Turned out that my exam result was about as bad as I expected - the Superannuation exam was a whole lot of technical questions about contribution rules and taxation for specific ages, income levels, accumulated balances and so forth. I know the rules in general, but I tend to look up specific values as they keep changing so it's not something I normally memorise. As it was a 'closed book' exam I had expected/hoped it would be more about general rules and strategies. Oh well, my final result was still a Credit, so my overall GPA for 2019 is 6.00 after getting two High Distinctions and two Credits. That will just get me a 'Dean's List' letter of commendation for this year, and overall my GPA is still just on the cut-off for qualifying for a university medal (if I end up in the top 2% of my 'cohort' when I graduate) and for getting the Masters degree 'with Distinction' if I maintain a GPA of at least 6.00. Hopefully I can do a little better with my results next year, as I'd like to only get Distinctions or better.
I've enrolled in five uni subjects for 2020, one per semester in the first three quarters, and two courses in Q4. I'm planning on finishing off my Advanced Diploma subjects during Dec/Jan (before uni recommences next year), and might then do the Level I CFA exam in July. That should mean I have a fairly light study load in Q4 so I can managed a full-time study loan while working full-time and doing my uni studies part-time. We'll see how it works out in reality.
In 2021 I'll finish off the Masters degree (should just have the two 'research' subjects to complete in the first half of 2021), and I'll possibly also be able to complete my CFA and CFP certifications in 2021, and enrol in a PhD in Financial Planning.
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Showing posts with label Master of Financial Planning. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Master of Financial Planning. Show all posts
Sunday, 8 December 2019
Tuesday, 17 September 2019
Progressing with my uni (and other) studies
A new uni semester (Q4) has just started. This semester I'm doing the 'Superannuation' subject. Browsing through the modules it all looks quite familiar, so I *should* be able to get another HD in this subject. So far I've completed four out of the twelve subjects required for the Master of Financial Planning degree, and have gotten two HD's (in Communication and Ethics for Financial Planners, and Investment Planning,) one D (in Financial Planning), and a Credit (in Commercial Law).
My GPA for 2019 (so far) is 6.0 which is just at the cut-off for getting onto the annual "Dean's List". Either a D or HD this semester will be enough to get on the Dean's List for 2019, but I'd prefer to get an HD this semester, as it will improve my chances of getting a university medal when I graduation.
My GPA overall (so far) is 6.25. To graduate 'with distinction' I'll need my GPA to be above 6.00, and for the Dean's Medal award at graduation I'll need a GPA above 6.00 AND be in the top 2% of my 'cohort' (which I think will be all the postgrad students graduating from the school of business that year). Hopefully I can get mostly HDs and Ds for the remaining subjects and get my final GPA to 6.50 or above. It's hard to know exactly what GPA will be sufficient to make it into the 'top 2%'.
This semester I also want to finish off the specialist courses in Margin Lending and SMSF that I'm doing with IIT, and also finish off the ADFP I'm also enrolled in with IIT. So I'll be quite busy studying for the rest of this year. Next year I'll only be doing my WSU studies, so it should be a little bit easier to ensure I get as many HDs as possible. Once I've finished the Masters degree I then plan on doing my CFP (the Masters degree will give me credits for three of the four required CFP courses) and to enrol in a PhD in Financial Planning. We'll see if things go according to plan...
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My GPA for 2019 (so far) is 6.0 which is just at the cut-off for getting onto the annual "Dean's List". Either a D or HD this semester will be enough to get on the Dean's List for 2019, but I'd prefer to get an HD this semester, as it will improve my chances of getting a university medal when I graduation.
My GPA overall (so far) is 6.25. To graduate 'with distinction' I'll need my GPA to be above 6.00, and for the Dean's Medal award at graduation I'll need a GPA above 6.00 AND be in the top 2% of my 'cohort' (which I think will be all the postgrad students graduating from the school of business that year). Hopefully I can get mostly HDs and Ds for the remaining subjects and get my final GPA to 6.50 or above. It's hard to know exactly what GPA will be sufficient to make it into the 'top 2%'.
