FINANCIAL PLANNING
The Boston University Program in
The Program in Financial Planning has provided a comprehensive approach to financial
planning education for over thirty years. Along with a respected certificate from
Boston University—ranked nationally among the top 5 “Great Schools for Financial
Planning” by Financial Planning magazine—the program oers the rigorous academic
foundation you need to advance your financial planning career, as well as excellent
preparation for the CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ Certification Examination.
Our curriculum is CFP Board Registered and always in step with the demands of the field.
It oers an educational opportunity outside the confines of a graduate degree program,
and distinct advantages for individuals pursuing CFP® certification—including the
Capstone course, which features a comprehensive review of all financial planning subjects.
THIS PROGRAM OFFERS:
• Flexibility—you select the number of
courses you take each semester to
complete the seven-course curriculum.
• An outstanding faculty drawn from
major financial planning firms in
the Boston area.
• A curriculum that provides excellent
preparation for the CFP® Certification
Examination.
CERTIFICATE IN FINANCIAL
PLANNING
The Boston University Certificate in Financial
Planning is awarded upon successful
completion of our seven-course program,
which is oered in September, January,
and May.
Courses
FP 101 Introduction to Financial Planning
FP 102 Risk Management
FP 103 Investments
FP 104 Tax Planning
FP 105 Retirement Planning and
Employee Benefits
FP 106 Estate Planning
FP 109 Capstone Course in
Financial Planning
All courses are graded.
Students must earn a minimum grade of C
(2.0, or a 73) in each course and an overall
grade point average of B– (2.7, or an 80) to
receive the Boston University Certificate in
Financial Planning. The Program in Financial
Planning is CFP Board Registered and fulfills
the education prerequisite for the CFP®
Certification Examination.
As concern for financial security has
grown, individuals have increasingly
turned to trained financial planners
in order to make informed decisions
and achieve their financial goals.
Boston University’s Program for
Financial Planning prepares
practitioners for best practices in the
field. The curriculum provides a solid
academic foundation for the rigorous
CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™
Certification Examination, while
building the core competencies
necessary to work independently
with clients. The program covers
all CFP Board principal topics and
explores a variety of financial
planning techniques, practices, and
strategies that can be applied to real
client situations. The flexibility of
the program allows students to set
their own schedules and enroll in
online courses, while earning a
Boston University Certificate in
Financial Planning.
“I completed the entire CFP
®
curriculum at Boston University.
As a marketing executive changing careers, it was important that
my financial planning education be thorough and convenient. My
teachers were all practitioners so the education I received was
very real-world. The BU review course helped me pass the CFP
®
Certification Exam on my first try and I have nearly completed the
CFP
®
experience requirement. I highly recommend the BU program!”
— Deborah Levenson
MBA Financial Planner, Braver Wealth Management, Inc., Newton, Mass.
Boston University Metropolitan College
Center for Professional Education
Boston University Metropolitan College
C
enter for Professional Education
CLASSROOM
INSTRUCTIONAL MATERIALS
Textbook fees are in addition to course fees.
Textbooks can be purchased at the Barnes
& Noble at Boston University, 660 Beacon
Street, Boston: bu.bncollege.com;
617-267-8484. A Hewlett-Packard 12C
financial calculator is required.
CONTINUING EDUCATION UNITS
After completion of a course in the Program
for Financial Planning, students may be
entitled to Continuing Education Units
(CEUs) upon request. The CEUs give
formal recognition of continued education
and up-to-date professional knowledge.
Courses in the program may also satisfy
the continuing education requirements of
local licensing boards. Contact the program
oce at 1-866-633-9370 or 617-353-4497
for more information.
Massachusetts Division of Insurance
(MA DOI)—Students can receive 23
credits for each of the courses in the
classroom program.
CAREER DEVELOPMENT
Boston University frequently receives job
and internship postings from employers
familiar with our program, which we list
on our website at bu.edu/professional.
We also recommend that students
become involved in the Financial Planning
Association (FPA) and the National
Association of Financial Advisors (NAPFA)
organizations, which oer networking and
mentoring opportunities as well as career
and practice management advice. For more
information, please visit fpanet.org or
napfa.org.
CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™
CERTIFICATION
The CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™
certification is the best-known certification
in the financial planning community. The
Boston University Program for Financial
Planning is registered with the Certified
Financial Planner Board of Standards, Inc.
(CFP Board) and fulfills the requirements
for education to qualify to sit for the CFP®
Certification Examination. Any student who
satisfactorily completes the BU Program for
Financial Planning meets the educational
requirements to sit for the CFP® Certification
Exam. Students who pass the examination
and fulfill the work experience and ethics
requirements may be entitled to the CFP®
certification.
TUITION REIMBURSEMENT
Many companies oer tuition reimbursement
for continuing education courses, particularly
if they lead to a specific designation.
ROBERT J. GLOVSKY
SCHOLARSHIP FUND
The Robert J. Glovsky Scholarship Fund
honors Robert J. Glovsky (LAW’76, ’79),
member of the President’s Advisory
Council on Financial Capability for Young
Americans and director emeritus of the
Boston University Programs in Financial
Planning. Scholarship awards are available
on a yearly basis, and are awarded to
students who plan to provide financial
advice to those traditionally underserved
by the financial planning industry. For
information regarding eligibility and
application procedures, please visit
bu.edu/professional.
Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards,
Inc. owns the marks CERTIFIED FINANCIAL
PLANNER™, and CFP®, which it awards
to individuals who successfully complete initial
and ongoing certification requirements.
Boston University does not certify individuals
to use the CFP®, federally registered
and CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™
certification marks. CFP® certification is
granted only by the Certified Financial Planner
Board of Standards, Inc., to those persons
who, in addition to completing an educational
requirement such as this CFP Board-registered
program, have met its ethics, experience, and
examination requirements.
