Zahn Associates Online Classes

This course is designed to introduce students to the financial planning process.  The course focuses on the general principles required to become a successful financial planner which include the ethics of the profession as well as the knowledge and skills required to prepare a financial plan.

This course is designed to acquaint students with the principles of risk management and various types of insurance including casualty, fire, health, life, auto, home, disability.  The principles taught prepare students to identify a client’s risk exposure and select appropriate risk management techniques.

This course introduces the wide variety of investment vehicles that may be included in a client’s portfolio.  Topics include client assessment, tax considerations, economic factors, valuation methods, asset allocation techniques, portfolio performance evaluation, and more.

This course emphasizes the fundamentals of individual income taxation, the tax implications of various types of businesses, tax-advantaged investments, employee compensation issues and planning, alternative minimum tax, tax traps, and more. The course includes Psychology of Financial Planning discussing client attitudes, behavior finance, money conflicts, principles of counseling and effective communication with crisis events.

This course provides a complete overview of retirement planning including retirement savings need analysis, qualified retirement plan design, Social Security, Medicare, and more.  In addition, group life, health, and disability insurance; non-qualified deferred compensation; and other commonly provided employee benefits are examined.

This course covers planning and managing federal estate and gift tax planning and opportunities.  The perspectives of a variety of parties are considered including heirs, fiduciaries, estates, trusts, beneficiaries, donors, and donees.  Topics include asset valuation, estate tax deductions, exemptions and credits.  Significant time is given to the transfer of amount at death and the dispositive tools available to clients.

Financial Plan Development Course: This course builds upon the material in the previous 6 courses. Emphasis is on the applications of how to build a strong financial planning plan using concepts that are used in every day practices. The “capstone like” course utilizes case studies and mini-cases to tie together the various disciplines studied in the individual prior courses into a comprehensive financial planning process.