How to Become a CFP^® Certificant

Fall 2008 Certificate in Personal Financial Planning Program (begins July 25)

by the University of North Texas and the Professional Development Institute

CFP Board-Registered Since 1987

Dr. Randall S. Guttery has been the Program Director for both the University of North Texas (UNT) and PDI since 1995. This web site describes UNT's and PDI's CFP Board-Registered Programs with Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards, Inc. ("CFP Board"). I maintain this site for the programs; e-mail any suggestions to guttery@unt.edu . You may telephone me directly at USA (940) 369-PASS or fax messages to 940-565-4234. My postal mailing address is UNT-Box 305339, Denton, Texas 76203-5339.

DALLAS, Texas

NOTE: The University of North Texas does not certify individuals to use the CFP®, CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™, and CFP (with flame logo)® marks. CFP^® certification is solely granted by CFP Board 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. CFP^® Certification Examination applications and fees are made directly to CFP Board and are not included in our pricing.  CFP^® , CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER^™, and the CFP (with flame logo)® are certification marks owned by CFP Board.  These marks are awarded to individuals who successfully complete CFP Board's initial and ongoing certification requirements.  For additional information, contact the CFP Board at 1670 Broadway St., Suite 600, Denver, CO 80202, or phone CFP Board at 303-830-7500.

I. Welcome

• UNT's Certificate program in DALLAS is offered through the Professional Development Institute (PDI), which is a UNT not-for-profit IRC Section 501(c)3 corporation (see www.pdi.org )
• New CFP Board-Registered Program offered in mid-February and late July each year
• Continuing education credits for CPAs in Texas
• WEEK-ENDS ONLY classes are offered to meet your professional and personal demands
  • We meet only 9 of the 19 week-ends in Fall 2008 and 8 of 18 week-ends in Spring 2009
  • In total, we meet only 17 of the 44 week-ends over the program
  • WE DO NOT MEET EVERY WEEK-END; rather, we attend class approximately every second or third week-end, on average (generally no back-to-back week-ends)
  • Classes meet Friday night 6-10pm, Saturday 8am-noon, and Saturday 1-5pm
  • There are NO SUNDAY classes

• In the DFW MetroPlex, UNT offers both a Certificate Program through PDI and a Degree in Finance to meet educational requirements of the CFP^® Certification Examination

   

  • The Certificate Program is offered at 8675 Freeport Pkwy. (Allstate's office in North Irving)
  • UNT's degree program is offered through the Finance Department in the College of Business Administration
  • Randall S. Guttery, Ph.D., CLU, ChFC, Program Director of all offerings, can be reached by phone at UNT at (940) 369-PASS, by fax at 940-565-4234, or by e-mail at guttery@unt.edu
  • Mail correspondence to Dr. Guttery at: University of North Texas, Box 305339, Denton, TX 76203-5339

   

II. CFP^® Certification - background

•  CFP^® certification introduced in 1972 to assure public that a CFP^® certificant has met rigorous professional standards and adheres to high standards of competence and ethics
• CFP Board is an independent, not-for-profit corporation founded in 1985 to administer the CFP^® certification process (see the "4 E's" mentioned in Section III below)
• The CFP Board administers the CFP^® Certification Examination
• 250+ accredited universities are registered with CFP Board that satisfy 89 sub-topic areas in income taxation, insurance, investments, trusts/estates, retirement/employee benefits, and financial planning processes (see Appendix A of Guide to Certification)
• Certificate Programs offer live instruction primarily to candidates for CFP^® certification who want neither the self-study format nor another university degree
• InterNet address for CFP Board is: http://www.CFP.net

III. Certification Process: The 4 E's

A. Ethics

• CFP^® certificants must sign and adhere to Code of Ethics and Professional Responsibilities
• CFP Board polices certificants' practices
• CFP Board investigates 500-600 cases each year (about 25% are for misconduct)

