Personal Financial Planning Certificate
A CFP Board-Registered Program

Why Enroll?

Financial Planning is a competitive, rapidly expanding and potentially lucrative profession.  Personal Financial Planners help clients determine how they can achieve their monetary goals and then recommend products and services in the best interest of their clients based on research, analysis, and investment industry information.

Moravian College's Personal Financial Planning Certificate Program gives you the knowledge and professional skills needed to make well-informed recommendations to clients about a variety of financial products and services. Upon successful completion of our rigorous program, you will be prepared to develop or enhance client relationships, be ready to advise clients as to how they might meet their financial objectives, have an understanding of a broad range of investment and planning options, know how to expand your client services base, have the knowledge and tools required to succeed in building a business in a rewarding profession.

Program Highlights

• This is designed to qualify students to sit for the  prestigious CFP® Certification Examination.
• This is a highly technical and comprehensive program developed to prepare students for  a career in personal financial planning.
• Mid-career professionals already working in the financial industry can update their knowledge and hone their skills through this program
• Five four-credit evening classes are required to earn the certificate.
• All classes are at the upper-division baccalaureate level and qualify as electives in a degree program.
• Classes are offered in the fall, spring, and summer on a flexible rotating schedule, enabling candidates to complete the certificate program in one year.
• Classes meet one night per week for fifteen weeks and are taught by practicing professionals.

Why Now?

• $7 trillion will transfer from the World War II generation to the baby boomers over the next twenty years.
• The increasing number of enterprising consumers creates the demand for well-informed advisors to manage their wealth. You can be that manager!
• As life spans continue to increase and government support programs continue to shrink, the demand for financial planning skills will continue to increase.

    Why Here?

• Moravian College has the only CFP Board-Registered Program in the Lehigh Valley.
• Moravian College is centrally located in the Lehigh Valley.

   How Do I Start?

John D Rossi III, MBA, CPA/PFS, CMA, CFM, CFP®, CVA, is the "Director of Personal Financial Planning Educational Programs" at Moravian College, for more information he can be contacted at:

Phone: (610) 861-1380
Fax: (610) 625-7919
E-Mail: mejdr01@moravian.edu

To register contact the Division of Continuing and Graduate Studies at:

   Phone:  (610) 861-1400

   Contact Info

"Moravian College does not certify individuals to use the CFP®, CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER^TM and certification marks.  CFP certification is granted only by Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards Inc. 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."

In January of 2000, Moravian College's Division of Continuing and Graduate Studies launched a new Personal Financial Planning Certificate Program. The Moravian Certificate Program is an in-depth curriculum that integrates key components that must be considered and assessed by professionals who perform personal financial planning. These include insurance, investments, tax planning and management, retirement planning, employee benefits, and estate planning. Individuals who gain technical knowledge and proficiency in these areas will be well equipped to engage in the personal financial planning process.

Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards Inc. (CFP Board) registered the Moravian Personal Financial Planning Certificate Program. An independent certifying organization, CFP Board awards the CFP®, CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER^TM and certification marks. Students completing the financial planning curriculum at a CFP Board-Registered Program will be eligible to sit for the national CFP® Certification Examination administered by CFP Board. CFP certification is issued only by CFP® Board.

Personal financial planners help clients determine how they can achieve their monetary goals through the proper management of their financial resources.

Career opportunities in the financial planning field are financially and professionally rewarding.  Planners receive remuneration for helping people solve their financial problems and reach their financial goals.  Although many CFP^TM practitioners open private financial planning practices, still others are employed by banks, credit unions, insurance companies, accounting firms, and retail brokerage firms.  In addition, planners may work in employee benefits or pension departments of large corporations or for public institutions like universities or state and federal government agencies.  Finally, planners may take teaching positions in which they teach financial planning.

Most personal financial planners in practice take a lifelong, comprehensive view of financial planning.  They analyze and provide advice on all aspects of an individual's financial picture.  This would include learning and providing advice on income tax, employee benefits, retirement planning, estate planning, alternative investments and insurance needs.  Once the planner has assessed the client's needs, a formal comprehensive plan in the form of a written report is given to the client.  From that point, the planner can, and often does, help the client implement the plan by providing outlets for the various investment and insurance products.

The Moravian College Division of Continuing and Graduate Studies(CGS) office remains alert to develop programs to meet the needs of the community. In an effort to forward the educational mission at Moravian College, CGS seeks new curricular opportunities, an expansion of study formats to accommodate mature learners, noncredit outreach activities, and increased student services.

Moravian College’s objective for developing this program is to offer the Lehigh Valley’s premiere one-stop source of quality education in the field of Personal Financial Planning.

