Blog
Defining Basis Points
Course: Investment PlanningLesson 15: Fundamentals of Derivatives – Futures and Options Student Question: Can you please explain what Basis points are and how/why they are generally used? Instructor Response: There are 100 basis points in 1%. Basis points are merely a common method of measuring investment fees or returns. An exchanged traded fund may charge a…
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Sale of Home by Surviving Spouse
April’s husband Jay died 5 years ago when their home was worth $600,000. Due to the soft real estate market, April kept the house until the housing market recovered. She finally sold the home this year for $950,000. What is the amount of April’s taxable gain or loss if she bought the home jointly with…
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Protecting Public Trust with CFP Board Discipline
CFP® Certificants in the News Financial advisors, financial planners, and their employers have a vested interest in preserving, if not building upon, public trust in CFP® Certification. This article will focus on a specific interim suspension that, if anything, may initially err on the side of protecting public trust while ultimately providing a just result…
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Social Security Retirement Benefits
Course: Insurance PlanningLesson 10: Social Security Student Question: This question (below) doesn’t quite make sense to me. Could you clarify why the correct answer is D? Robin Elizabeth qualifies for a retirement benefit of $250 and a spouse’s benefit of $400. At her full retirement age, she will receive which of the following? A) Both $250…
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Tax Saving Strategies
Dan and Karen Burles have 2 children, Coy (age 12, student) and Roger (age 21, student). Dan and Karen own a security equipment sales and installation business, an LLC. Dan and Karen are in the highest income tax bracket. They have a portfolio with $130,000 of municipal bonds (annual income $5,200), $80,000 of corporate bonds…
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CFP Board Pass Rates—July 2022 Exam
CFP® Certificants in the News This article will summarize pass rates, note consistency with prior exam results, and highlight demographics related to the July 2022 CFP Board exam. We begin with pass rates. Consistency First-time exam takers scored an average of 69%, compared to 67% (March 2022) and 62% (November 2021), and Repeat exam takers…
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Beta as a Measure of Risk
Course: Investment PlanningLesson 1: Key Principles of Investing Student Question: In the CFP Board question below I’m wondering why (1) is part of the correct answer. How is beta a measure of systematic, non-diversifiable risk? On the page, it talks about how beta is a measure of risk for a security compared to the overall…
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Like-Kind Exchange
William found someone to buy his rental property in Maine. Which of the following properties that William would like to purchase as rental property would allow him to complete a like-kind exchange? A golf course rental property in Arizona that William identified 30 days after selling his Maine property. A beach rental house at the…
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Clients Are Not Locked Into High-Tax States
CFP® Certificants in the News encourages membership in the Financial Planning Association. Later in this article, we will reference a highly topical article appearing in the Journal of Financial Planning. We will feature a strategy that high-income clients can use to slash their state income tax rates in this report. But first, let’s admit that…
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