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CE Personal Financial Planning CFP

Provides CFP‑certified professionals with CPE‑level instruction on ethics, retirement, investment, insurance, and estate planning, emphasizing practical application and integrated strategies to meet regulatory obligations and client goals.

Who Should Take This

Licensed CFP practitioners who regularly fulfill continuing‑education requirements and advise individuals or families on comprehensive financial plans will benefit. They seek to deepen ethical proficiency, sharpen domain‑specific analyses, and learn how to coordinate retirement, investment, insurance, and estate recommendations within a unified planning framework.

What's Included in AccelaStudy® AI

Adaptive Knowledge Graph
Practice Questions
Lesson Modules
Console Simulator Labs
Exam Tips & Strategy
20 Activity Formats

Course Outline

60 learning goals
1 CFP Board Ethics and Professional Standards
2 topics

CFP Board Code of Ethics

  • Recognize the eight CFP Board Code of Ethics principles including integrity, objectivity, competence, fairness, confidentiality, professionalism, diligence, and duty of care.
  • Comprehend the fiduciary duty of a CFP professional when providing financial advice including the duty of loyalty, duty of care, and duty to follow client instructions.
  • Analyze a financial planning scenario to determine whether a CFP professional has met the fiduciary standard and identify any violations of the Code of Ethics.
  • Recognize the CFP Board disciplinary process including grounds for discipline, types of sanctions, and the reinstatement process.

Standards of conduct and practice standards

  • Comprehend the CFP Board Standards of Conduct including the duty to provide financial advice in the client's best interest at all times.
  • Recognize the financial planning practice standards including the seven-step financial planning process and when it must be followed.
  • Analyze a client engagement to determine whether the CFP professional properly identified the scope of engagement and disclosed material conflicts of interest.
2 Retirement Planning
3 topics

Employer-sponsored retirement plans

  • Recognize the features of employer-sponsored retirement plans including 401(k), 403(b), 457(b), SIMPLE IRA, and SEP-IRA including contribution limits and employer matching.
  • Comprehend the tax treatment of traditional and Roth contributions including deductibility, taxation of distributions, and the five-year rule for Roth accounts.
  • Analyze a client's employment situation to recommend optimal retirement plan contribution strategies considering employer match, tax bracket, and retirement timeline.
  • Recognize the vesting schedules, hardship withdrawal provisions, and loan provisions available in 401(k) and 403(b) plans.
  • Synthesize a retirement savings acceleration strategy for a late-start saver addressing catch-up contributions, employer plan optimization, and supplemental savings vehicles.

IRAs and Roth conversion strategies

  • Comprehend the contribution limits, income phase-outs, and deductibility rules for traditional IRAs and Roth IRAs.
  • Analyze a Roth conversion scenario to determine the optimal conversion amount considering current tax bracket, future tax rate projections, and time horizon.
  • Synthesize a Roth conversion ladder strategy for early retirement addressing the five-year waiting period, pro-rata rule, and tax bracket management.

Retirement income planning

  • Comprehend the required minimum distribution rules including the SECURE 2.0 age thresholds, calculation methods, and penalties for missed distributions.
  • Analyze a retiree's income sources to develop an optimal withdrawal sequencing strategy across taxable, tax-deferred, and tax-free accounts.
  • Synthesize a comprehensive retirement income plan addressing Social Security timing, account withdrawal sequencing, RMD management, and longevity risk mitigation.
3 Investment Planning
2 topics

Investment theory and asset allocation

  • Recognize the core investment concepts including modern portfolio theory, efficient market hypothesis, capital asset pricing model, and asset class characteristics.
  • Comprehend the principles of asset allocation including strategic versus tactical allocation, rebalancing strategies, and the role of correlation in portfolio construction.
  • Analyze a client's investment portfolio to evaluate asset allocation appropriateness, risk-adjusted returns, and alignment with investment policy statement objectives.
  • Synthesize a portfolio rebalancing strategy addressing trigger-based versus calendar-based approaches, tax-efficient rebalancing, and transaction cost minimization.

Investment vehicles and selection

  • Recognize the features and characteristics of investment vehicles including mutual funds, ETFs, individual securities, annuities, and alternative investments.
  • Comprehend the fee structures and tax implications of different investment vehicles including expense ratios, loads, turnover, and tax efficiency considerations.
  • Synthesize an investment policy statement for a client addressing risk tolerance, return objectives, time horizon, liquidity needs, and investment vehicle selection criteria.
4 Insurance Planning
2 topics

Life and disability insurance

  • Recognize the types of life insurance including term, whole life, universal life, and variable life and the features, benefits, and costs of each.
  • Comprehend the needs analysis methods for determining life insurance coverage including human life value, capital needs analysis, and income replacement approaches.
  • Analyze a client's insurance needs to determine the appropriate type and amount of life and disability insurance considering family situation, income, debts, and existing coverage.
  • Synthesize an insurance planning strategy addressing life, disability, and long-term care coverage needs within the context of the client's overall financial plan.

