Financial Planning and Wealth Management

Hours: 100 / Access Length: 12 Months / Delivery: Online, Mentor Supported

Course Overview:

Financial Planning and Wealth Management are key skills needed for today’s leaders. In this course you will be presented with the key information needed to help you understand the basic aspects of estate planning and various methods of property transfers, gifts and gift tax. In addition Information is presented regarding The Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act which requires institutions to disclose privacy policies, and limits instances in which consumer information can be shared. Also covered is Insurance Concepts, Mutual Funds & Retirement Planning.

Course Outline:

Estate Planning
1. Estate Planning - An Overview

• Various ways that property can be owned and transferred
• Distinguish between the various forms of ownership
• Importance of documents required for estate planning
• Likely “targets of opportunity” for malpractice claims
• The concept of “privity” and to whom is the estate planner liable
• Various steps the planner can take to reduce the risk of malpractice suits
• Most common estate planning mistakes and ways to avoid such mistakes

2. Transfer of Property

• Transfers through the probate process
• Testamentary distribution
• Intestate succession
• Advantages and disadvantages of probate
• Assets subject to probate estate
• Probate avoidance strategies
• Ancillary probate administration
• Transfers by operation of law
• Transfers through trusts
• Transfers by contract

3. Estate Planning - Wills

• Definition and importance of will
• Types of wills
• Parties to a will
• Legal requirements of a will
• Terms and contents of a will
• Changing or revoking a will
• Major clauses of a will
• Will contents
• Intestacy
• Tax implications of a will

4. Gift and Gift Tax

• What to gift, why to gift, and when to gift
• Gifts that are subject to gift tax
• Exclusions and deductions
• Available credits
• Gift tax liability

Introduction to Financial Planning

1. This course provides an understanding of:

• The meaning and process of financial planning
• Basic steps in financial planning

2. Analyzing the Resources of the Person:  This course provides an understanding of:

• Construction of personal financial statements as a tool for measuring personal wealth
• The importance of budgeting
• Evaluation of financial strength by using various ratios

3. Basic Concepts in Financial Planning:  This course provides an understanding of:

• The concept of time value of money
• Need for diversified investment
• Investment strategies

4. Financial Products for Savers:  This course provides an understanding of:

• Differences between saving and investment
• Product choices available for saving

5. Financial Products for Investors:  This course provides an understanding of:

• Product choice available for investment
• Features of various investment products
• Difference between various investment products

6. The Psychographics and Life Cycle of the Investor:  This course provides an understanding of:

• The various individual investor types
• How they are likely to carry out their financial programs
• Various stages in an individual's life cycle
• How individuals are likely to carry out their financial programs in these stages

7. Goals and Investment Objectives:  This course provides an understanding of:

• How individuals rationally approach various types of goals
• The broad investment objectives and how they influence the investment product choices

8. Tax Planning:  This course provides an understanding of legal strategies that can be used to reduce federal income taxes such as:

• Tax-Deferred Retirement Plans
• Flexible Spending Account
• Home Equity Loan
• Tax-Exempt Bonds or Mutual Funds

9. Model Portfolio:  This course provides an understanding of:

• Building a model portfolio for an individual
• Portfolio Allocation Scoring System (PASS)
• Portfolio Management

Insurance Concepts
1. Principles of Insurance

• What is Risk
• Key concepts in insurance business
• Methods to deal with risk

2. Analysis and Evaluation of Risk Exposures

• Three types of risks against which insurance is provided
• Legal aspects of insurance

3. Life Insurance

• Different terms used in life insurance policy
• Roles of life insurance
• Different types of life insurance
• Process to determine the amount needed for life insurance
• Different factors considered while selecting a life insurance policy

4. Underwriting and Claims

• Various terms used in underwriting process
• Various types of hazards
• Process of risk assessment
• Underwriting procedure
• Basis for premium calculation
• Procedure for handling claims

5. General Insurance - Individuals

• Auto insurance policy and its provisions
• Factors that affect auto insurance premium
• Homeowner's insurance policy and its provisions
• Factors that affect homeowner's insurance premium
• Various method to reduce homeowner's insurance premium

6. Health, Long-term Care and Disability Insurance

• Health insurance
• Different types of health care insurance plans
• Features and provisions of each health care plan
• Concept of long-term care insurance and discuss its key features
• Concept of disability income insurance and discuss its key features

7. Actuarial Principles

• Role played by an actuary in the insurance industry and the nature of actuarial practice
• Difference between the principles and standards used in actuarial profession
• Principles of actuarial science based on probability and statistics, behavioral economics, actuarial models and financial security system

8. Group Insurance

• Group insurance contracts
• Group insurance underwriting and its various considerations
• Various group insurance policy provisions and group life insurance policy provisions
• Various factors for determining group insurance premiums
• Different types of group life insurance plans

9. Reinsurance

• Reinsurance and need for it
• Different types and methods of reinsurance
• Alternative risk transfer mechanisms in reinsurance
• Basic functions of reinsurance