This semester I also want to finish off the specialist courses in Margin Lending and SMSF that I'm doing with IIT, and also finish off the ADFP I'm also enrolled in with IIT. So I'll be quite busy studying for the rest of this year. Next year I'll only be doing my WSU studies, so it should be a little bit easier to ensure I get as many HDs as possible. Once I've finished the Masters degree I then plan on doing my CFP (the Masters degree will give me credits for three of the four required CFP courses) and to enrol in a PhD in Financial Planning. We'll see if things go according to plan...
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Wednesday, 3 July 2019
MFinPlan progress
I was relieved that I managed to end up getting a Credit grade for last semester's subject 'Commercial Law' with a mark of 66%. As I had only gotten marks just over 65% for the assessment tasks during term, I had gone into the exam expecting to either just Pass the course or maybe get a Credit. Law was certainly not one of my favourite subjects! I've now completed 1/4 of the Masters degree in Financial Planning, and will be nearly half-way through by the end of the year.
My previous two subject results had been a Distinction and a High Distinction, so I'm just on track for the annual "Dean's Letter" this year (which requires a Distinction average and taking at least four subjects) and to remain on track to make the cut-off for consideration for a 'with Distinction' degree (must have a Distinction average overall i.e. GPA >=6.0) and to a have any shot at getting an academic medal (to get that I'd have to end up in the 'top 2%' of the graduating cohort, which would probably require getting mostly HDs from here on).
This semester I'm doing the subject 'Investment Planning', which should be a lot more enjoyable, although it seems to cover a lot of stuff that I'm already familiar with:
Module 1 - Investment environment
Module 2 - Risk and return
Module 3 - Investing in shares
Module 4 - Alternative investment
Module 5 - Investing in fixed income securities
Module 6 - Investment administration
Module 7 - The investment planning model and client profile
Module 8 - Investment objectives and returns
Module 9 - Management of risk
Module 10 - Investment strategy
Module 11 - Investment selection
Module 12 - Portfolio construction and management
This semester I need to make sure I also finish off the two 'specialist' courses (Margin Lending and SMSFs) that I'm enrolled in at the International Institute of Technology (I'm nearly finished, aside from the 'role play' video submissions and the final assessment quizes), and I also need to try to get a couple of the modules completed towards the Advanced Diploma in Financial Planning that I'm also enrolled in.
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My previous two subject results had been a Distinction and a High Distinction, so I'm just on track for the annual "Dean's Letter" this year (which requires a Distinction average and taking at least four subjects) and to remain on track to make the cut-off for consideration for a 'with Distinction' degree (must have a Distinction average overall i.e. GPA >=6.0) and to a have any shot at getting an academic medal (to get that I'd have to end up in the 'top 2%' of the graduating cohort, which would probably require getting mostly HDs from here on).
This semester I'm doing the subject 'Investment Planning', which should be a lot more enjoyable, although it seems to cover a lot of stuff that I'm already familiar with:
Module 1 - Investment environment
Module 2 - Risk and return
Module 3 - Investing in shares
Module 4 - Alternative investment
Module 5 - Investing in fixed income securities
Module 6 - Investment administration
Module 7 - The investment planning model and client profile
Module 8 - Investment objectives and returns
Module 9 - Management of risk
Module 10 - Investment strategy
Module 11 - Investment selection
Module 12 - Portfolio construction and management
This semester I need to make sure I also finish off the two 'specialist' courses (Margin Lending and SMSFs) that I'm enrolled in at the International Institute of Technology (I'm nearly finished, aside from the 'role play' video submissions and the final assessment quizes), and I also need to try to get a couple of the modules completed towards the Advanced Diploma in Financial Planning that I'm also enrolled in.
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Tuesday, 16 April 2019
Let the marketing begin!
Well, my financial planning business is now in 'soft launch' mode, with a website, Facebook page, yellow pages entry etc. all 'live'. I delivered an initial batch of ten brochures to a local gated estate (the letterboxes were nearly all marked 'no junk mail', but as I'm not a direct mail company, and the letters were individually addressed, I ignored that - on the other hand, the occupants will probably ignore my letters). It was amazing the amount of time I ended up spending on printing brochures, folding and stapling them, creating a mailing list in excel (by looking up local street addresses on google maps), and then getting the mail-merged envelopes to print out correctly using manual feed (one-at-a-time, or the printer jams). Oh, and I also wasted time creating a mock 'stamp' to print on the envelopes (supposedly this makes them more likely to be opened, rather than going straight into the bin). I'm planning to print and distribute around 50 letters/brochures a week from now on. As there are around 20,000 households in the six local postcode areas, I won't run out of letter boxes any time soon.
