techniques, portfolio performance evaluation, and more. Having the knowledge to choose the right investments is essential for implementing your clients' financial plans and ensuring their confidence in you.

Topics Covered:

• Security Markets
• The Economic Environment
• Investment Risk and Return
• Security Analysis
• Common Stock Valuation and Performance Measurement
• Features of Fixed-Income Securities
• Valuation and Analysis of Fixed-Income Investments
• Derivatives
• Real Assets
• Mutual Funds and Foreign Investments

Required Textbook:

Investments: An Introduction (current edition), Mayo, Chicago: Thomson South-Western.

Tuition: $695
Dates: TBA
Time: 7:00 P.M. - 10:00 P.M.

Income Tax Planning
Because taxes affect virtually every financial decision, having timely knowledge of tax laws and issues greatly enhances your effectiveness as a financial professional and broadens your opportunities to do business. The third course emphasizes the fundamentals of individual income taxation, the tax implications of various types of businesses, tax-advantaged investments, employee compensation issues and planning, alternative minimum tax, tax traps, and more.

Topics Covered:

• Income Tax Concepts, Basic Terminology, and Tax Calculations
• Tax Accounting and Forms of Business
• Income Tax Aspects of Property Acquisitions and Introduction to Property Dispositions
• Income Tax Aspects of the Disposition of Property
• Passive Activity Losses and Related Topics
• Income Tax Aspects of Securities
• Tax Planning for the Family
• Tax Law Research and Special Income Tax Considerations

Required Textbooks:

Principles of Taxation for Business and Investment Planning (current edition), Jones, Boston: Irwin/McGraw Hill

RIA's Federal Tax Handbook (current edition), New York: The Research Institute of America, Inc.

Tuition: $695
Dates: TBA
Time: 7:00 P.M. - 10:00 P.M.

Retirement Planning and Employee Benefits
With more and more Americans expressing concern about how they can be financially comfortable in retirement, it's crucial to your business that you know how to serve their needs in this area. This fourth course covers all major retirement-related issues: Retirement savings need analysis, qualified retirement plan design, Social Security, Medicare, and more. In addition, group life, health, and disability insurance, nonqualified deferred compensation, and other commonly provided employee benefits are examined.

Topics Covered:

• Planning for Retirement
• Introduction to Retirement Plan
• Defined Contribution Plans for the Private Sector
• Retirement Plans for Nonprofit and Governmental Entities
• Plan Design, Installation, and Administration Issues
• Retirement Plan Distributions
• Other Employee Benefits
• Nonqualified Executive Benefit Plans

Required Textbooks:

Michael A. Dalton, Retirement Planning and Employee Benefits for Financial Planners (current edition), ME (Money Education).

Minor, Deborah, Editor, (current edition) Tax Facts on Insurance and Employee Benefits, NULaw Services, a department of National Underwriter.

Dates: TBA
Time: 7:00 P.M. - 10:00 P.M.
Tuition: $695

Estate Planning
Estate planning is vital to a total financial plan, especially in your work with high-net-worth clients. This fifth course introduces you to the process of developing an estate plan. Topics covered include federal estate and gift taxation, techniques that reduce the size of a gross state, wills, intestacy, probate, trusts, and more.

Topics Covered:

• Estate Planning Process and Goals
• Methods of Estate Transfer at Death
• The Federal Estate Tax
• The Federal Gift Tax
• Methods of Estate Transfer During Life
• Estate Planning Issues Related to Generation-Skipping Transfer Tax and Income Tax
• Estate Liquidity and Postmortem Actions
• Estate Planning for Special Situations: Incapacity, Family Arrangements, and Selecting Fiducaries

Required Textbook:

Dalton, Michael A., Estate Planning for Financial Planners (current edition), ME (Money Education).

Dates: April 29 - July 8, 2008
Time: 7:00 P.M. - 10:00 P.M.
Tuition: $695

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