For a complete schedule, please visit
bu.edu/professional.
COURSE DESCRIPTIONS
CFP Board-Registered Curriculum
FP 101 Introduction to Financial Planning
This course provides a comprehensive
examination of the entire financial
planning process, along with an overview
of investment planning, risk management
and insurance, personal income tax
planning, retirement planning, and estate
planning. The course introduces the steps
involved in the financial planning process
and teaches you how to work with clients
to achieve their financial goals. Learn
how to gather and analyze information,
construct personal financial statements,
and understand the elements of a written
financial plan, including implementing,
monitoring, and reviewing the plan. The
course also covers communication skills,
the regulatory environment, time value of
money calculations, and other financial
planning concepts.
Prerequisite: Can be taken concurrently
with FP 102
FP 102 Risk Management
This course covers various aspects of life,
disability, long-term care, and medical
insurance, including how to evaluate and
compare insurance contracts. Students
will learn about property and casualty
insurance, including homeowners, liability,
and auto insurance. Other topics include
business insurance and group insurance
plans. Students will also learn how to
recognize and protect their clients from
exposures to risk, and how to conduct an
insurance-needs analysis.
Prerequisite: FP 101
FP 103 Investments
This course explores many investment-
planning topics, including how a client’s
investment goals, time horizon, risk tolerance,
and tax situation are taken into consideration
when building an investment portfolio.
Students learn about the attributes of
various asset classes and their suitability
for investors, which culminates in portfolio
construction. Emphasis is placed on
determining risk, reward, and intrinsic value
for security selection and asset allocation.
Prerequisite: FP 101
FP 104 Tax Planning
Participants in this course study personal
income taxation and taxation for entities
such as sole proprietorships, partnerships,
LLCs, and corporations. The tax aspects
of property dispositions, the “at-risk” rules,
passive activity rules, and the Alternative
Minimum Tax are examined. The course
also introduces other special tax
considerations such as self-employment
tax and charitable gifting.
Prerequisite: FP 101
FP 105 Retirement Planning and
Employee Benefits
This course covers retirement planning for
individuals and business owners. Learn how
to conduct a retirement-needs analysis and
the key factors that aect plan selection
for business owners. Qualified and non-
qualified retirement plans, their provisions
and taxation, will be thoroughly examined
in this course. Other topics include
distribution rules, Social Security benefits,
and regulatory considerations.
Prerequisite: FP 101
FP 106 Estate Planning
This course provides an overview of
estate planning and the various strategies
and techniques available for creating an
eective estate plan. Transfer taxes such
as gift, estate, and generation-skipping
transfer taxes are introduced along with
planning techniques to minimize taxes on
wealth transfers. The non-tax aspects of
estate planning, such as the estate planning
process, probate, property ownership,
planning for incapacity, and estate planning
for business owners, are also studied in
this course. Documents such as wills,
trusts, powers of attorney, and powers of
appointment are addressed.
Prerequisites: FP 101 (FP 104 is highly
recommended)
FP 109 Capstone Course in
Financial Planning
This course combines classroom and
online learning experiences to enhance the
knowledge and skills of students seeking
to attain CFP® certification and deliver
professional financial planning services to
the public. The course integrates financial
planning subjects learned in previous
courses and demonstrates how to apply
this knowledge to the development of a
comprehensive financial plan. Students
learn how to construct a plan according
to CFP Board’s Financial Planning Practice
Standards and client objectives. For the
final project, students prepare and
present a comprehensive financial plan
to BU faculty.
Prerequisites: FP 101–FP 106
The Boston University Program in FINANCIAL PLANNING
“As a practicing financial planner I am keenly aware of the
value of education. My experience has taught me that the
more education planners have, the better they are able to
assist their clients in making important financial decisions.”
— Robert J. Glovsky, JD, LLM, CFP
®
, CLU, ChFC
Vice Chair, The Colony Group, LLC; Program Director Emeritus
Boston University Metropolitan College
Center for Professional Education
Boston University Metropolitan College
C
enter for Professional Education
A Message from the Director
Students want to receive the best financial education possible to enhance their knowledge and
advance their careers. With its national reputation for excellence, experienced faculty, high
academic standards, and relevant curricula, the Boston University Program for Financial Planning
provides this education—and more. My commitment and focus as program director is to prepare
students for the art and practice of financial planning. To this end, we have assembled an
experienced and talented team of instructors to provide students with the training, knowledge,
and skills they need to become highly competent and successful practitioners. If you are seeking
the finest education available in the growing field of financial planning, then I invite you to
consider joining the Boston University Program in Financial Planning.
— Carolynn Tomin, CFP® Program Director
Boston University Metropolitan College
Center for Professional Education
Boston University Metropolitan College
C
enter for Professional Education
LEARN MORE
Phone: 617-353-4497
Fax: 617-353-4494
Email: [email protected]
For a complete schedule, visit
bu.edu/professional.
Program Director
CAROLYNN TOMIN, CFP®, is program
director for Boston University’s Program
in Financial Planning.
As a CFP® professional who specializes
in financial education, Tomin has taught
estate planning courses and exam
reviews for 20 years at universities in
Massachusetts and Florida, as well as
for many banks and financial service
companies in both states. As co-founder
of a financial education company, she
has presented continuing education
courses to many financial service firms
and professional organizations throughout
the country. Tomin is co-author of the
textbook, Principles of Estate Planning.
She served for three years on the CFP
Board’s Council on Education and was
appointed chair for 2012. A member of
the Financial Planning Association for
many years, she has served on its SW
Florida chapter board of directors, as
well as on various committees for the
organization’s Boston chapter.
An equal opportunity, affirmative action institution. 8/18
