Financial Planner Course

Lesson 1 • Building the Client Relationship

Examines trust-building, communication styles, and expectation-setting with clients. Prepares students to initiate productive, long-term advisory relationships.

Lesson 2 • Regulatory Environment Overview

Surveys the regulatory bodies, licensing requirements, and compliance obligations planners face. Connects regulatory awareness to day-to-day practice decisions.

Lesson 3 • Ethical Standards and Professional Conduct

Covers fiduciary duty, codes of ethics, and disciplinary processes. Grounds students in the conduct standards that govern every client interaction.

Lesson 4 • The Financial Planning Profession

Defines financial planning, its scope, and how it differs from related advisory roles. Establishes the professional context for all subsequent chapters.

Lesson 1 • Identifying Financial Strengths and Gaps

Synthesizes statement analysis to produce a written financial health summary. Prepares students to communicate findings clearly to clients.

Lesson 2 • Cash Flow Statement and Budgeting

Covers income and expense tracking, surplus identification, and budget construction. Links cash flow analysis to goal-funding capacity.

Lesson 3 • Time Value of Money Fundamentals

Explains present value, future value, and annuity calculations essential to planning. Provides the mathematical foundation for goal projections in later chapters.

Lesson 4 • Financial Ratios and Benchmarks

Introduces liquidity, debt, and savings ratios used to benchmark client health. Enables objective comparison against industry standards.

Lesson 1 • Monitoring and Updating Financial Plans

Establishes review cycles, trigger events, and plan revision protocols. Ensures plans remain relevant as client circumstances evolve.

Lesson 2 • Presenting and Gaining Plan Approval

Covers structured plan presentation, handling objections, and securing client commitment. Bridges analytical work to the client-facing delivery phase.

Lesson 3 • Defining and Categorizing Client Goals

Distinguishes short-, medium-, and long-term goals and applies structured goal frameworks. Anchors all planning recommendations to explicit client objectives.

Lesson 4 • Risk Tolerance and Capacity Assessment

Differentiates risk tolerance from risk capacity and uses assessment tools to profile clients. Ensures strategy recommendations align with client comfort and financial reality.

Lesson 1 • Investment Vehicle Overview

Surveys equities, fixed income, cash equivalents, and alternative assets. Provides the product knowledge base for portfolio construction decisions.

Lesson 2 • Portfolio Performance Evaluation

Introduces benchmarking, risk-adjusted return measures, and rebalancing triggers. Equips students to assess and communicate portfolio results to clients.

Lesson 3 • Asset Allocation and Diversification

Covers strategic and tactical asset allocation models and diversification benefits. Enables students to construct portfolios that balance growth and risk.

Lesson 4 • Risk and Return Principles

Explains the risk-return tradeoff, standard deviation, and beta as portfolio metrics. Connects theoretical concepts to practical asset selection.

Lesson 1 • Disability and Income Protection

Examines short- and long-term disability products, benefit definitions, and elimination periods. Protects client earning capacity as the foundation of all financial plans.

Lesson 2 • Health and Long-Term Care Insurance

Reviews health plan structures, cost-sharing features, and long-term care funding options. Addresses the largest uninsured risk in most client portfolios.

Lesson 3 • Risk Management Process

Introduces the identify-evaluate-select-implement-review risk management cycle. Provides the analytical framework applied to all insurance decisions.

Lesson 4 • Life Insurance Planning

Covers term, whole, universal, and variable life products and needs-analysis methods. Enables students to recommend appropriate death benefit coverage.

Lesson 1 • Proactive Tax Planning Techniques

Introduces income shifting, bunching strategies, and multi-year tax projections. Moves students from reactive filing to forward-looking tax optimization.

Lesson 2 • Retirement Account Tax Strategies

Examines contribution limits, Roth conversions, and required minimum distributions. Integrates retirement account decisions with broader tax planning.

Lesson 3 • Capital Gains and Investment Taxation

Covers short- and long-term capital gains rates, loss harvesting, and dividend taxation. Connects investment decisions to their after-tax outcomes.

Lesson 4 • Deductions, Credits, and Exemptions

Distinguishes above-the-line deductions, itemized deductions, and tax credits. Teaches students to identify and maximize available tax reductions for clients.

Lesson 1 • Employer-Sponsored Retirement Plans

Surveys defined benefit and defined contribution plan structures, vesting, and employer matching. Enables students to maximize workplace retirement benefits for clients.

Lesson 2 • Retirement Needs Analysis

Calculates retirement income targets using replacement rate and expense projection methods. Anchors all retirement planning to a quantified funding goal.

Lesson 3 • Social Insurance and Pension Income

Analyzes government retirement benefit structures, claiming strategies, and integration with private savings. Optimizes the timing and sequencing of guaranteed income sources.

Lesson 4 • Individual Retirement Savings Vehicles

Covers individual retirement account types, contribution rules, and eligibility limits. Complements employer plans with personal savings strategies.

Lesson 1 • Trusts in Estate Planning

Surveys revocable and irrevocable trust structures, their purposes, and funding mechanics. Enables students to identify when trusts add value over simple wills.

Lesson 2 • Wills, Powers of Attorney, and Directives

Covers testamentary wills, durable powers of attorney, and healthcare directives. Ensures clients have foundational legal documents in place.

Lesson 3 • Beneficiary Designations and Account Titling

Explains how beneficiary designations and account ownership override will provisions. Prevents common estate planning errors caused by outdated designations.

Lesson 4 • Estate Planning Fundamentals

Defines the estate planning process, key documents, and the planner's role within a legal team. Establishes scope and collaboration boundaries for financial planners.