B. Education - 5 Methods of meeting education requirement:

• Complete registered certificate program
• Complete Degree program at an accredited U.S. 4-year university
• Challenge status for CPA, CFA, Ph.D./DBA (in business or economics), CLU, ChFC, or Licensed attorney
• Transcript review (used rarely)
• Self-study program
  • CFP Board grants the CFP^® certification, not the College for Financial Planning
  • The College for Financial Planning and CFP Board are separate and unrelated entities
  • Currently, the College for Financial Planning is merely one of the 300+ Registered Programs with CFP Board
• Continuing Education of 30 hours every 2 years required
• Beginning January 1, 2007, a bachelor degree is required for certification

C. Experience

• Work experience in financial planning required for certification, not examination
• Three years experience required with a bachelor's degree
• Completed from 10 years before passage of exam to 5 years after exam
• See Guide to CFP^® Certification for specifics and examples of qualifying job descriptions

D. Examination

• Tests students in income taxation (14% of exam), insurance (14%), investments (19%), trusts/estates (15%), retirement/employee benefits (27%), and financial planning processes (11%).
• 90% integrated; 10% knowledge based
• Generally offered 3rd week-end in March, July, and November each year
• Number of test-takers has grown steadily since early 1990s (5000+ in 2006)
• Generally 275-325 multiple-choice questions, with some discarded ex post
• 10-hour exam: two 2-hour sessions Friday afternoon, two 3-hour sessions Saturday
• Includes 2-3 one-hour case studies; point values are 50% greater than that of a regular question
• Students should dedicate 250-300 hours studying, once the base program is completed

IV. July 2009 CFP^® Certification Examination Program

A. Location of Classes

• DFW MetroPlex classes are taught at our Dallas, TX facilities: 8675 Freeport Pkwy., at Allstate's office. (No classes in Denton)
• Connecticut area classes are no longer taught at Quinnipiac University.

B. Mission is to convey knowledge about financial planning

C. Nine month schedule 

Orientation Information Meetings (July 2 and July 9, 2008)

• Learn more about our CFP Board-Registered Programs (6:00 - 7:45pm)

Introduction Week-end (July 25/26, 2008):

• Friday night = Begin Time Value of Money (TVM) Fundamentals
• Saturday = Complete TVM and HP 12c financial calculator applications
• Students are required to use a HP 12c financial calculator

Semester Core Courses:

• We meet 8 of the 17 week-ends in Fall 2008 (Aug 8 - Dec 13) and 8 of the 18 week-ends in Spring 2009 (Jan 16 - May 9)
• Session I classes meet Aug 8/9; Aug 22/23; Sep 12/13; Oct 3/4; Oct 24/25; Nov 7/8; Nov 21/22; Dec 12/13.
• Session II classes meet Jan 16/17; Jan 30/31; Feb 20/21; Mar 6/7; Mar 20/21; Apr 3/4; Apr 24/25; May 8/9.
• Friday night 6-10pm; Saturday 8am-5pm; NO SUNDAY CLASSES
• Session I = Investments; Risk Management/Insurance; Income Taxation
• Session II = Case Studies in Financial Planning; Trusts/Estates; Retirement/Employee Benefits
• Guarantee to unsuccessful test takers to audit each PDI course once at no cost
  • Must sit for, but not pass, the 10-hour CFP^® Certification Examination
  • Courses must commence within one year of completing PDI's registered program
  • Students must purchase new editions of any textbooks from PDI for $140 each
• Discounts offered to FPA members and UNT alumni

Course Descriptions:

• PDI 401.  Principles of Risk Management and Insurance:  Study of basic risk theory, risk management techniques, and fundamental principles; individual life insurance and annuity products; auto, homeowners, health, disability, and social insurance programs; insurers and their operations; guidelines for efficient purchase and use of insurance products.
• PDI 402.  Investment Planning:  Study of investment value; necessary prerequisites for an investment program; policies; economic and industry factors; security analysis and valuation; operation of securities markets; securities laws; time value of money concepts; detailed overview of debt and equity financing.
• PDI 403.  Federal Income Taxation:  Study of tax bases and rates; history of federal income tax; determination of federal income tax base and application of rates; economic and social implications of taxation; emphasis on personal tax issues.
• PDI 404.  Retirement and Employee Benefits:  Study of retirement and employee benefits programs; group life, medical, expense, and disability income insurance programs; health maintenance organizations; pension programs and profit-sharing plans; tax considerations and government regulations; individual retirement plans, 401(k) plans, 403(b) plans, and other retirement plans; deferred compensation plans.
• PDI 405.  Estate and Trust Planning:  Planning process and selected techniques for efficient disposition and administration of property interests; various tools, including wills, trusts, life insurance settlement options and powers of appointment; pertinent income, estate, and gift tax provisions.
• PDI 406.  Case Studies in Financial Planning:  Study of how to assist individuals in their financial planning and strategy, including analysis of needs, insurance, and investment programs, tax planning, and shelters, estate planning and trusts, tangibles, employee benefits and retirement planning.  Study emphasizes readings and analysis of cases.