I'll print out another 20 envelopes tomorrow and deliver them in the evening, so that they should end up mixed in with the official mail sitting in those letter boxes on Thursday, and hence be more likely to be opened. And hopefully the Easter long weekend might encourage people to read the brochure ('Financial Health Check - 14 questions you should ask yourself'). Whether anybody actually decides to phone me or make an appointment only time will tell. According to general statistics about direct mail campaigns, the response rate is often around 2-3%%, so I'm aiming for a marketing 'funnel' of around 200 letters/month > 4 -6 responses/month > 1-2 initial (free) meetings booked > ~1 new client per month.
Once I put some finishing touches on the website I'll setup Google and Facebook Ad campaigns to drive targeted (local) traffic to my website. Hopefully that also generates some online bookings.
My uni studies are going OK so far - my GPA for the first two subjects is 6.5/7 (conincidentally exactly the same as I ended up with for my Master of Astronomy degree). I've only enrolled in one subject per semester this year (as I also need to squeeze in the four subjects for the ADFP course I'm enrolled in, and then complete a TASA (Tax Agent Services Act) mandatory course before the end of this year) as I want to keep my GPA above 6.0 so I qualify for the "Dean's List".
If all goes well this year, I'd like to do all the remaining seven subjects next year and finish off the Masters degree, and I also want to get the Financial Adviser exam out of the way next year (the deadline for passing the exam is 1 Jan 2021).
After that I plan on doing the CFP exam in 2021 (I'll receive exemption for CFP 2, 3 and 4 when I complete the Master of Financial Planning degree, therefore I'll only need to complete the subject 'CFP 1' to then be eligible to sit the CFP Certification Assessment), and I'd like to commence a PhD in financial planning once I've completed the Master's degree. We'll see how it all turns out ...
Meanwhile, back to the marketing 'campaign' ;)
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I'll print out another 20 envelopes tomorrow and deliver them in the evening, so that they should end up mixed in with the official mail sitting in those letter boxes on Thursday, and hence be more likely to be opened. And hopefully the Easter long weekend might encourage people to read the brochure ('Financial Health Check - 14 questions you should ask yourself'). Whether anybody actually decides to phone me or make an appointment only time will tell. According to general statistics about direct mail campaigns, the response rate is often around 2-3%%, so I'm aiming for a marketing 'funnel' of around 200 letters/month > 4 -6 responses/month > 1-2 initial (free) meetings booked > ~1 new client per month.
Once I put some finishing touches on the website I'll setup Google and Facebook Ad campaigns to drive targeted (local) traffic to my website. Hopefully that also generates some online bookings.
My uni studies are going OK so far - my GPA for the first two subjects is 6.5/7 (conincidentally exactly the same as I ended up with for my Master of Astronomy degree). I've only enrolled in one subject per semester this year (as I also need to squeeze in the four subjects for the ADFP course I'm enrolled in, and then complete a TASA (Tax Agent Services Act) mandatory course before the end of this year) as I want to keep my GPA above 6.0 so I qualify for the "Dean's List".
If all goes well this year, I'd like to do all the remaining seven subjects next year and finish off the Masters degree, and I also want to get the Financial Adviser exam out of the way next year (the deadline for passing the exam is 1 Jan 2021).
After that I plan on doing the CFP exam in 2021 (I'll receive exemption for CFP 2, 3 and 4 when I complete the Master of Financial Planning degree, therefore I'll only need to complete the subject 'CFP 1' to then be eligible to sit the CFP Certification Assessment), and I'd like to commence a PhD in financial planning once I've completed the Master's degree. We'll see how it all turns out ...
Meanwhile, back to the marketing 'campaign' ;)
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Friday, 4 January 2019
Starting my Financial Planning business
I did a couple of days of 'induction training' in December (had to fly from Sydney to Perth for the training, as the AFSL company does their training there) and managed to get 'registered' with ASIC as a Financial Planner before 1 Jan 2019. Looking back over my records, I'd been enrolled in the DFP course on and off for about six years, so it was only the pending FASEA rule changes that prompted me to hurry up and finish off the DFP to I could get registered before the new work experience requirements came into effect.
