Fundamentals Flashcards
7 Steps in the Financial Planning Process
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- Understanding the client’s personal & financial circumstances
- Identifying & selecting goals
- Analyzing the client’s current course of action & potential alternative courses of action
- Developing the financial planning recommendations
- Presenting the financial planning recommendations
- Implementing the financial planning recommendations
- Monitoring progress & updating
Financial Advice
a communication that would reasonably be viewed as a recommendation that the client take or refrain from taking a particular course of action w/ respect to: the development or implementation of a financial plan; purchasing, holding, gifting, or selling financial assets; investment strategies, portfolio composition, or management of financial assets; selection of other persons to provide financial or professional services for the client
exercise of discretionary authority over the client’s financial assets
only Privacy Policy in writing; everything else orally or writing
Financial Planning
a collaborative process that helps maximize a client’s potential for meeting life goals through Financial Advice that integrates relative elements of the client’s personal & financial circumstances
only Material Conflicts of Interest orally OR writing; everything else writing
Money Disorders
rooted in emotion & may be associated w/ money beliefs
include:
compulsive buying disorder
hoarding
gambling disorder
workaholism
financial enabling/financial dependence
5 Stages of Change
- Pre-contemplation
- Contemplation
- Preparation
- Action
- Maintenance
Self-Determination Theory
there are 3 main psychological needs that determine motivation
Competence + Relatedness + Autonomy = Intrinsic Motivation
Money Beliefs
a client’s perceptions about the purpose of money & how it should be used & managed can have a positive or negative impact on their ability to meet their goals
Money Avoidance
tries not to think about money; believes they do not deserve money
Money Worship
buys things in an effort to create happiness
Money Status
needs to keep up the appearance of being successful
Money Vigilance
alert & watchful in financial matters; may have anxiety about financial future
Behavior Finance
investment decisions are impacted by cognitive biases & heuristics
rules of thumb that shorten the decision-making process
Affect Heuristic
judging something as good or bad
Availability Heuristic
relying on knowledge already attained
Anchoring
focusing on a particular reference point even if it is not relevant or pertinent to the issue in question
Herding
mimicking the actions of a larger group
Active Listening
focuses on what the speaker is saying
Reflective Listening
focuses on both the content being said & the feelings being expressed by the speaker
Motivational Interviewing
focuses on overcoming ambivalence to change
Joining
making a connection w/ the client & establishing a trusting relationship
Fiduciary Duty
at all times a CFP professional providing Financial Advice must act as a fiduciary (act in the best interest of the client)
- Duty of Loyalty - client’s interest ahead of planner’s; avoid or disclose, obtain client’s informed consent, manage conflicts of interest
- Duty of Care - skill, prudence & diligence
- Duty to follow client instructions - if reasonable & lawful
Standards of Conduct
- Duties owed to clients
- Financial planning & application of the Practice Standards for the financial planning process
- Practice Standards for the financial planning process
- Duties owed to firms & subordinates
- Duties owed to CFP Board
- Prohibition on circumvention
Compensation Disclosures (Standards A. 12.)
must be provided to client prior to or at time of engagement
oral or in writing if advice does NOT require Financial Planning
written if CFP professional is required to provide Financial Planning in accordance w/ the Practice Standards
must disclose issues related to compensation; specific dollar amount not necessary unless requested by client; sources & calculation of compensation to certificant, certificant’s employer, or a related party is necessary
Fee Only
only be used if no sales-related compensation to certificant or related party
Fee-Based
must clearly state fees & commissions or not fee-only
Sales-related compensation
broadly defined
12b-1 fees, transaction fees, revenue sharing, referral fees
Procedural Rules
Violation of CFP Board’s Procedural Rules will result in one of the following sanctions:
- Private censure
- Public censure
- Suspension (maximum 5 years)
- Revocation
- Temporary bar (respondent not yet a CFP professional)
- Permanent bar (respondent not yet a CFP professional)
*Written notice to certificant’s firm required for public discipline (Standards D.3.)
