Introduction to Personal Financial Planning
Build your knowledge of financial planning for each stage of life and learn how financial advice can help with personal finances.
Duration
4 weeksWeekly study
2 hours
Introduction to Personal Financial Planning
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Discover the basic concepts of financial planning and financial wellbeing
Most of us will interact with a form of financial service many times during our lives, whether for budgeting, borrowing, saving, or one of many other services.
On this four-week course from the Chartered Insurance Institute, you’ll learn about the various financial concepts and explore financial planning throughout the various stages of life.
Learn how to plan for different life stages and the financial protection available
It is very important that financial planners and advisers understand the different financial needs at each life stage so that they can shape their services to each person’s circumstances.
You’ll examine the potential life stages that people go through and the different financial products and objectives that might be used in each stage. You’ll also explore the various types of financial protection available and how they work.
Develop effective strategies for investing and saving for the future
The ability to help people save and invest is a crucial function of the financial services industry and allows people to plan for their futures.
This course will guide you through the key differences between savings and investments, how different products and assets work, the risks involved with each, and how a financial adviser can help.
Explore estate planning, retirement planning, and pension advice
A pension is a financial product designed to help people save for their retirement. Pension planning can, and arguably should, start as soon as someone can afford it.
During the final week of this course, you’ll learn about estate planning and retirement planning, from income strategies and tax planning to pension options and the challenges of retirement planning. You’ll also discover how financial advice plays into each of these areas.
Syllabus
Week 1
What is personal financial planning?
The financial services industry
The industry that provides the products that meet people's needs for financial planning is the financial services industry. Therefore, we will start by looking at what this industry is and how it works.
Financial planning and financial advice
In this activity we look at what financial planning and financial advice are and how they can help a person make the most of their money.
Week 2
People, the planning process and protection
The individual and financial planning
Although we are all unique, we all share certain needs at certain times in our lives. In this activity we look at how our needs change and how the financial planning process finds them out.
Financial protection
In this activity we look at how people can protect themselves against the financial loss they may suffer if something bad and unexpected happens.
Things to note about protection
We know now, how important it is to protect ourselves against some of the bad things that can affect our ability to provide for ourselves and our family. But there are one or two things we need to know before we buy.
Week 3
Planning for the future
Saving and investment
When we put aside money for our future, ideally we would like that money to grow. This activity looks at two ways of doing that – whether we want the money next year or in twenty years.
Things to think about when saving or investing
Saving and investment is more than just simply putting your money in a product and then getting that same money back when you need it. It is more complex than that and we examine what this means in this activity.
Week 4
Into old age and beyond
Retirement planning
Many of us rely on our wages to give us what we need to live on. But what happens when we stop work because we are old? This is why we are going to look at retirement planning in this activity.
Providing for retirement
We have seen how important, and how difficult, it can be to plan properly for retirement. Now we need to look at the products and other sources of income that can meet our needs once we do retire.
Estate planning
In this course we have looked at different needs at different stages in life. Now we’ve reached the last stage where we will look at planning for the next generation.
Introduction to Personal Financial Planning - The End
We’re at the end of the course. In this final Activity we will pull together the content from this week and all that we’ve learned in previous weeks.
Learning on this course
On every step of the course you can meet other learners, share your ideas and join in with active discussions in the comments.
What will you achieve?
By the end of the course, you‘ll be able to...
- Describe the basic concepts of financial planning and how it fits within the financial services industry
- Describe how the industry protects and serves its customers.
- Explore people's protection needs and how they can be met
- Explore people's saving and investment needs and how they can be met.
- Explore the retirement needs people have and the opportunities for retirement planning.
- Report on the financial implications of wanting to plan for future generations.
Who is the course for?
This course is designed for anyone starting out, or aspiring to work, in the financial planning sector. It is also useful for anyone looking to better understand how to manage their financial planning, whether in respect of protecting their financial future or in providing for it.
Who will you learn with?
My name is Alison Spink BA(Hons) DipCII and for 20 years I have helped develop learning content for the Chartered Insurance Institute, the professional body for insurance and financial planning.
Who developed the course?
Chartered Insurance Institute
The Chartered Insurance Institute is a professional body dedicated to building trust in the insurance and financial planning profession.
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