Students enrolled in the program will take courses to qualify to sit for the CFP® Certification Examination. The order in which students take courses is a personal decision; however, they will be encouraged to take courses in a recommended sequence. The prerequisites and required courses are designed to qualify students to take the CFP® Certification Exam given by CFP Board. Many individuals who have earned the right to use the prestigious CFP marks have successfully completed an educational program registered with CFP Board as well as satisfying CFP Board's initial and ongoing ethics and experience requirements. The CFP marks are recognized within the financial planning community as a symbol of academic excellence and professionalism.

Moravian College is accredited by the Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools and by the Department of Education of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.  Moravian's Certificate in Financial Planning Program is registered by CFP Board in Denver, Colorado.

"Moravian College does not certify individuals to use CFP®, CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER^TM, and certification marks. CFP certification is granted solely by Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards, Inc. to those individuals who, in addition to completing an educational requirement such as this CFP Board-Registered Program, have met ethics, experience, and examination requirements."

Moravian College is delivering an education program, not a test-preparation program although we are very much aware that our participants desire to ultimately pass the CFP® Certification Examination. Just as law school meets the education requirement for an individual ultimately to become a practicing attorney, our program meets the education requirement ultimately to earn the CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER^TM certification. And, just as significant preparation is required to pass the bar exam, so will there be significant outside preparation to pass the CFP® Certification Examination.

Additional information and requirements for attaining the CFP® certification are listed in "The Certification Process:  The 4 E's" section of this web site.  Other more specific questions may be directed to CFP Board. CFP Board can be contacted at:

1700 Broadway, Suite 2100
Denver, CO 80290-2101
PHONE:  (303) 830-7500
FAX:  (303) 860-7388

Visit CFP Board on the Web at: http://www.CFP.net

View CFP Board's Guide to CFP® Certification

A minimum of an associate’s degree or its equivalent provides a sound foundation upon which to build the Personal Financial Planning Certificate Program. It is expected that students entering the Moravian College Certificate Program have a working knowledge of the following:

• A financial calculator and familiarity with its function
• Algebra and elementary functions
• Time-value of money concepts

Prior to enrolling in the Moravian College Personal Financial Planning Certificate Program students must possess a basic understanding and knowledge in the following areas which can be fulfilled by completing the following six (6) foundation courses or by waiver of the program director:

• Writing (WRIT 100)
• Microeconomic and macroeconomic theory (ECON152)
• Business statistics (ECON156)
• Financial accounting (ACCT157)
• Legal environment of business (MGMT226)
• Managerial finance (MGMT231)

A Moravian College Personal Financial Planning Certificate will be awarded to students who successfully complete the five required courses with a cumulative Quality Point Average of 2.0 (C) or higher within four years of entering the program. Students who have completed comparable courses at a CFP Board-Registered Program may apply to transfer credit into the Moravian program, provided the courses were completed within four years prior to the application date. Students who have been awarded any one or more of the professional designations listed below are also eligible to apply for transfer of credit to the referenced course. The maximum number of courses that can be transferred into the program is two.

Designation: Transfer of credit for:

The curriculum integrates key components which must be considered and assessed by professionals who perform personal financial planning. The educational component of the certification process consists of 101 topics determined by CFP Board to constitute the core curriculum for financial planning practitioners. All of the requirements are incorporated into five required full-unit (four-credit) courses, which integrate both practical and theoretical knowledge:

PFP310 Financial Planning Process and Insurance
This course begins with a presentation of the financial planning process and introduces the legal, ethical, and regulatory issues affecting financial planners. The course continues with a discussion of the principles of risk management and insurance to identify a client’s risk exposure and to select appropriate risk management techniques. Because transferring risk through the use of insurance is a principal method of handling risk exposure, the course addresses the basic insurance contract and provides practical insurance checklists. Analysis of life insurance needs and methods of determining the type and amount of insurance best suited to the client’s situation are also examined, incorporating a discussion of property and liability insurance, including homeowners, personal auto, and umbrella policies. Finally, medical and disability insurance as well as long-term care policies are covered.

PFP341 Investment Planning
The wide variety of investment vehicles that can be included in a client’s personal investment portfolio, including stocks, bonds, mutual funds, insurance-based investments, futures, options, foreign investments, real estate, and tangible assets are discussed. Client assessment, tax considerations of investments, economic factors, risk and return analysis, valuation methods, asset allocation techniques, and portfolio performance evaluation methods are also considered.

PFP315 Income Tax Planning
This course emphasizes the fundamentals of individual income taxation, the tax implications of various types of businesses, planning for the acquisition and disposition of property, tax advantaged investments, and tax planning for the family. Other technical topics include employee compensation issues and planning, alternative minimum tax, self-employment tax, and tax traps. Tax research and practitioner concerns are also addressed.