Property, casualty, and liability insurance

  • Recognize the types of property and casualty insurance including homeowners, auto, umbrella liability, and professional liability and their coverage components.
  • Analyze a client's property and liability insurance coverage to identify gaps, recommend appropriate coverage levels, and evaluate deductible and limit trade-offs.
  • Comprehend the role of umbrella liability policies in personal risk management and identify the scenarios where additional liability coverage is warranted.
5 Estate Planning
2 topics

Estate planning documents and strategies

  • Recognize the essential estate planning documents including wills, revocable living trusts, durable powers of attorney, healthcare directives, and beneficiary designations.
  • Comprehend the estate tax framework including the unified credit, marital deduction, charitable deduction, and the portability of the deceased spousal unused exclusion amount.
  • Analyze a client's estate to determine potential estate tax liability and recommend planning strategies including trusts, gifting, and beneficiary designation optimization.
  • Synthesize a comprehensive estate plan addressing asset distribution, tax minimization, incapacity planning, and charitable giving objectives.

Trust planning

  • Recognize the types of trusts used in estate planning including revocable, irrevocable, bypass, QTIP, GRAT, ILIT, and charitable remainder trusts.
  • Analyze a client's situation to determine which trust structures are appropriate for achieving estate planning objectives including asset protection and tax minimization.
  • Synthesize a trust-based estate plan addressing wealth transfer objectives, generation-skipping considerations, asset protection goals, and charitable intent.
6 Education Planning
1 topic

529 plans and education funding

  • Recognize the features of 529 college savings plans and 529 prepaid tuition plans including tax benefits, contribution limits, qualified expenses, and gift tax implications.
  • Comprehend the differences among education funding vehicles including 529 plans, Coverdell ESAs, UTMA/UGMA accounts, and Series EE/I savings bonds.
  • Analyze a family's education funding needs to recommend the optimal combination of savings vehicles considering tax benefits, financial aid impact, and flexibility.
  • Synthesize an education funding strategy addressing savings vehicle selection, funding schedule, financial aid optimization, and integration with the overall financial plan.
7 Tax Planning Strategies
1 topic

Individual tax planning

  • Recognize the tax planning strategies including income shifting, tax-loss harvesting, charitable giving strategies, and retirement contribution optimization.
  • Comprehend the tax implications of major life events including marriage, divorce, home purchase, job change, and inheritance on a client's overall tax position.
  • Analyze a client's tax situation to identify planning opportunities across income, deductions, credits, and timing strategies.
  • Synthesize a multi-year tax planning strategy addressing income recognition timing, Roth conversions, charitable giving, and capital gains management.
8 Behavioral Finance
1 topic

Behavioral biases in financial decisions

  • Recognize common behavioral finance biases including loss aversion, anchoring, recency bias, overconfidence, herding, and mental accounting.
  • Comprehend how behavioral biases affect investment decisions, savings behavior, and insurance purchasing and the financial planning strategies to mitigate these biases.
  • Analyze a client's financial behavior to identify specific behavioral biases affecting their decision-making and recommend interventions.
  • Synthesize a client communication and engagement strategy that addresses behavioral biases including choice architecture, default options, and commitment devices.
  • Recognize the concept of financial therapy and its integration with financial planning for clients whose behavioral patterns significantly impair financial well-being.
9 Fiduciary Duty and Regulatory Compliance
1 topic

Fiduciary and regulatory standards

  • Recognize the regulatory frameworks governing financial planners including SEC Regulation Best Interest, the Investment Advisers Act fiduciary standard, and state regulations.
  • Comprehend the differences between the fiduciary standard and the suitability standard and their implications for product recommendations and compensation structures.
  • Analyze a financial planning recommendation to determine whether it meets fiduciary, best interest, or suitability standards and identify any disclosure deficiencies.
  • Synthesize a compliance framework for a financial planning practice addressing fiduciary documentation, conflict disclosure, compensation transparency, and client communication.
10 Comprehensive Financial Plan Integration
1 topic

Integrated financial planning

  • Recognize the interconnections among financial planning areas including how investment decisions affect tax planning, insurance needs influence estate planning, and retirement timing impacts all areas.
  • Analyze a comprehensive financial planning case study to identify cross-domain opportunities and conflicts among retirement, investment, tax, estate, and insurance planning.
  • Synthesize a comprehensive financial plan that integrates retirement, investment, insurance, estate, education, and tax planning into a cohesive strategy with prioritized recommendations.
  • Comprehend the financial planning implications of major life transitions including career change, business sale, divorce, and inheritance for integrated plan adjustments.

Scope

Included Topics

  • CFP Board Code of Ethics including fiduciary duty, Standards of Conduct, practice standards, and disciplinary process.
  • Retirement planning including 401(k), IRA, Roth accounts, SECURE 2.0 provisions, RMDs, and retirement income strategies.
  • Investment planning including modern portfolio theory, asset allocation, investment vehicles, and investment policy statements.
  • Insurance planning including life, disability, long-term care, property, casualty, and liability insurance.
  • Estate planning including wills, trusts, estate tax, gift tax, portability, and charitable giving strategies.
  • Education planning including 529 plans, Coverdell ESAs, financial aid impact, and education funding strategies.
  • Tax planning strategies including income timing, tax-loss harvesting, charitable giving, and multi-year planning.
  • Behavioral finance including cognitive biases, client decision-making, and bias mitigation strategies.
  • Fiduciary duty and regulatory compliance including SEC Regulation Best Interest and Investment Advisers Act.
  • Comprehensive financial plan integration across all planning domains.

Not Covered

  • Detailed securities analysis, stock valuation models, and technical analysis techniques.
  • Insurance company underwriting, actuarial science, and claims processing.
  • Detailed trust administration and probate law procedures.
  • Business financial planning, commercial insurance, and business valuation beyond their intersection with personal planning.
  • Real estate investment analysis and property management beyond their role in personal financial planning.

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