D. Certificate of Eligibility with cumulative B average for all classes

• This is a graded program with mid-term quizzes and a final exam in each class because ...
  • For employer reimbursement of tuition, most require a letter grade
  • Quizzes give students and our instructors feedback on students' progress
  • Allows program directors to certify that our students are truly qualified to sit for the CFP^® Certification Examination
• Quizzes are given during each class.  Final exam is distributed during last class of each session

E. Introduction of Instructors:

• In the DFW MetroPlex program, our instructors are:
  • Sol Reifer, J.D., L.L.M. - Estates/Trusts
  • Charles Schmidt, CLU, ChFC, MBA - Retirement/Employee Benefits
  • Ken Picerno, CFP^®, CPA - Income Taxation
  • Rich Treta,  CFP^®, - Insurance/Risk Management
  • Derek Jett, CFP® - Investments
  • David Rhodes, CFP^®, MBA - Case Studies in Financial Planning

V. PDI/Kaplan Review (optional):

A. Who is founder, Mike Dalton, Ph.D., CFP®, J.D., CPA?

• Former Associate Professor of Accounting at Loyola University, New Orleans
• Former Chairman of CFP Board's Board of Examiners and Board of Governors member
• Author of Dalton Exam Review text for the CFP^® Certification Examination and other supporting material
• Click here for Mike's homepage

B. Mission:  Learn how to pass the CFP^® Certification Examination

C. Intensive, 48-hour Review for CFP^® Certification Examination in Dallas

• 75% cumulative pass rate for CFP^® Certification Examination
• Limited seating (40-45 students) per offering; may be second offering if over-enrolled
• Taught 4-6 weeks before each March, July, and November CFP^® Certification Examination in Dallas
• Top rated examination review in the country
• Friday - Sunday: 8:00am - 5:00pm over two week-ends
• Order Dalton texts (Bronze Package:  Vol. I-VII) at 800-211-4346.
• Guarantee to unsuccessful test-takers to audit Review once at no cost
  • Same stipulations apply as to the PDI base program guarantee (see Section IV, C)

VI. Total Cost to Fulfill Educational Requirements:

A. Cost of PDI's Program (discount for FPA Members and UNT alumni)

• $2,200 Intro/Session I tuition due by earlier of beginning of class or closing of enrollments
• $2,200 Session II tuition due two weeks before beginning of Session II classes
• Tuition discount = $100 (i.e., a total of $4,300) if all 6 courses are prepaid before Session I
• Tuition includes all textbooks and handouts
• No refunds once classes begin

• Tuition for each class if taken individually = $800
• Tuition for Introduction Week-end course if taken without full 3-course session = $200
• Additional copies of textbooks = $140
• All prices are subject to change without notice

B. Cost of Other Organizations

• $990 Optional PDI/Dalton Publications Review due three weeks before beginning of Review
• $345 Optional Dalton's Review textbooks (vol. I - VII)
• $ 50 Optional Dalton's "Understanding Your Financial Calculator" textbook
• $595 CFP Board Sitting Fee due 6-7 weeks before CFP^® Certification Exam
• $100 CFP Board Application Fee

   NOTE: ENROLLMENT IS LIMITED, SO PLEASE ENROLL AS SOON AS YOU ARE COMMITTED TO THIS ENDEAVOR

VII.  Registration:

• Please call the local area program director below or Ms. Tami Russell at 940-565-3353:
• Dallas:  Dr. Randy Guttery at 940-369-PASS ; guttery@unt.edu