CFP Courses Now Available Online
Five courses in the American College's Certified Financial Planner Curriculum are now available online.
"These new online courses provide our students with a financial services education using state-of-the-art delivery methods," says Samuel H. Weese, the college's president and CEO. "This advanced technology, combined with CD-ROM capabilities, allows the college to integrate print, audio and video study materials into a seamless, interactive learning experience."
The online offerings are the five core courses in the college's CFP curriculum, including Insurance and Financial Planning, Income Taxation, Planning for Retirement Needs, Investments and Funda-mentals of Estate Planning, says Eric B. Gordon, the college's director of public relations.
The course subject matter has been divided into 30- to 60-minute learning modules. The courses include pre- and post-tests by chapter and module to help measure students' progress and better prepare them for course examinations. Other online enhancements include sample exams to help students review course material and an online bulletin board where students can discuss course topics with each other.
The college and eSocrates, an "e-learning" company, collaborated to develop the five courses. The college is now working with eSocrates to make all of its courses available online. For more information, visit www.amercoll.edu.
INVESCO Retirement Plan INVESCO Funds Group in Denver has teamed with Daily-Access.com to launch a private-label retirement product that targets plans between $1 million and $50 million.
The INVESCO Smart Choice Plan allows advisors to offer defined contribution plans with a variety of mutual funds to their small-business clients.
Through the plan, DailyAccess manages recordkeeping, administration and compliance, trading, custody, information access systems, mutual fund company relationships, sales support and customer service. For more information on INVESCO funds, call (800) 255-6927 or visit www.invesco.com.
Delaware Fee Reductions Delaware Investments of Philadelphia has announced fee reductions, many of which are retroactive to August 1, for the TAP 529 College Investment Plan, which it manages for Pennsylvania.
The annual account fee has been reduced from $50 to $25 and waived for investors with payroll deduction and systematic contributions. The program management fee has been reduced from .40% to .35%, and the sales fee for A Shares has been reduced from .30% to .25%. The annual operating expenses for Delaware's Diversified Growth and Diversified Value mutual funds, which underlie many of the investment option portfolios, have been reduced from 1.20% to .75%.
The firm also recently announced it has hired Thomas McConnell, formerly with Alliance Capital Management, as senior vice president of its 529 college savings plan group. For more information on the firm, visit www.delawareinvestments.com.
MSC Training Program Mutual Service Corp. has designed "The System for Fee-Based Success," a training program to help advisors incorporate fee-based services into their businesses.
The year-long training program features four two-day intensive workshops with participants receiving business-building instruction. The quarterly workshops cover marketing, client relationships and business planning, and help advisors define and clarify their goals, values and mission. The program also offers advanced training on MSC's technology and fee-based services. MSC is a broker-dealer and registered investment advisory firm based in West Palm Beach, Fla. For more information, call (561) 835-4100 or visit www.mutualservice.com.