Personal Financial Planning

What you will study

    1. Consumer and retail market factors and trends 
    2. Financial protection planning and solutions
    3. Fundamentals of financial planning
    4. Analysis of personal financial standing and goals
    5. Pension schemes: Defined Benefit (DB) and Defined Contribution (DC) schemes
    6. External factors influencing pension provision
    7. Law and regulation governing pension schemes 
    8. Pension scheme taxation
    9. Financial planning for retirement
    10. Developing, implementing and reviewing a personal financial plan

Key features of the course

    • Flexibility to suit your needs – allowing you to study anytime, anywhere
    • An emphasis on personal and professional development through independent learning
    • Relevance of topics and practical examples to the context of your own professional practice
    • Illustrative practice activities with solutions, “test your understanding” activities and tutor-marked assignments to reinforce learning
    • Certificate of completion from London School of Finance and Law

This non-credit four-month course is intended for students or professionals who want to gain general knowledge and learn new skills in personal financial planning for personal use or for financial blogging.

This course can be taken alongside your degree or professional qualification studies elsewhere or as part of your informal career development programme. It will be of particular value to undergraduate, postgraduate or professional students of business management, finance, investment, accounting, tax law or financial journalism. 

Please note that all law and financial planning courses at LSFL, except for International Taxation, relate to the UK legal framework.

Please also note that completion of Personal Financial Planning does not authorise you to offer financial planning services to the public in the UK as this activity is regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) and requires a higher level qualification (e.g. the Investment Advice Diploma (IAD) (Financial Planning and Advice) awarded by the Chartered Institute for Securities & Investment (CISI)). This course is nonetheless an ideal starting point before beginning a formal training course in financial planning.

Learning outcomes

    • Knowledge and understanding
    • Key skills
    • Cognitive skills
    • Practical and professional skills
    • Transferable skills

Career relevance

    • Law or law-related fields
    • Accounting professions
    • Financial management
    • Tax advisory
    • Investment analysis and management
    • Sales and marketing
    • Risk management
    • Management consultancy
    • Business and financial journalism

Study method

Online learning with tutor guidance and support

How long it takes

4 months (128 hours)

You need to be able to spend approximately 8 hours per week on studying this module.

Teaching and assessment

A tutor will guide you throughout the study process and mark and comment on your written work. You and your tutor will primarily communicate with each other through email.

The course work includes online practice tests, tutor-marked assignments and end-of-module assessment. You must use the online VLE-system to submit your tutor-marked assignments and end-of-module assessment.

The Pass mark for the module is 50%. Upon successful completion, students are issued a certificate of completion from London School of Finance and Law.

Study materials

All study materials are provided on the module website.

Microsoft Office presentations and Adobe Portable Document Format (PDF) versions of study material are available.

A computer with a browser and broadband internet access is required for this module. Functionality may be limited on mobile or tablet devices.

If you have a disability or particular study requirements, please tell us as soon as possible.

Fees and funding

Course fees for 2023/2024 academic year: £720

Course fees cover registration, course materials, tuition and assessment.

LSFL course fees depend on the level and duration of courses: check all tuition fee rates for the current academic year here.

You may be eligible for tuition funding.

Registration

Next term start date: 20 May 2024

The module website will be available to registered students three days in advance of the module start. Module sessions will be opened every week or every two weeks to enable tutor-led, gradual progression through the study materials and continuous assessment.

Course registration is open, but please be aware that due to the increased demand it may take us longer to respond than usual.

Registration closes 10 May 2024 (places subject to availability)

Registration for current students:

ENROL

Registration for new students:

You have to register as an LSFL student to study this course.

REGISTER AS AN LSFL STUDENT

Future availability

Personal Financial Planning starts three times a year – in January, May and September.

You might also be interested in

Taxation (UK)

International Taxation

Taxation: Inheritance Tax

Inheritance Tax, Trusts and Estates

Investment and Wealth Management

Behavioural Economics and Finance

Economics for Investment Decision-Making

Sustainable Finance: Major Issues in ESG and SR Investing

Business Psychology and Organisational Behaviour

Foundations of Law for Professional Practice in Finance

Financial Crime Risk Management, Regulation and Compliance

Real Estate Economics, Finance and Investment (Professional Diploma)

Business and Financial Journalism (Professional Diploma)

Researching a Project in Finance/Law/Management/Education

International professional qualifications: ACCA, CIMA, IAB, IMC, CFA or IAD

Advanced courses in business management, finance, business law and tax law

English language requirements

There is no formal requirement to prove your English language proficiency to study our courses. If English is not your native or second language, or you would like to improve specialist language skills necessary for your profession, you may complete one of the following English language courses:  

Legal English

English for Finance

Business English

A full range of our English language courses can be viewed here.

Request your prospectus

Explore our subjects and courses

Make an enquiry