Financial Planning Online Courses, Certificates, and Degree Programs

Financial planners have emerged as the most important professionals in today’s world marked by economic depressions and corporate scandals. It has become very important for finance experts to analyze market trends and guide individuals and businesses in making the right investment choices.

However, the job profile of financial planners and financial analysts is not exactly the same. While both use their expertise to conduct financial research and recommend investment patterns to their respective clients, their clientele is quite different. The exact task of the financial analyst is to evaluate the economic outlook of various industries for businesses that need to make investment decisions.

Financial planners work at a personal level with individual clients whose focus is directed on a wide range of personal investment areas. As such, personal financial planners have to undertake a number of responsibilities like helping clients set goals for life events like paying for the education of his or her children and retirement.

In order to qualify as a financial expert, a student needs to pursue a certificate program on a range of subjects like basic economics, accounting, investment, statistics and saving. A student can even opt for an online degree for becoming a certified financial planner (CFP) and finding good career options with insurance companies, brokerages and banks.

All these areas need the candidate to be qualified as a financial planner to control investment activities and handle new customers. According to the records of the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), about 208,400 people worked as personal financial advisors. With the increasing demand for the finance experts and the flexibility of obtaining online financial planning degree programs, this number will go up in near future.

What is more, the demand for personal financial advisors will remain above average than other occupations over the coming decade. Once a student acquires his online financial planning certification, he can earn at least $32,660 and more than $111,900 at the upper limit as a personal financial advisor.

Figures courtesy of the U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Employment & Wages database.

The following colleges and universities offer Financial Planning Degrees and Accounting Programs, Bachelor of Science in Business/Accounting, Graduate Certificate in Finance and Professional Accounting and MBA in Finance/Accounting:

Online Certificate Programs

Certificate in Financial Planning from Kaplan University
Become a financial planner. Manage your clients’ finances, income, assets, and tax management.
>> Request more information from Kaplan University