Syllabus FI 420 Personal Financial Planning Instructor Julie Asti, CFP GOLDEN GATE UNIVERSITY Adjunct Professor, Department of Finance and Economics Edward S. Ageno School of Business Winter Trimester 2010 Contact Information Email: julie@astifinancial.com Office hours: email to set up telephone appointment (Please do not call I will check my email daily to see if there are any requests). Class Location 536 Mission St., Room [TBD] Time/Important Dates Meeting day and time: Each Monday 4:00 6:40 PM First day of class: January 6, 2010 Last day to add: January 19, 2010 Last day of class: April 26, 2010 Last day to drop/audit: January 26, 2010 **NO CLASS = MARTIN LUTHER KING, JR DAY MONDAY, January 18, 2010 PRESIDENT S DAY MONDAY, FEBRUARY 15, 2010 Course Description This class is an introduction to financial planning providing topical exposure to a broad range of financial planning practice areas. This is the entry level course for the Certificate in Financial Planning and the Master of Science in Financial Planning. The course is designed for students interested in pursuing careers in the financial planning and the asset management profession. This course will also be highly beneficial for those wishing to learn how to manage their own financial affairs and how to make wise financial decisions. The course and curriculum are approved by the CFP Board of Standards and meets one component of the educational requirement for becoming a Certified Financial Planner. Topics will include: gathering and assessing client data, client goals and client values; the importance of stress testing and what if analysis; insurance/risk management; asset allocation and determining a client s risk tolerance; the myriad implementation of investment strategies; tax planning and estate planning. Key themes running through the class are the importance of ethics; the fiduciary and its importance to the financial planner; the practical (real world) application of academic information in the financial planning marketplace; and the tremendous impact financial planning has on the lives of individuals. Outside professionals may be invited to participate in some of the classes in order to provide a reality check to the academic curriculum
Course Objectives The principal objective of this course will be to provide a strong base for the next level financial planning coursework: FI 421 Personal Investment Management FI 422 Retirement & Employee Benefits Planning FI 425 Income Tax Planning FI 483 Insurance Planning FI 430 Business Development in Financial Services FI 426 Estate Planning and FI 434 Case Studies are not available until to you complete these classes The course will also provide an understanding and appreciation for the work of financial planning, the career opportunities available, and the business of financial planning. Background of the Instructor Julie Asti has been working in the financial services industry since 1991. Since 2005 she has owned her financial planning and investment advisory firm, Asti Financial Management, LLC. Prior to starting her own firm, she worked for a small mutual fund in San Francisco as a Managing Director focusing on the firm s operations and marketing. Julie received her undergraduate degree from San Francisco State University in Finance, Banking and Real Estate. She received her graduate certificate in Financial Planning from UC Berkeley in 2005 and became a CFP Certificant in May 2006. Grading Criteria: 20% Class attendance 15% Class participation (subjective assessment by instructor) and homework completion 30% Mid term exam 35% Final exam Required Text & Financial Calculator Personal Financial Planning Theory and Practice, 5th Edition, Kaplan Financial HP 12C calculator, 17BII, 10BII; Texas Instruments TI BA II Plus; Sharp EL 733A Note: YOU ARE REQUIRED TO BE PROFICENT IN THE USE OF YOUR CALCULATOR BEFORE CLASS BEGINS. PLEASE CONSIDER ATTENDING THE FREE FINANCIAL CALCULATOR REVIEW & TIME VALUE OF MONEY WORKSHOP (DATE TO BE ANNOUNCED) Student Responsibilities Students are responsible for completing the homework reading and homework exercises. They will be called upon in class to provide answers to the homework exercises and to engage in general discussions on the topic(s) assigned in the reading. Both the Midterm and the final exams will be based on the text book and will cover material that was given in the readings but not necessarily covered during class time. It is also hoped students will engage in discussion based on their own work or real world experiences. 2
Homework If homework is assigned, it will be done at the end of each class. Each week s assignments will cover material from the prior week s reading (in other words, we will cover topics from Class 1 in Class 2, Class 2 in Class 3, etc). Homework should be handed in at the end of each class but please note: it will not be graded according to correctness; it will be used to measure understanding of concepts and to make sure a continued understanding of topics covered. Class Schedule / Reading Assignments Class #1: Monday, January 11, 2010 Chapter One Introduction to Personal Financial Planning Chapter Two External Environmental Analysis Chapter Three Communication and Internal Environmental Analysis Homework = Asset Questionnaire Class # 2 Monday, January 18, 2010 NO CLASS MARTIN LUTHER KING, JR Class # 3 Monday, January 25, 2009 Review = Asset Questionnaire Watch I.O.U.S.A & Discuss (1hr) Chapter Four Personal Financial Statements Chapter Five Establishing Financial Direction Homework = prepare financial statement + budget Class # 4 Monday, February 1, 2010 Review = Financial Statements + budgets Chapter Six Time Value of Money Chapter Seven Education Funding Homework = time value of money calculation problems Class # 5 Monday, February 8, 2010 Review = Time value of money calculation problems Chapter Eight Introduction to Insurance and Risk Management 3
Class # 6 Monday, February 15, 2010 NO CLASS PRESIDENT S DAY Class # 7 Monday, February 22, 2010 Chapter Nine Managing Life, Health and Disability Risks (318 389) Homework = Personal risk management review (life, health & disability) Class # 8 Monday, March 1, 2010 Review = Personal Risk management review (life, health & disability) Chapter 9 Business Use of Life Insurance (pg 390 397) Chapter Ten Personal Property and Liability Insurance Chapter Eleven Social Security and Other social insurance Homework = Personal risk management review (property & casualty) Class # 9 Monday, March 8, 2010 Review = Personal Risk management review (property & casualty) Chapter Twelve Introduction to Investment Concepts (pages 505 544) Chapter Twelve Supplement A Fixed Income Securities (pages 545 585) Class # 10 Monday, March 15, 2010 Catch up material, if needed MID TERM EXAM Homework = Investment analysis Assignment due Monday, November 2 Class # 11 Monday, March 22, 2010 Review = Investment Analysis Assignment Chapter 12 Supplements B C (pages 587 663) Homework = Investment Analysis Assignment 4
Class # 12 Monday, March 29, 2010 Review = Investment Analysis Assignment Chapter 13 Individual Income Tax Planning Chapter 14 Business Entities Class # 13 Monday, April 5, 2010 Chapter 15 Introduction to Retirement Planning Chapter 16 Basic Retirement Plans Case Study Retirement Planning Class # 14 Monday, April 12, 2010 Chapter 17 Introduction to Estate Planning Chapter 18 The Practice of Financial Planning Chapter 19 Ethical Responsibilities Class # 15 Monday, April 19, 2010 FINAL EXAM Class # 16 Monday, April 26, 2010 Review Final Exam Class Evaluations 5