Financial Education

Welcome back to the CFP Exam Education Program!

In this course, you are continuing on a journey that will allow you to advance your career and boost your credibility with clients. As you know, it will take a time commitment and hard work, but if you follow Kaplan’s tried-and-true study plan,

passing the CFP Exam is not far away.

Below is a Program Map that shows your exam study path. Congratulations! Your decision to pursue the CFP Certification will set yourself apart from other financial planners.

Once you make the decision to become certified, you take Course 101, General Principles, Professional Conduct, and Regulation. In this course you learn and apply fundamental financial principles, understand the financial planning process, and study CFP Board’s Standards of Professional Conduct.

The second course in your education program is Course 102, Risk Management, Insurance, and Employee Benefits Planning. Here, you identify the need for various types of insurance, which products best meet those needs, and also study the various types of employee benefits, such as stock options. The next education course is Course 103, Investment Planning. Here, you learn about various types of investments, investment returns, portfolio management theory, and performance measures.

Financial Education

It is important to develop good study habits as you go through these first three courses because you need them when you get to Course 4, Tax Planning. The red arrow on the map below indicates that this is a challenging point for many students because taxation covers concepts, some difficult, throughout all of CFP Board’s financial planning topics. Not following a study plan and not having a solid study routine at this point can prove to be disastrous due to the amount of information covered in Course 104.

Course 105, Retirement Savings and Income Planning is another challenging course for many students, so setting aside the time to stay on course with a study plan is important. Here, you study types of retirement plans, where they are most appropriate, plan distributions, and Social Security, among other retirement topics. In Course 106, Estate Planning you learn about property titling, trusts, charitable deduction planning, and more. This course completes your basic study of CFP Board’s Principle Knowledge Topics.

Financial Education

The last and final course of your education program is Course 107, Financial Development Plan Course. Here, you are challenged to draw upon several concepts and strategies you studied in the previous six courses, hence the red arrow. In Course 107, you create a written financial plan and oral presentation. Once you complete Courses 101 through 107, you

have completed your required education for the CFP exam!

At this point, it is critical that you stay focused and on track with your studies. By studying through an Exam Prep/Review course, you will have the opportunity to see how all of the concepts you learned at the base education level (Courses 101-107) relate to one another. In this final course, you will focus on the application of the base level concepts and study how they are applied throughout the finanical planning process. Review Books 1-6 present detailed outlines of everything you need to know and apply, and also provide more challenging Analyze & Apply questions that are much like those you will see on the exam. For an explanation of the key components offered to you to steer you to exam success, such as a mock exam, interactive webinars, relevant classes, and practice qbanks, refer go to the Kaplan Financial website (www.kaplanfinancial.com). Once you have completed your Exam/Prep Review study, all of the studying you’ve

done will pay off as the final step in the process is passing the CFP Exam!

Financial Education

Kaplan uses a comprehensive learning strategy, known as The Kaplan Way. This approach employs a three-phase learning plan: Prepare • Practice • Perform®. Using this model as our foundation, we have constructed the most efficient, effective study tools and packages to help you stay on track and finish strong.

Before you Begin In your Kaplan Education courses, there are many study components available to help you achieve success. Most of them are available on your course dashboard as illustrated below. These illustrations show the dashboard for Course 101, but they are very similar for all of the education courses. You’ve already taken the first important step by reviewing this Program Overview. Next, it’s important to view the Course Introduction video, which tells you more about the content in this course and important concepts. A very key component that contributes to your success in each course is the STUDY PLANNER CHECKLIST. Downloading and using the study planner checklist significantly increases the likelihood

that you will pass each course and, finally, the national CFP exam.

Prepare • Practice • Perform®

In Kaplan education courses, three important study components are provided. First, your course textbook, provided to you outside your dashboard access, serves as your core study piece. These are two other study components available (see the illustration on the next page). If needed, core lecture videos are available for topics you may find challenging. Finally, it’s important you stay on track with your study plan by attending each live class so you can better understand the course topics, how they are used in financial planning, and ask questions of your instructor if necessary.

Financial Education

Prepare • Practice • Perform®

To practice the concepts you learn as you prepare, your course textbook provides many practice questions with the correct answers and rationale for each question at the end of each unit. Through your course dashboard, a qbank provides additonal practice. Note that a unit’s qbank should be used for practice only after you have completed your textbook study for the unit. Know, too, that you have InstructorLink support from subject-matter experts through email if you have questions or need help while studying. The dashboard locations of the qbank and InstructorLink components are illustrated below.

Financial Education

Prepare • Practice • Perform®

Finally, in each education course, you are tested to see if you have mastered the course concepts and their applications to financial planning. This is done by taking unit quizzes, a case study quiz, and a final exam. You can access them through the Quizzes/Exam folder on your course dashboard

Other study tools are available to you on your course dashboard. Information regarding how these tools are used are provided throughout the course. Commitment to the Program

Course Study Planner Checklist The study path previously illustrated outlined seven education courses and an exam prep/review course. Developing good study habits early in the program greatly increase the probability of your success on the national exam. The best way to do this is to do each activity in the downloadable study planner checklist for each course. This study planner

checklist is a result of working with thousands of CFP Exam students over the years. Kaplan developed it and refined it based on what actions should be taken to pass the course. On the following page is a sample section of a study planner checklist for Course 101. The study planner checklists for your other education courses are very similar. Note how the study planner checklist keeps you on track to study the textbook material, view videos that reinforce concepts, and practice with qbank questions. The study planner checklist also provides reminders to attend class and take quizzes or your exam so that you do not fall behind in doing either of these.

Financial Education

Class Attendance Second, it is important that you attend class, and that you go through all the activities in the study planner checklist for each class before you attend it. Students that participate in live classes are better equipped to pass the course quizzes and exam, and ultimately do better on the national exam. Commitment to Study Set aside designated times to study and do not take shortcuts. Practicing with qbank questions before studying the textbook is not advised. Do not take quizzes or the final exam without studying completely and attending class. The rule of thumb, depending on your familiarity or experience with the topic, is 1-2 hours of study for each hour of class instruction.

Congratulations on your pursuit of the CFP Exam certification! If you set aside time from your busy schedule and commit to studying according to the study planner checklist, you will do well and your hard work will be rewarded with

the esteemed CFP designation.