Having completed the DFP I'm now enrolled in the ADFP ('Advanced' Diploma) with IIT, and I'm also doing a Master of Financial Planning (via distance education) through Western Sydney University. I aim to get the ADFP completed during 2019, while also setting up my business website, creating a marketing 'funnel' to prospect for potential clients, and (hopefully) starting to provide advice to some clients. I should be able to complete the Masters degree sometime in 2021. I might then do a MRes degree with the idea of eventually doing a PhD in financial planning at WSU (that should be a *lot* easier to complete part-time than the PhD I tried to do in astrophysics).
Fortunately the AFSL company I've signed on with provides considerable resources for their 'authorised representatives' in the form of documentation templates, feedback on strategies being considered for clients, and has a requirement for all SoA (Statements of Advice) to be prepared by a professional third party paraplanner service. They also 'vet' all SoAs produced by new planners, so there is considerable supervision and assistance provided. On the down side their monthly fee is over $1000 (plus they also retain 20% of all revenues until annual income reaches a certain threshold), and there is also a minimum monthly fee for the required CRM software. Then for each SoA there will be paraplanner and vetting fees of around $250. The fees charged by the AFSL company cover such things as PI (Professional Indemnity) insurance, annual compliance costs (monitoring CPD requirements are met and conducting an annual audit) and the processing client fees and commissions.
My initial plan is to slowly build up to servicing around one new client per month, by which point I should just about 'break even'. Fortunately I'll be running this business in the evenings and weekends, while still keeping my full-time 'day job', so there isn't any great need to become profitable in the short term. Initially my business losses will have to be 'carried forward' until eventually I'll be able to deduct them against my other (salary) income (once my assessable income as a sole trader reaches $20,000 pa).
Aside from all the usual 'business expenses', I will also need to keep track of how much time I spend working on my business in my 'home office'. I won't use the dedicated office area I've setup in my home for meeting with clients (I plan on meeting with clients in their homes), so I won't be able to claim a deduction for pro-rata 'occupancy expenses' such as rates, house insurance and so forth, but I will be able to claim a deduction (at the set rate of $0.45/hr) for 'running expenses'.
I also had to register for GST, so I've started using Reckon One (online accounting) to track things and help prepare my annual BAS statements. As I'm now registered for GST I'll also have to include any UberEats delivery income in my BAS returns.
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Having completed the DFP I'm now enrolled in the ADFP ('Advanced' Diploma) with IIT, and I'm also doing a Master of Financial Planning (via distance education) through Western Sydney University. I aim to get the ADFP completed during 2019, while also setting up my business website, creating a marketing 'funnel' to prospect for potential clients, and (hopefully) starting to provide advice to some clients. I should be able to complete the Masters degree sometime in 2021. I might then do a MRes degree with the idea of eventually doing a PhD in financial planning at WSU (that should be a *lot* easier to complete part-time than the PhD I tried to do in astrophysics).
Fortunately the AFSL company I've signed on with provides considerable resources for their 'authorised representatives' in the form of documentation templates, feedback on strategies being considered for clients, and has a requirement for all SoA (Statements of Advice) to be prepared by a professional third party paraplanner service. They also 'vet' all SoAs produced by new planners, so there is considerable supervision and assistance provided. On the down side their monthly fee is over $1000 (plus they also retain 20% of all revenues until annual income reaches a certain threshold), and there is also a minimum monthly fee for the required CRM software. Then for each SoA there will be paraplanner and vetting fees of around $250. The fees charged by the AFSL company cover such things as PI (Professional Indemnity) insurance, annual compliance costs (monitoring CPD requirements are met and conducting an annual audit) and the processing client fees and commissions.
My initial plan is to slowly build up to servicing around one new client per month, by which point I should just about 'break even'. Fortunately I'll be running this business in the evenings and weekends, while still keeping my full-time 'day job', so there isn't any great need to become profitable in the short term. Initially my business losses will have to be 'carried forward' until eventually I'll be able to deduct them against my other (salary) income (once my assessable income as a sole trader reaches $20,000 pa).
