General Principles of Financial Planning Textbook 2014

For over 40 years, Keir Educational Resources has helped hundreds of thousands of insurance and financial professionals to obtain their professional designations. Over the last 20 years, Keir has produced supplemental study materials to help students complete the required courses at local universities and colleges in order to qualify to sit for the CFP® Certification Examination. Keir also has comprehensive review materials for the CFP® Certification Examination that have helped thousands of students to pass the CFP® Certification Examination.

While working with numerous program directors and instructors from universities and colleges across the country, Keir Educational Resources frequently receives requests for a book that can serve as the primary textbook for each course that is required by CFP Board Registered Programs. Program directors and instructors involved with these programs are frequently looking for textbooks focused specifically on the topics and learning objectives outlined by CFP Board. Keir is pleased to offer textbooks designed specifically for each of the courses included in CFP Board Registered Programs. Keir also offers a Case Studies book that can be used in the Financial Planning Development Course that is required as of 2012.

Keir designed this textbook using our well proven methodology of structuring each book to follow the 78 topic list provided by the CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNERTM Board of Standards. We have used this methodology for over 10 years to help thousands of students pass the CFP® Certification Examination. The 78 topic list is the current basis for the CFP® Certification Examination and, along with the Student-Centered Learning Objectives released by CFP Board in 2012, is the basis for student learning in Registered Programs. This textbook covers Financial Planning (Topics 1 12), Interpersonal Communication (Topics 74 75), and Professional Conduct and Fiduciary Responsibility (Topics 76 78). Since we designed this textbook to follow the CFP Board s topic list and Learning Objectives, we are confident that students and instructors will find this unique format to be the most effective way to learn the skills required of a successful financial planner. While written with CFP Board Registered Programs in mind, this General Principles textbook is comprehensive and flexible enough to be used in non-CFP Board programs as well.

This textbook includes over 500 multiple choice questions and case questions to help reinforce each topic and to introduce students to the types of questions they may experience when taking the CFP® Certification Examination. The multiple choice questions included in this textbook cover the four cognitive levels of questions used on the CFP® Certification Examination which are: (1) Knowledge/Comprehension, (2) Application, (3) Analysis/Synthesis, and (4) Evaluation. Although there is more emphasis in the CFP® Certification Examination on higher level cognitive questions, a student needs to master lower level knowledge and comprehensive questions in order to master the application, analysis, and evaluation questions. < The CFP® Certification Examination includes comprehensive cases and mini-cases. To provide the experience of working on cases, we have included case fact patterns with multiple choice questions in the Appendix at the end of this textbook. In addition, to help students to build practical skills, we have included numerous class exercises to engage students in activities that will prepare them for a career in financial planning.

Each of the topics contains a table identifying cases and questions covering material in that particular topic. Students should read the case in the Appendix and attempt to answer the case questions identified for that topic.