Code of Ethics
six principles; a CFP professional must:
- Act w/ honesty, integrity, competence, & diligence
- Act in the client’s best interests
- Exercise due care
- Avoid or disclose & manage conflicts of interests
- Maintain the confidentiality & protect the privacy of client information
- Act in a manner that reflects positively on the financial planning profession & CFP certification
Acceptable Nouns (6)
after CFP & CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER marks:
professional
practitioner
certificant
certification
mark
exam
Notice to CFP Board (Standards E.3.)
CFP professional must report to CFP Board w/in 30 calendar days of BOTH initiation & conclusion:
- charge or conviction of a felony
- charge or conviction of a relevant misdemeanor (including 2nd or more alcohol or drug-related offense)
- conduct mentioned adversely in finding a regulatory action involving failure to comply w/ the laws or rules governing professional services (except minor rule violations)
- suspension or revocation of a professional license
- termination for cause from employment involving allegations of dishonesty, unethical conduct, or compliance failures
- filing for a personal bankruptcy or business bankruptcy in which the CFP professional was a control person
- receipt of notice of a federal tax lien on property owned by the CFP professional
- conduct mentioned adversely in a civil action alleging fraud, theft, misrepresentation, or other dishonest conduct
NOTE: no need to report if timely & accurately reported on Form U4
Sanction for Failure to Timely Report Information
public censure
Sanction Guidelines for Bankruptcies
any personal bankruptcy or business bankruptcy where the CFP professional was a control person is subject to public censure unless the CFP professional can rebut the presumption of inability to responsibly manage financial affairs
Single bankruptcy = certificant may accept public censure w/out hearing or pay hearing fee w/ expedited adjudication
Multiple bankruptcies = follow normal adjudication process
When providing Financial Planning in accordance w/ the Practice Standards, the client must be provided written disclosures including:
existence of any public discipline or any bankruptcy & the web pages of relevant public websites of any government authority, SRO, or professional organization that provides disciplinary history
Monetary Policy
Fed support economic growth, full employment, & price stability
4 Tools:
1. reserve requirements
2. discount rate
3. open market operations
4. interest rate on required balances & excess reserves
MS increases, interest rates decrease
MS decreases, interest rates increase
Fiscal Policy
Congress seeks to support economic growth, full employment, price stability (same as Fed)
3 Tools:
1. taxation
2. spending
3. debt management
Demand Curve
downward sloping (top left to bottom right)
at lower prices people demand more
higher prices, people demand less
Supply Curve
upward sloping (bottom left to top right)
producer’s willingness to supply more at higher prices
at lower prices = less incentive for a producer to supply goods
Equilibrium Price
point of intersection of supply & demand curves
at that price the quantity supplied equals the quantity demanded
Change in Quantity Demanded
movement along demand curve = price change
price drops, people buy more
Change in Demand
shift in demand curve
change in preferences, income, tax policy, etc
Change in Quantity Supplied
movement along supply curve = price change
price drops, producers supply less
Change in Supply
shift in supply curve
change in technology, competition, etc
Substitutes
products w/ similar purpose; replaceable (coffee/tea)
increase in price of one good increases demand for the other good
Complements
products consumed jointly (peanut butter & jelly)
increase in price of one good decreases demand for other
Inelastic Demand
large percentage change in price results in smaller percentage change in quantity demanded
examples = necessities (gasoline, pharmaceuticals)
Elastic Demand
small percentage change in price results in larger percentage change in quantity demanded
Examples = luxury goods (expensive cars)
Unit Elastic
percentage change in price leads to the same percentage change in quantity demanded
Gross Domestic Product GDP
value of total output w/in a country regardless of asset ownership over a period of time
4 Main Areas:
1. consumer spending
2. government spending
3. business investing
4. net imports/exports
Gross National Product GNP
value of total output by the citizens of a country regardless of where the production takes place
Early Expansion
expectations low inflation, current low interest rates
unemployment decreases as companies increase production
monetary/fiscal policy actions support recovery
stock market/housing market typically strong
Mid-Expansion
Fed manages inflation
consumer demand increasing but increasing supply helps maintain price levels
firms may expand capacity
little interest rate movement
unemployment continues to decrease
consumer sentiment/spending is high
yield curve likely upward sloping to indicate interest rates will rise in the future (normal yield curve)