Financial Planning Capstone
Curriculum guideline
Lecture: 2 hours/week
Seminar: 2 hours/week
OR
Hybrid: Alternating weeks of above and online
Lecture, seminars and online. This course focusses on the development and presentation of professional financial planning advice. It will be interactive and make use of cases, supplementary materials, and class presentations.
Complete a professional financial plan integrating at least four of the six financial planning components.
Present the plan as if engaging a real client, explaining and defending recommendations and considering conflicting views on financial planning topics.
Specifically:
- Complete qualitative and quantitative analyses to formulate strategies, and recommendations
- Rank issues and provide rationale for prioritization on various components
- Demonstrate the professional skills required in the FP Canada Competency Profile
- Make and validate assumptions used in the financial plan
- Defend the approach and or recommendations taken in the financial plan
- Present the financial plan as if it is a true client engagement
- Apply the CFP Financial Planning Practice Standards and CFP Code of Ethics
Upon completion of the course, a successful student will be able to:
- Apply and integrate technical knowledge gained from Core Curriculum courses in the identification and analysis of issues relating to personal financial planning, including assessing the economic, political and regulatory environment.
- Collect and analyze all qualitative and quantitative information from a client required to develop a financial plan.
- Evaluate each client’s objectives, needs and values that have financial implications.
- Analyze and synthesize personal financial situations from all six financial planning components.
- Identify potential opportunities and constraints, assess information to formulate strategies to develop a financial plan.
- Prioritize and consolidate recommendations into a financial plan.
- Develop a complete professional financial plan covering moderately complex financial issues and at least four of the six financial planning components.
- Communicate information, ideas and concepts to clients and others in a professional written and oral manner that is understandable for the client’s level of sophistication.
- Demonstrate logic and ethical judgment in providing financial planning recommendations.
| Assignment(s) or case(s) | 30% - 50% |
| Tests or quizzes | 20% - 40% |
| Individual case presentation | 10% - 20% |
| Final Exam | 0% - 30% |
| TOTAL | 100% |
Assessment will be based on course objectives and will be carried out in accordance with the Douglas College Evaluation Policy.
No single assessment will be worth more than 40%.
Students must achieve a minimum grade of 50% on the combined invigilated components to pass the course.
Students may conduct research as part of their coursework in this class. Instructors for the course are responsible for ensuring that student research projects comply with College policies on ethical conduct for research involving humans, which can require obtaining Informed Consent from participants and getting the approval of the Douglas College Research Ethics Board prior to conducting the research.
Textbook resources may include:
Instructor compiled materials
Becoming a Certified Financial Planner in Canada, Alan Goldhar, Captus Press
Reference to all texts from previous courses:
Personal Finance, Madura and Gill, Pearson, Latest Canadian Edition, Retirement and Estate Planning in Canada, Coleen Clarke, Captus Press, Latest Canadian Edition, Tax Planning for Canadians, KPMG, latest edition
All textbooks subject to change with department approval.
Calculator: Texas Instruments BA II Plus or as approved by Department.
Courses listed here must be completed either prior to or simultaneously with this course:
- No corequisite courses
Courses listed here are equivalent to this course and cannot be taken for further credit:
- No equivalency courses