COURSE SYLLABUS

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COURSE SYLLABUS FINC 315
PRINCIPLES OF FINANCIAL PLANNING
Spring,
2007   Glenn L. Wood                              
    Thurmond 502 Office Phone  [phone] E
Mail  woodg_at_winthrop.edu   OFFICE
HOURS           Monday 10-11am and
1-330pm Wednesday 10-11am and 1-330pm Friday
10-11am            REQUIRED TEXT Tools and
Techniques of Financial Planning, Leimberg,
et.al., The National Underwriter Company, 7th
Ed.,
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PURPOSES OF THE COURSE This course will provide
an overview of the financial planning process
and, together with the other CFP courses at
Winthrop, help students prepare for the national
CFP examination. GRADES                
Points  Quizzes 30 (all three)
Class Participation 25                 1st
Exam                   100                 
      2nd Exam               100 3rd
Exam 100 Article Review 25 Financial
Plan 100      Final Exam             
100                                    
Total          580              
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It is anticipated that the final grades will
follow closely the system shown
below             As       90 or
more             Bs       80-89            
Cs       70-79             Ds      
60-69           Fs       60 percent or
less All quizzes and exams are cumulative.
However, emphasis will be placed on the most
recent material. Absences The points you
accumulate will be decreased if you have more
than two unexcused absences.   Make-up Exams
Make-up exams will NOT be given!  Please make
sure you are in attendance on the scheduled exam
dates.  A grade of zero will be given for a
missed exam without an excuse.  If you have a
valid excuse for missing the quiz or any exam,
your grade will be determined by your average
score or final exam score.  To be excused from an
exam you must contact me prior to the exam. 
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Students with Disabilities Winthrop University is
dedicated to providing access to education.  If
you have a disability and need accommodations,
please contact Gena Smith, Coordinator, Services
for Students with Disabilities, at 323-3290, as
soon as possible.  Once you have your Professor
Notification Form, please tell me so that I am
aware of your accommodations well before the
first test/paper/assignment.
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FINANCIAL PLANNING PROJECT You will prepare and
present a financial plan based on a hypothetical
(or real) situation for a young family. The plan
will include income projections, defensible
assumptions regarding investment returns, tax
rates, inflation, retirement goals and other
relevant variables. The plan will conform to
the discussion and requirements set forth in the
class. The financial plan will include a
description of the general types of recommended
investments. You must develop the plan using
your own Excel spreadsheets. The best papers
will be presented in class as a presentation to
the hypothetical client. All projects must be
turned in to the professor no later than
Wednesday, April 18. The best (or most
educational) papers will be presented by the
student to the class on the last day of class.
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• ARTICLE REVIEW
• Each student will select an article from the list
  below or a
• different article chosen by the student and
  approved by the
• professor. The student will prepare a paper that
  summarizes
• and evaluates the article and make a presentation
  to the class.
• POTENTIAL ARTICLES FOR REVIEW
• 1. Frozen in the Headlights The Dynamics of
  Women and Money,
• William Anthes and Bruce Most, Journal of
  Financial Planning,
• September 2000
• The Effect of Retirement Under Social Security
  at Age 62, Robert
• Muksian, Journal of Financial Planning, January
  2004
• Mortality Adjustments in Financial Plans, Glenn
  Wood, Journal of
• Financial Planning, March 2006
• Assessing Risk Tolerance Questioning the
  Questionnaire Method,
• Yook and Everett, Journal of Financial Planning,
  August, 2003
• A Look Behind the Scenes A Survey of How CFPs
  Work, Kira,
• Van Auken, and Norris, Journal of Financial
  Planning, October 2004
• Property and Casualty Risks for Affluent
  Clients Helping Your Clients

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• Individual Responsibility and the Imperfect
  Investor, Lucas,
• Benefits Quarterly, 4th Quarter, 2005
• Reality Retirement Planning A New Paradigm for
  an Old Science,
• Bernicke, Journal of Financial Planning, June,
  2005
• Mortgage Mythology, Phil Storms, Journal of
  Financial Planning,
• April, 2000
• 10. Phased Retirement, McGill, Chapter 20 (see
  professor)
• 11. Understanding Monte Carlo Simulation,
  David Loeper, private
• article (see professor)
• Determining Withdrawal Rates Using Historical
  Data, William
• Bengen, Journal of Financial Planning, March
  2004
• A Game Plan for Working with Professional
  Athletes, Eric Reinhold,
• Journal of Financial Planning, June, 2000, Vol.
  13 Issue 6,
• p114-118
• Probabilistic Mortality Projections, (an
  original paper with the
• professor)
• Comparing Monte Carlo Simulation and Traditional
  Spreadsheet
• Models for Financial Planning, (an original
  paper with the
• professor)

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18. The New Roth 401(k) An Attractive
Alternative for Many, but Not for All, Journal
of Financial Service Professionals, Jul 2006,
Vol. 60 Issue 4, p43-50,
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APPROXIMATE SCHEDULE
Day/Date Topic Pages JANUARY
Mon/8 Introduction ------
Wed/10 Financial Planning Process 3-6, 7-10,
11-15 Mon/15 NO CLASS -------
Wed/17 Financial Goals 101-103
Mon/22 Major Changes in Financial Planning 3
91-396 Wed/24 Critical Assumptions QUIZ
1 402-403 Mon/29 Tax-Favored Investments
Article Article Reviews Wed/31 EXAM
1 FEBRUARY Mon/5 Review of Exam Business
Entities 311-315 Wed/7 Attitudes and
Risk Tolerance 31-34
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Mon/12 Monetary Settlements
Wed/14 Financial Planning Tools 17-30
Mon/19 Investment Planning 381-388
Wed/21 Financial Statements and 189-199 Cash
Flow Management QUIZ 2 201-209
Mon/26 Education Planning 105-115
123-125 Wed/28 Asset
Acquisitions 225-248 MARCH Mon/5 EXAM 2
Wed/7 Review of Exam Special 155-161,
101-103, Circumstances 145-153
Mon/12 NO CLASS Wed/14 NO CLASS
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Mon/19 Regulation of Financial
Planners 35-43 Wed/21 Professional
Ethics 45-66, 81-89 Mon/26 Risk Management
and Insurance 343-345,353-355 Wed/28
QUIZ 3 Article Reviews ---------- APRIL
Mon/2 Employee Benefits and Distribution
Planning 411-412 Wed/4 EXAM
3 ---------- Mon/9 Review of
Exam --------- Wed/11 Practice
Management --------- Mon/16 Cases
Wed/18 Cases Mon/23 Financial
Projects ----------
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ArticleMeasuring the Efficiency of
Tax-Favored Investments, Wood and Attaran,
Journal of Financial Planning, August, 1997