PFP350 Retirement Planning and Employee Benefits
This course begins with a discussion of the personal tax-deferred retirement programs available to many working adults and includes a framework for use in calculating the annual savings needed to reach retirement income goals. The course also focuses on the key features of qualified retirement plan design, with emphasis on the advantages and disadvantages of specific types of qualified plans for the owners of businesses. Government-sponsored plans, including Social Security and Medicare, are also presented. Group life, health, and disability insurance; nonqualified deferred compensation, and other commonly provided employee benefits are examined.

PFP360 Estate Planning
This course introduces students to the process applied to the development of an estate plan. The fundamentals of the federal estate and gift taxation are emphasized, as well as specific exclusions and valuation techniques that reduce the size of the gross estate. The course highlights the characteristics of wills, intestacy, and the probate process. Trusts, property ownership forms, and will substitutes are also introduced. Additional topics will address life insurance, lifetime gifting, and coordinating of the unified credit with the marital deduction; charitable, intrafamily, and business transfers; and postmortem planning techniques that play an important part in estate planning.

The Following is Optional and does not count towards the Moravian College Personal Financial Planning Certificate Requirements:

PFP380 Field Study in Personal Financial Planning
Meeting the experience requirements for CFP® certification can be challenging.  Three to five years of experience is required for CFP® certification. CFP Board’s Guide to CFP® Certification suggests internships as a good way to gain the required experience.  Working as an intern in a Registered Program allows candidates to earn one month of experience credit for every college credit earned.

According to Moravian College academic policy, Field Study is an opportunity for off-campus work, study, or both, for which a student may receive from 1 to 3 course units of credit per term for a cumulative total not to exceed 3 units. Field Study may be undertaken on a full-time or part-time basis and may assume the form of volunteer work or internships in public or private agencies, institutes, or businesses.

The Program Director and an on-site supervisor share supervision responsibility for each Field Study project. Upon completion of the Field Study, the Program Director consults with the field supervisor and assigns a final grade.

To be eligible for Field Study students in the certificate program must have a cumulative QPA of at least 2.70. In some cases there may be prerequisites for a particular Field Study. A student may register for more than 2 course units of Field Study in a single fall or spring term or summer session only if the project involves a full-time commitment. A student may not continue a Field Study for credit at the same place in a later term or summer session without the permission of the Associate Dean of the College. Students are not compensated for Field Study unless the Associate Dean of the College authorizes compensation. Field Study may be taken in the fall or spring terms or during the summer.  

A student in the Personal Financial Planning Certificate Program who wishes to undertake a Field Study must first consult with the Program Director and must submit a Field Study application form to the Associate Dean of the College. Complete information or procedures for Field Study registration is available in the Registrar’s Office.

 

The 4E’s for the CFP® certification

                        Ethics – initial and renewal certification
                        Education – initial and renewal certification
                        Experience  -- initial certification
                        Examination -- initial certification                     

       THE 4E’s SUPPORT THE MISSION OF CFP BOARD: 

Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards Inc., a professional regulatory organization, fosters professional standards in personal financial planning so that the public values, has access to and benefits from competent and ethical financial planning.

Ends Statements

• The public values, has access to and benefits from competent and ethical financial planning.
• There are uniform standards of competency, practice and ethics in financial planning.
• The public understands what financial planning is.
• Financial planning services are appropriately regulated.
• There is a universally recognized credential that identifies financial planning competency.
• There is cooperation among financial planning groups and others to achieve ends.
• Competent financial services are available to the public.

A. Ethics

• CFP® certificants must sign and adhere to CFP Board's Code of Ethics and Professional Responsibility.
• CFP Board investigates 200-300 cases each year realted to ethics.

B. Education - 3 Methods of Meeting Education Requirement

• Complete a CFP Board-Registered Program.
• Challenge status available for CPA, CFA, Ph.D./DBA (in business or economics), CLU, ChFC, or licensed attorney
• Transcript review.

C. Experience

• Work experience in financial planning required for certification, not examination.
• Degree from accredited U.S. 4-year university requires 3 years; No degree requires 5 years.
• Experience requirements must be met from 10 years before passage of exam to 5 years after exam. (Beginning January 1, 2007, a bachelors degree will be required for certification.)

D. Examination

• Tests students in income taxation, insurance, investments, trusts/estates, retirement/employee benefits, and financial planning processes.
• Generally offered third week-end in March, July, and November each year.
• Number of test-takers has grown steadily since early 1990's.
• Generally 275-300 multiple-choice questions, with some discarded ex post.
• 10-hour exam: one 4-hour sessions Friday afternoon, two 3-hour sessions Saturday.
• Includes  three case studies; point values are 50% greater than that of a regular question.
• National pass rate has averaged 57%.