Aside from all the usual 'business expenses', I will also need to keep track of how much time I spend working on my business in my 'home office'. I won't use the dedicated office area I've setup in my home for meeting with clients (I plan on meeting with clients in their homes), so I won't be able to claim a deduction for pro-rata 'occupancy expenses' such as rates, house insurance and so forth, but I will be able to claim a deduction (at the set rate of $0.45/hr) for 'running expenses'.
I also had to register for GST, so I've started using Reckon One (online accounting) to track things and help prepare my annual BAS statements. As I'm now registered for GST I'll also have to include any UberEats delivery income in my BAS returns.
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Net Worth: Dec 2018
Another negative month, with my geared share portfolio and retirement savings balances each dropping by more than $20K, while our house price estimate stabilized. Still waiting (and hoping) that the global stock market 'correction' is over, but it appears that there may be further weakness ahead. The Australian economy is still growing quite well, so there may soon be a buying opportunity. Our Superannuation is already fully invested in growth, but my gearing is currently very low, so I could use my available margin loan facilities to invest in the local stock market when it seems to have reached the 'bottom'. However, as I am currently funding around $1,200 per month for my Financial Planning registration fees (without any clients so far) from my wage cash flow, I don't really want to add margin loan interest payments at this stage.
My goals for 2019 are:
- lose weight and exercise more (a perennial goal it seems) - I'm currently ~108kg and need to lose about 30-35kg! I also need to start using the Gym membership I took out in July...
- startup my financial planning business and get my first clients during 2019 (my target is 1 per month)
- complete the two 'specialisation' modules ('Self-Managed Superannuation Funds' and 'Margin Lending') that I enrolled in when I finished the Diploma of Financial Planning course in early December
- start and complete the Adavanced DFP course that I enrolled in recently
- complete the four courses for the Master of Financial Planning degree I've enrolled in for 2019 (1 per quarter).
So, it looks like I'll be quite busy during 2019 ;)
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My goals for 2019 are:
- lose weight and exercise more (a perennial goal it seems) - I'm currently ~108kg and need to lose about 30-35kg! I also need to start using the Gym membership I took out in July...
- startup my financial planning business and get my first clients during 2019 (my target is 1 per month)
- complete the two 'specialisation' modules ('Self-Managed Superannuation Funds' and 'Margin Lending') that I enrolled in when I finished the Diploma of Financial Planning course in early December
- start and complete the Adavanced DFP course that I enrolled in recently
- complete the four courses for the Master of Financial Planning degree I've enrolled in for 2019 (1 per quarter).
So, it looks like I'll be quite busy during 2019 ;)
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Thursday, 29 November 2018
Almost a Financial Planner
Well, I managed to get all the assessment tasks for the Diploma of Financial Planning finished off last month. I'd left the video 'role play' tasks to the very end (after I'd completed all the written assessment tasks for all four modules), and I kept putting it off until I finally recorded the required 'client interviews' using DW and DS1 as 'the clients' and DS2 as my 'personal assistant' during the role play. In the end all four role play videos got graded as 'satisfactory' despite having very poor audio quality (using the built-in microphone on my laptop when recording from across the room didn't work as well as I'd hoped). I paid an extra $50 for 'priority marking' of the role play submissions, as marking normally takes around two weeks, and I was running out of time to finalise the DFP so I could apply to become an 'authorised representative' of an AFSL (Australian Financial Services Licence) company before the end of this year. Once the video role plays were marked I also paid an extra $50 for 'priority processing' of the certificate (so it was mailed out within three days rather than the usual 2-3 weeks).
Once I'd completed the DFP I was able to start the application process to become an 'authorised representative'. That process has so far involved filling in a set of online forms about my business (non-existent apart from having a business name registered) and my clients (none), and getting a set of background checks (police, bankruptcy, credit etc.) done. I had read that this could take 4-6 weeks to get done, but the AFSL company paid for the checks to be done and they only took two days. One nice feature was that I could submit take and submit photos of my ID, credit card etc. and didn't have to get photocopies certified by a JP. So the process was fairly quick and easy.
I also had to fill in an online form detailing my qualifications and submit copies of the certificates. I only submitted a copy of the DFP certificate and results, as I don't think my science degrees and post-grad qualifications are particularly relevant (although I listed them on the form). The AFSL can always ask for copies of those testamurs if needed. The final step was to fill in details of three business referees, so yesterday I had to ask some people at work if they would be happy to be listed as a referee. Once I had their permission I completed the online form for business references, and they were each emailed a form to complete today. Two of the three referees have already let me know that they'd sent back the completed referee forms today, so hopefully all the paperwork might be completed tomorrow.
