Master of Science in Financial Planning

Presents an overview of the application of estate planning methodologies and policies to personal financial planning. Introduces estate planning tools and strategies to assist clients in developing, maintaining, and transferring wealth.

Upon completion of this course, you'll be able to:

• Understand professional role differences between financial advisors, CPAs, and estate-planning attorneys 
• Evaluate gift and estate taxation and ownership of personal and real property issues 
• Examine wills, letters of last instructions, and trusts and discuss trustees/personal representatives, their fiduciary responsibilities, and probate strategies
• Evaluate implications for individuals, general/limited partnerships, closely held businesses, and corporations
• Discuss life insurance funding, post-mortem planning, and creative estate planning strategies consistent with client goals and values along with charitable giving strategies

Provides an overview of behavioral finance research and theory and how those apply to client-advisor relationships.

Upon completion of this course, you'll be able to:

• Understand the theory of rational choice and see examples where people deviate from making a “rational decision”
• Explore the effects of human emotions on financial decisions and the financial planning process
• Learn how to use behavioral biases to help improve your client’s financial well-being

Applies student knowledge and skill set in personal financial planning techniques to a comprehensive fact pattern.

Upon completion of this course, you'll be able to:

• Develop and integrate core financial planning disciplines for retirement, investment, risk management, and employee benefits
• Better understand integrated analysis, data, and presentations

Explores the strategies used by financial planners to help clients achieve greater tax efficiency.

Upon completion of this course, you'll be able to:

• Discuss income tax concepts and calculations and income tax research methods
• Understand gross income realization, exclusions and deductions, passive activities, and alternative minimum tax
• Evaluate tax considerations of business forms, taxable and non-taxable property transactions, compensation planning, family tax planning, audit risk, and dealing with the IRS

Introduces the application of insurance planning and evaluates risk exposure, legal aspects of insurance, and policy analysis for property and liability along with life and health, employee benefits, social insurance, insurance regulation, and principles of insurance taxation.

Upon completion of this course, you'll be able to:

• Understand career issues, contractual and agency legal issues, and insurance distribution systems (including the internet)
• Evaluate insurers, personal risk assessment, risk strategies, and alternative risk transfer approaches
• Discuss life insurance programming and product analysis, key-person insurance, business continuing applications, and life insurance use in income and estate tax planning
• Cover other insurance products (e.g., health, disability, general liability, property, and casualty)
• Analyze HMOs, group insurance plans, workers compensation, relevant aspects of social security, negligence issues, errors & omissions policies, and professional ethics
   

Covers retirement planning and employee benefits while addressing accumulation and distribution phases along with various types of retirement plans.

Upon completion of this course, you'll be able to:

• Explore employer-provided retirement plans (pension, profit-sharing, stock bonus, ESOP, 401(k), 403(b), 457, SEP and SIMPLE plans as well as nonqualified deferred-compensation and stock option plans, Social Security, and IRAs
• Evaluate employer medical plans, group term life and disability insurance plans, cafeteria plans, and flexible spending plans 
• Explore the advantages and disadvantages of various types of plans and provide an understanding and skills necessary to assess the costs and benefit of such plans from a client’s perspective, whether they are employers or employees
• Evaluate client-specific goals, identify key issues, and recommend appropriate solution

Provides two major areas of investment planning: security analysis and portfolio management.

Upon completion of this course, you'll be able to:

• Examine financial markets; the concept of risk/return; modern portfolio theory that includes market efficiency and behavioral finance; integrate investor objectives and their risk tolerance; asset allocation decisions; and performance evaluation
• Examine security selection and timing of financial and real securities; selection and trading of common stocks, bonds, mutual funds, and exchange-traded funds; issues concerning macroeconomics, industry and sector analysis; alternate (qualitative and quantitative) methods of valuation; timing of buy/sell decisions portfolio hedging; and alternative investments

Presents an overview of basic gift, estate, and generation-skipping transfer tax law and tax computation processes.

Upon completion of this course, you'll be able to:

• Discuss the ownership and taxation of transfers of property during a lifetime and at death in addition to marital, charitable giving, and life insurance planning
• Understand family business entity planning and buy/sell agreements 

Examines current issues relevant to helping clients save for retirement savings and ensure adequate retirement income that lasts throughout a lifetime.

Upon completion of this course, you'll be able to:

• Focus on retirement savings issues, including the retirement savings crisis, determining retirement needs, motivating clients to save, and maximizing savings through tax strategies
• Address the issue of choosing an appropriate income strategy and also when to claim Social Security benefits