10. Annuities

• Annuity and reasons to buy annuities
• Variables used to calculate annuity
• Operation of annuities
• Types of annuities
• Various annuity contract provisions
• Tax implications in annuities
• Various calculations involved in an annuity

Mutual Funds
1. Mutual Funds - Concept

• Concept of mutual funds
• Basic types of mutual funds
• Advantages of mutual funds
• Difference between mutual funds and bank deposits

2. Mutual Funds - Structure and Constituents

• Constituents and structure of a mutual fund
• Mutual funds in the USA and elsewhere.
• Difference between a mutual fund and a commercial bank

3. Various types of Mutual Fund products

• Basic classification of mutual funds
• Such other products similar to mutual funds

4. Management of bond fund portfolio

• Investment of bond funds
• Basic characteristics of a bond
• Bond valuation
• Risks in bond investment
• Techniques to enhance bond fund performance
• Managing the bond fund

5. Management of equity fund portfolio

• Equity portfolio
• Types of risks and returns that different asset classes offer
• Equity share
• The value of equity shares
• Three types of equity shares
• Equity research
• Valuation
• Passive and active portfolio management
• Portfolio strategies

6. Accounting and valuation of Mutual Funds

• NAV and its importance
• Calculating net asset value
• Valuing the assets of the mutual fund
• The financial statements that are prepared by the mutual fund
• The accounting principles followed by the mutual funds

7.Prospectus and Annual Reports of Mutual Fund

• Meaning and importance of mutual fund prospectus
• The contents of a mutual fund prospectus
• The operational aspects an investor should be familiar with
• What does the annual report contain?
• Shareholder expense
• Investment profile
• Statement of assets and liabilities
• Statement of operations
• Statement of changes in net assets
• Financial highlights
• Notes to financial statements

8. Evaluation of performance of mutual funds

• Measuring fund performance
• Measuring return
• Measuring risk
• Risk-adjusted return
• Comparing fund performance with a reference
• Various standardized performance systems
• Limitations of performance measurement and evaluation

9. Regulations of Mutual Fund Industry

• Contextual significance of mutual fund regulation
• Legal environment of mutual funds
• Supervision and regulation
• Principles of mutual fund regulation
• Standards
• Rights of investors
• Role of industry players in furthering regulatory objectives
• Market context
• Transparency and disclosure
• Limits on fees and expenses
• Internal governance within mutual fund complexes

Retirement Planning

1. Analysis of Retirement Needs:  On completion of this course, you will be able to:

• Define the term retirement planning and discuss its advantages and disadvantages
• Explain the assumptions of retirement planning
• Describe the steps involved in the retirement planning process
• Discuss various sources of income during retirement
• Explain different financial needs
• Explain the methods of drawing from retirement accounts

2.  Retirement Planning -Investment Considerations:  On completion of this course, you will be able to:

• Define fiduciary
• Describe the requirements that govern fiduciary handling of qualified plan investments
• Discuss the types of prohibited transactions
• Understand the concept of unrelated business income
• Distinguish between the basic types of investments appropriate for a qualified plan
• Discuss the considerations for designing right life insurance

3. Retirement Planning - Social Security:  After the successful completion of this course, you will be able to:

• Understand the concept of social security
• Understand the eligibility criteria for receiving social security benefits
• Identify the various social security benefits
• Understand the computation of social security benefits
• Understand the income taxation of social security benefits

4. Retirement Planning – Types:  After the successful completion of this course, you will be able to:

• Define retirement plan
• Identify various types of retirement plans
• Describe various types of qualified plans
• Describe various types of non-qualified plans

All necessary materials are included.

System Requirements:

Internet Connectivity Requirements:

• Cable, Fiber, DSL, or LEO Satellite (i.e. Starlink) internet with speeds of at least 10mb/sec download and 5mb/sec upload are recommended for the best experience.

NOTE: While cellular hotspots may allow access to our courses, users may experience connectivity issues by trying to access our learning management system.  This is due to the potential high download and upload latency of cellular connections.   Therefore, it is not recommended that students use a cellular hotspot as their primary way of accessing their courses.

Hardware Requirements:

• CPU: 1 GHz or higher
• RAM: 4 GB or higher
• Resolution: 1280 x 720 or higher.  1920x1080 resolution is recommended for the best experience.
• Speakers / Headphones
• Microphone for Webinar or Live Online sessions.

Operating System Requirements:

• Windows 7 or higher.
• Mac OSX 10 or higher.
• Latest Chrome OS
• Latest Linux Distributions
  

NOTE: While we understand that our courses can be viewed on Android and iPhone devices, we do not recommend the use of these devices for our courses. The size of these devices do not provide a good learning environment for students taking online or live online based courses.

Web Browser Requirements:

• Latest Google Chrome is recommended for the best experience.
• Latest Mozilla FireFox
• Latest Microsoft Edge
• Latest Apple Safari

Basic Software Requirements (These are recommendations of software to use):

• Office suite software (Microsoft Office, OpenOffice, or LibreOffice)
• PDF reader program (Adobe Reader, FoxIt)
• Courses may require other software that is described in the above course outline.