If everything is in order I should then be notified of a date to travel to Perth to attend a two-day 'induction training' session. As the AFSL company shuts down around 20th December for the Christmas/New Year period, I have to make sure I get the induction training completed before then and the AFSL company gets my name added to the ASIC register of 'authorised representatives' before 31 December. That is a deadline, as the rules for 'new' financial planners are changing from 1 January 2019, and if I'm not a 'registered adviser' before then I would have to do one year of 'work experience' -- which isn't possible as I'm still working at my full-time job.
If everything goes according to plan I'll be able to complete my Master of Financial Planning part-time via distance education over the next two years, while also starting up my financial planning business part-time. I'm planning to do client meetings at their homes in the evenings or on the weekend - hopefully being able to meet with a financial planner outside of business hours might be attractive to somef prospective clients. We'll see how it works out in practice.
The cost of just being an 'authorised representative' is around $1000 per month (and that is through one of the cheapest AFSL companies I could find!) plus some extra costs for software licencing and a fee for having every client SoA (Statement of Advice) 'vetted' by them. Apparently financial planners in Australia usually charge between $1000 to $3000 or more for a routine SoA, so I'm thinking about charging $1200 for a SoA (and only taking on clients with fairly simple situations and needs while I'm completing my Masters). At this fee rate I would need to have about one paying client per month to just about cover the basic business running costs. I'd need about two clients per month to 'break even', as I'll be paying around $12,000 pa for my Masters courses for the next 2-1/2 years.
Fingers crossed that my AR application is approved and I get registered before the end of this year.
I finished my first course for the Masters degree this week (exam was on Tuesday), and I'll be doing four subjects next year (one per semester). Before the next semester starts in January I want to finish off a couple of additional 'specialist' add-on units that go with the DFP. One in Self-Managed Superannuation Funds, and the other in Margin Lending. They are both via distance education through the company that I did the DFP course with. I can also do the 'Advanced Diploma in Financial Planning' with them. That course costs around $1,400, so I might do it next year while doing the Masters courses (which cost $3,000 each!).
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Once I'd completed the DFP I was able to start the application process to become an 'authorised representative'. That process has so far involved filling in a set of online forms about my business (non-existent apart from having a business name registered) and my clients (none), and getting a set of background checks (police, bankruptcy, credit etc.) done. I had read that this could take 4-6 weeks to get done, but the AFSL company paid for the checks to be done and they only took two days. One nice feature was that I could submit take and submit photos of my ID, credit card etc. and didn't have to get photocopies certified by a JP. So the process was fairly quick and easy.
I also had to fill in an online form detailing my qualifications and submit copies of the certificates. I only submitted a copy of the DFP certificate and results, as I don't think my science degrees and post-grad qualifications are particularly relevant (although I listed them on the form). The AFSL can always ask for copies of those testamurs if needed. The final step was to fill in details of three business referees, so yesterday I had to ask some people at work if they would be happy to be listed as a referee. Once I had their permission I completed the online form for business references, and they were each emailed a form to complete today. Two of the three referees have already let me know that they'd sent back the completed referee forms today, so hopefully all the paperwork might be completed tomorrow.
If everything is in order I should then be notified of a date to travel to Perth to attend a two-day 'induction training' session. As the AFSL company shuts down around 20th December for the Christmas/New Year period, I have to make sure I get the induction training completed before then and the AFSL company gets my name added to the ASIC register of 'authorised representatives' before 31 December. That is a deadline, as the rules for 'new' financial planners are changing from 1 January 2019, and if I'm not a 'registered adviser' before then I would have to do one year of 'work experience' -- which isn't possible as I'm still working at my full-time job.
If everything goes according to plan I'll be able to complete my Master of Financial Planning part-time via distance education over the next two years, while also starting up my financial planning business part-time. I'm planning to do client meetings at their homes in the evenings or on the weekend - hopefully being able to meet with a financial planner outside of business hours might be attractive to somef prospective clients. We'll see how it works out in practice.
