Course

Financial Planning Capstone

Faculty
Commerce & Business Administration
Department
Finance
Course Code
FINC 4370
Credits
3.00
Semester Length
15 Weeks
Max Class Size
25
Method(s) Of Instruction
Hybrid
Lecture
Seminar
Course Designation
None
Industry Designation
CFP,QAFP
Typically Offered
To be determined

Overview

Course Description
The Financial Planning Capstone is an integrated financial planning course requiring the preparation and presentation of a professional industry level financial plan covering at least four of the six financial planning components. Cases from current clients will be sourced when possible.
Course Content

Complete a professional financial plan integrating at least four of the six financial planning components.

Present the plan as if engaging a real client, explaining and defending recommendations and considering conflicting views on financial planning topics.

Specifically:

  1. Complete qualitative and quantitative analyses to formulate strategies, and recommendations
  2. Rank issues and provide rationale for prioritization on various components
  3. Demonstrate the professional skills required in the FP Canada Competency Profile
  4. Make and validate assumptions used in the financial plan
  5. Defend the approach and or recommendations taken in the financial plan
  6. Present the financial plan as if it is a true client engagement
  7. Apply the CFP Financial Planning Practice Standards and CFP Code of Ethics
Learning Activities

Lecture, seminars and online. This course focusses on the development and presentation of professional financial planning advice. It will be interactive and make use of cases, supplementary materials, and class presentations.

Means of Assessment
Assignment(s) or case(s) 30% - 50%
Tests or quizzes 20% - 40%
Individual case presentation 10% - 20%
Final Exam 0% - 30%
 TOTAL 100%

Assessment will be based on course objectives and will be carried out in accordance with the Douglas College Evaluation Policy. 

No single assessment will be worth more than 40%.

Students must achieve a minimum grade of 50% on the combined invigilated components to pass the course.

Students may conduct research as part of their coursework in this class. Instructors for the course are responsible for ensuring that student research projects comply with College policies on ethical conduct for research involving humans, which can require obtaining Informed Consent from participants and getting the approval of the Douglas College Research Ethics Board prior to conducting the research.

 

Learning Outcomes

Upon completion of the course, a successful student will be able to:

  1. Apply and integrate technical knowledge gained from Core Curriculum courses in the identification and analysis of issues relating to personal financial planning, including assessing the economic, political and regulatory environment.
  2. Collect and analyze all qualitative and quantitative information from a client required to develop a financial plan.
  3. Evaluate each client’s objectives, needs and values that have financial implications.
  4. Analyze and synthesize personal financial situations from all six financial planning components.
  5. Identify potential opportunities and constraints, assess information to formulate strategies to develop a financial plan.
  6. Prioritize and consolidate recommendations into a financial plan.
  7. Develop a complete professional financial plan covering moderately complex financial issues and at least four of the six financial planning components.
  8. Communicate information, ideas and concepts to clients and others in a professional written and oral manner that is understandable for the client’s level of sophistication.
  9. Demonstrate logic and ethical judgment in providing financial planning recommendations.

 

 

 

Textbook Materials

Textbook resources may include:

Instructor compiled materials

Becoming a Certified Financial Planner in Canada, Alan Goldhar, Captus Press

Reference to all texts from previous courses:

Personal Finance, Madura and Gill, Pearson, Latest Canadian Edition, Retirement and Estate Planning in Canada, Coleen Clarke, Captus Press, Latest Canadian Edition, Tax Planning for Canadians, KPMG, latest edition

All textbooks subject to change with department approval.

Calculator: Texas Instruments BA II Plus or as approved by Department.

Requisites

Prerequisites

(FINC 3300) with “C” or higher, and (FINC 3390 or The Canadian Securities Course transfered in) with “C” or higher or completion of QAFP

Corequisites

Courses listed here must be completed either prior to or simultaneously with this course:

  • No corequisite courses

Equivalencies

Courses listed here are equivalent to this course and cannot be taken for further credit:

  • No equivalency courses

Course Guidelines

Course Guidelines for previous years are viewable by selecting the version desired. If you took this course and do not see a listing for the starting semester / year of the course, consider the previous version as the applicable version.

(Current)

Course Transfers

These are for current course guidelines only. For a full list of archived courses please see https://www.bctransferguide.ca

Institution Transfer Details for FINC 4370
Athabasca University (AU) AU FNCE 3XX (3)
Capilano University (CAPU) CAPU BFIN 3XX (3)
College of the Rockies (COTR) COTR ACCT 4XX (3)
Kwantlen Polytechnic University (KPU) No credit
Simon Fraser University (SFU) SFU BUS 2XX (3)
Thompson Rivers University (TRU) TRU BBUS 3XXX (3)
Trinity Western University (TWU) TWU BUSI 300 (3)
University Canada West (UCW) UCW FNCE 3XX (3)
University of British Columbia - Vancouver (UBCV) No credit
University of Northern BC (UNBC) No credit
University of Victoria (UVIC) No credit

Course Offerings

Summer 2023