Find complete details on CFP Board's website at www.CFP.net 

Moravian College recognizes Dalton Publications, L.L.C. as a leading provider of preparation materials and training for the CFP® Certification Examination. The Dalton Review is designed to prepare candidates for the CFP® Certification Exam.  Highly trained instructors who are familiar with the exam and are also practitioners in their respective financial planning areas of expertise are dedicated to assisting you in obtaining the CFP® certification.  The Dalton Review is taught in two weekends (Friday, Saturday and Sunday) for a total of six days.  In addition, Dalton Publications has several products to assist in studying for the exam.

Moravian College's partnership with Dalton Publications enables our students to receive a FREE MOCK EXAM and receive FREE UPS GROUND SHIPPING on all package purchases.  Additionally, Moravian College students receive a DISCOUNTED PRICE on the DALTON LIVE INSTRUCTIONAL REVIEW.  For more information about the Dalton Publications please visit their web site at http://www.daltonpublications.com or call them at 1-800-211-4346.

The Personal Financial Planning Certificate Program is designed to be eligible for continuing education credits for a variety of professionals including CPAs/Accountants, Certified Bankers, Insurance Professionals, Enrolled Agents, and PACE. Please contact the program director for up-to-date information regarding course accreditation by your licensing board.

Credits should be claimed only in relation to your actual class attendance. To claim credits, students must notify the program director prior to the start of class regarding their intention to claim continuing education credits and complete an "Affidavit & Credit Request Form". Those claiming credits must sign-in and sign-out on the attendance roster available in each class.

Certified Public Accountants(CPA)/Public Accountants(PA)
The Moravian College Personal Financial Planning Certificate Program has entered into a program sponsor agreement with the Pennsylvania State Board of Accountancy (Sponsor # PX000397L) to offer Continuing Professional Education (CPE) credits for licensed accountants.  Based on a 50-minute hour, each course qualifies for 45 CPE credits.

Certified Bankers
The Institute of Certified Bankers (ICB) has approved the Moravian College Personal Financial Planning certification program for both Certified Trust and Financial Advisor (CTFA) and Certified Retirement Services Professional (CRSP) designations.  The course approval details are indicated below.

 "The Certified Trust and Financial Advisor (CTFA) and Certified Retirement Services Professional (CRSP) certifications are administered by the Institute of Certified Bankers (ICB), a subsidiary of the American Bankers Association (ABA).  The mission of the ICB is to promote high standards of performance and ethics within the financial services industry.  The courses in  Moravian College's Personal Financial Planning Certificate Program have been approved for both pre- and post-certification continuing education credits for CTFA and CRSP, as noted.  CTFA and CRSP exam candidates with questions should call the ICB at (202) 633-5092 or email Howard Walseman at hwalsema@aba.com"

Enrolled Agents
This program has been designed to meet the regulations for continuing education credit for enrolled agents established by the Department of the Treasury/IRS Circular #230.  Based on a 50-minute hour, each course qualifies for 45 credit hours.

Certified  Management Accountants           

The Lehigh Valley Chapter of the Institute of Management Accountants has approved and sponsored our certificate program. This program meets the Institute of Certified Management Accountant's (ICMA) guidelines for 45 Continuing Professional Education Credits for those holding the CMA and CFM Designations.  The Lehigh Valley Chapter IMA web site can be reached at:  http://www.academic.Uofs.edu/faculty/lawrencer1/lvchima.htm

Insurance Professionals and Brokers
The Moravian College Personal Financial Planning Certificate Program has entered into a program sponsor agreement with the Pennsylvania Insurance Department (Provider # 38335) to offer Continuing Education (CE) credits for insurance agents and brokers.  Each course qualifies for 42 CE credits.

PACE Recertification
The American College Society of Financial Service Professionals has approved the Moravian College Personal Financial Planning Certificate Program as a provider of PACE Recertification Credits. Each course in the certificate program qualifies for 30 hours of PACE Continuing Education Credits.

John D. Rossi, III, Assistant Professor of Accounting, and program director, has extensive experience in the field of personal financial planning. He holds the following professional certifications: CPA (Certified Public Accountant); PFS (Personal Financial Specialist); CMA (Certified Management Accountant); CFM (Certified in Financial Management);  CFP®; and CVA (Certified Valuation Analyst). He is the advisor to students enrolled in the program and can answer specific questions regarding professional opportunities and the certification process. Professor Rossi is also responsible for evaluating the qualifications of students entering the program and assessing the need for foundation courses.

Phone:   (610) 861-1380
Fax:  (610) 861-3980
E-mail:   mejdr01@moravian.edu

"Moravian College does not certify individuals to use CFP®, CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER^TM, and certification marks. CFP certification is granted solely by Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards, Inc. to those individuals who, in addition to completing an educational requirement such as this CFP Board-Registered Program, have met ethics, experience, and examination requirements."