The cost of just being an 'authorised representative' is around $1000 per month (and that is through one of the cheapest AFSL companies I could find!) plus some extra costs for software licencing and a fee for having every client SoA (Statement of Advice) 'vetted' by them. Apparently financial planners in Australia usually charge between $1000 to $3000 or more for a routine SoA, so I'm thinking about charging $1200 for a SoA (and only taking on clients with fairly simple situations and needs while I'm completing my Masters). At this fee rate I would need to have about one paying client per month to just about cover the basic business running costs. I'd need about two clients per month to 'break even', as I'll be paying around $12,000 pa for my Masters courses for the next 2-1/2 years.
Fingers crossed that my AR application is approved and I get registered before the end of this year.
I finished my first course for the Masters degree this week (exam was on Tuesday), and I'll be doing four subjects next year (one per semester). Before the next semester starts in January I want to finish off a couple of additional 'specialist' add-on units that go with the DFP. One in Self-Managed Superannuation Funds, and the other in Margin Lending. They are both via distance education through the company that I did the DFP course with. I can also do the 'Advanced Diploma in Financial Planning' with them. That course costs around $1,400, so I might do it next year while doing the Masters courses (which cost $3,000 each!).
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Monday, 5 November 2018
Net Worth: October 2018
Things that make you go hmmmm...
Oh well, the random walk down wall street took us head-first into a lamp-post last month. My NW is back down to where it was in September 2017, having dropped almost $100,000 during October. Up by the stairs, down by the elevator, as they say. It could have been even worse if I hadn't sold up a lot of my geared share holdings in June, so thank Plutus I decided to de-leverage rather than gear-up. The poor stock market performance was complimented by the continued decline in house prices in Sydney, so the only positive contribution to my net worth during October was the $225 reduction in our home mortgage.
Although I'd been aware of the market 'correction' happening during October, I didn't really pay much attention as I've been busy trying to finish off my assignments for the Diploma of Financial Planning course I'm doing (nearly there!) and the first subject of the Masters in Financial Planning course I'm enrolled in this semester. The Hayne Royal commission interim report has been laying bare the rampant greed and unethical behavior in the financial planning 'industry' in Australia, with the Big 4 banks coming in for special attention, along with the large financial planning 'groups' like IOOF and AMP. Several well-known ('celebrity') financial planners/firms closed up shop after having to front the Royal Commission. Combined with the major changes to regulation and education requirements for 'financial planners' coming into effect on 1 Jan 2019 I expect a lot of the 'old school' planners will be exiting the 'industry' during the next few years. Many of them had business models reliant of hefty commissions received when selling life insurance products, which is being wound back and is under pressure to be completely eliminated (like commissions on non-insurance investment products), and they would struggle to move to a fee-for-service business model. In addition, many of them do not have a uni degree, so would have to go 'back to school' to meet the education requirements for existing planners by the 2024 deadline. I'm trying to get my DFP and become a 'registered' financial planner before 31 Dec so I don't have to meet the supervision requirements for 'new' planners that comes into effect on 1 Jan 2019. There seems to have been a recent addition of the category 'career changer' that might spare me from the supervision requirement if I don't get registered before 1 Jan 2019, but it isn't clearly defined, and I'd still need to complete the Graduate Diploma in Financial Planning before being able to get registered in that case. So, full steam ahead with finishing off my DFP asap...
Hopefully the changes will 'professionalize' the financial planning industry in the next few years, and the exodus of existing planners and barriers to entry for new planners may reduce competition and increase demand - all good things for my intention to set up my own (part-time) financial planning business next year. We'll see how it goes.
ps. no diet updates at the moment, as I haven't been sticking to my diet plan, and haven't had time to go to the gym. Hopefully I'll get back on track after my uni exam at the end of this month.
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Oh well, the random walk down wall street took us head-first into a lamp-post last month. My NW is back down to where it was in September 2017, having dropped almost $100,000 during October. Up by the stairs, down by the elevator, as they say. It could have been even worse if I hadn't sold up a lot of my geared share holdings in June, so thank Plutus I decided to de-leverage rather than gear-up. The poor stock market performance was complimented by the continued decline in house prices in Sydney, so the only positive contribution to my net worth during October was the $225 reduction in our home mortgage.
Hopefully the changes will 'professionalize' the financial planning industry in the next few years, and the exodus of existing planners and barriers to entry for new planners may reduce competition and increase demand - all good things for my intention to set up my own (part-time) financial planning business next year. We'll see how it goes.
ps. no diet updates at the moment, as I haven't been sticking to my diet plan, and haven't had time to go to the gym. Hopefully I'll get back on track after my uni exam at the end of this month.
Subscribe to Enough Wealth. Copyright 2006-2018
Thursday, 4 October 2018
Net Worth: September 2018
Last month everything went a bit South - my geared stock portfolio was down $14,288, my retirement savings total (SMSF and employer-subsidized account with Colonial First State) was down $1,880 and the valuation of our home was down another $6,218 (due to the overall property market correction in Australia, especially in Sydney). Overall, my NW was down by $22,163 (or 0.95%). On a positive note, I still have my full-time job (recently passed the milestone of 20 years with the same company) and my DFP course is about 50% completed (I'm aiming to try to finish it off this month, so I can apply to become an 'authorized representative of an AFSL holder i.e. become a registered 'financial planner' so I don't have to do the one year of 'work experience' that will be required for 'new' financial planners from 1 Jan next year) although I also have some assignments to do this month for the first course of the MFP I'm doing with WSU).
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Friday, 6 July 2018
Enrolling in Master of Financial Planning course at WSU
My application to enroll in the Master of Financial Planning course at Western Sydney University has been conditionally accepted (I just have to provide a 'statement of service' to confirm the work experience I listed on my application form before term starts - this shouldn't be an issue, unless our HR department a) takes forever, or b) decides that it isn't company policy to provide this sort of thing). I'm enrolling in Session 4, which starts on 17 September. The course consists of 12 'core' modules (ie. all subject are compulsory, with no electives), and usually take 1.5 years full time, or 3 years part-time to complete. I'll be doing the course part-time and online, so I should be finished sometime in 2021.
The course is fee-paying, which for domestic students is A$24,000 for the Masters degree (I think - this is the cost listed on the WSU website, but they also put the cost of the Postgrad Certificate course (which is the first four modules of the Masters degree) at $12,000. So the quoted cost for the Masters degree might be for student's continuing on after completing the Certficate course?
Similar courses at other Australian universities cost a bit more, plus some of them require a 'relevant' undergraduate degree (Commerce or Accounting), whereas the WSU course only requires an undergraduate degree (any field) plus work experience in the financial industry.
I've ordered the textbook (Financial Planning in Australia: Advice and Wealth Management) required for the first course from Zookal for $120.12 (which includes free delivery). Comparing prices online, the major bookseller Dymocks was selling the older edition for a higher price ($168) and even the University co-operative bookshop is more expensive ($156 or $140.40 for co-op members).
Before this course starts I want to finish of the Diploma in Financial Planning I'm currently completing online at the International Institute of Technology (IIT), and also complete the couple of FinPlan short courses I've just started on Coursera. Looks like I won't have much time to play computer games for the next couple of months... ;)
Subscribe to Enough Wealth. Copyright 2006-2018
The course is fee-paying, which for domestic students is A$24,000 for the Masters degree (I think - this is the cost listed on the WSU website, but they also put the cost of the Postgrad Certificate course (which is the first four modules of the Masters degree) at $12,000. So the quoted cost for the Masters degree might be for student's continuing on after completing the Certficate course?
Similar courses at other Australian universities cost a bit more, plus some of them require a 'relevant' undergraduate degree (Commerce or Accounting), whereas the WSU course only requires an undergraduate degree (any field) plus work experience in the financial industry.
I've ordered the textbook (Financial Planning in Australia: Advice and Wealth Management) required for the first course from Zookal for $120.12 (which includes free delivery). Comparing prices online, the major bookseller Dymocks was selling the older edition for a higher price ($168) and even the University co-operative bookshop is more expensive ($156 or $140.40 for co-op members).
Before this course starts I want to finish of the Diploma in Financial Planning I'm currently completing online at the International Institute of Technology (IIT), and also complete the couple of FinPlan short courses I've just started on Coursera. Looks like I won't have much time to play computer games for the next couple of months... ;)
Subscribe to Enough Wealth. Copyright 2006-2018
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