Finance Information

Phoenix Financial Planner A financial planner typically prepares financial plans for his or her clients. The kinds of services financial planners offer can vary widely. Some financial planners assess every aspect of your financial life-including saving, investments, insurance, taxes, retirement, and estate planning-and help you develop a detailed strategy or financial plan for meeting all your financial goals. Other professionals call themselves financial planners, but they may only be able to recommend that you invest in a narrow range of products and sometimes products that are not securities.

When hiring a financial planner, you should know exactly what services you need, what services the planner can deliver, and any limitations on what he or she can recommend. In addition, you should understand what services you are paying for, how much those services cost, and how the planner gets paid. Financial planners charge for their services in different ways: some charge either a fixed fee or an hourly fee for the time it takes to develop a financial plan, but do not sell investment products; some are paid by commissions on the products they sell; and others use a combination of fees and commissions.

Financial planners may come from many different educational and professional backgrounds. If you are considering using a financial planner, be sure to ask about their background. If they have a credential, ask them what it means and what they had to do to earn it.

Some financial planners have credentials like CFP certification or CFA (Chartered Financial Analyst). Find out what organization issued the credential, and then contact the organization to verify whether the professional you are considering did, in fact, earn the credential and whether the professional remains in good standing with the organization. For a helpful list of various financial industry credentials (including the name of the issuing organization and any education or experience required to attain the credential), please read FINRA Understanding Investment Professional Designations.

The Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards also has brochures – What You Should Know About Financial Planning and Questions to Ask When Choosing a Financial Planner – that will help you identify a financial planner who is right for you.

Financial planners who give investment advice to their clients must register with the SEC or the appropriate state securities regulator. For more information about investment advisers, read the publication entitled Investment Advisers: What You Need to Know Before Choosing One.

Determining Financial Aid Eligibility and Financial Need

Eligibility for financial aid is determined by subtracting the amount you and your parents can contribute from the cost of attendance. An assessment of your familys ability to contribute toward educational expenses is made based on the information you provide when applying for financial aid. Income, assets, family size, and number of family members in college are some of the factors considered in this calculation. This assessment, referred to as need analysis, determines your financial need, which is defined as the difference between the total cost of attendance and what you are expected to pay. Financial need will vary between colleges because of each schools different costs of attendance.

Determining the Students Status: Independent or Dependent?

Remember that both students and parents are expected to help pay for college costs. This means that you, as the student, will be expected to contribute to your educational expenses.

If you are considered dependent by federal definition, then your parents income and assets, as well as yours, will be counted toward the family contribution. If you are considered independent of your parents, only your income (and that of your spouse, if you are married) will count in the need analysis formula.

To be considered independent for financial aid, you must meet one of the following criteria:

– Be at least 24 years old. – Be a veteran of the U.S. Armed Forces. – Be married. – Be an orphan or ward of the court. – Have legal dependents other than a spouse. – Be a graduate professional student.

Applying for Financial Aid

To apply for financial aid, it is essential that you properly complete the necessary forms so that your individual financial need can be evaluated. It is important to read all application materials and instructions very carefully. The financial aid office of the school you are attending will be happy to provide you with guidance and assistance.

Most vocational schools use just one financial aid application called the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). This form is a four-page application available at your colleges financial aid office, local high school guidance offices, and state education department offices. Students can apply for federal student aid via the Internet by using FAFSA on the Web. FAFSA on the Web can be accessed at www.fafsa.ed.gov.

Your Rights and Responsibilities as a Financial Aid Recipient

As a student consumer, you have a right to:

– Be informed of the correct procedures for applying for aid, cost of attendance, types of aid available, how financial need is determined, criteria for awarding aid, how satisfactory academic progress is determined, and what you need to do to continue receiving aid – Be informed of the type and amount of assistance you will receive, how much of your need has been met, and how and when you will be paid – Appeal any decision of the financial aid office if you feel you have been treated unfairly with regard to your application – View the contents in your financial aid file, in accordance with the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act; – Know the conditions of any loan you accept.

Here is a short summary of the MSc International Banking and Financial Studies masters degree course offered by the Management School at the University of Southampton to help would-be students to decide whether it is the course for them.

This International Banking and Financial Studies masters course aims to develop students’ existing skills through advanced study in the areas of banking and finance, with a particular emphasis on the international context in which these activities occur.

The International Banking and Financial Studies masters programme gives you a coherent theoretical framework for the various subject areas, although the emphasis throughout is on the practical application of financial techniques in the modern financial services environment.

Southampton Management School has an excellent international reputation for the analytical study of management and business. Studying the MSc International Banking and Financial Studies masters programme will introduce you to new concepts and knowledge, which can make all the difference in the job market.

At the Management School, all our degrees are taught by research-active academics who are also directly tackling business challenges outside the seminar room and putting theory into practice every day.

The International Banking and Financial Studies masters degree course is led by Dr. Gerhard Kling, who is a senior lecturer in Finance at the University of Southamptons Management School.

Gerhard received his PhD in Economics from the University of Tuebingen (Germany) and joined Utrecht University (The Netherlands) as Assistant Professor of Finance and Financial Markets (2004-2006).

In 2006, he went into the private sector and worked as Practice Specialist in Corporate Finance & Banking (McKinsey & Company, Germany) (2006-2007). Then he returned into academia and joined Bristol Business School (UWE, UK) as Senior Lecturer in Strategy (2007-2009).

In 2009, Gerhard was promoted to a Principal Lecturer in Strategy and Operations Management (2009-2010). On 1st October 2010 he joined the University of Southampton as a Senior Lecturer in Finance.
Southampton Management School has an excellent international reputation for the analytical study of management and business. Studying an MSc Management masters degree, or other postgraduate option, will introduce you to new concepts and knowledge, which can make all the difference in the job market.
All our degrees are taught by research-active academics who are also directly tackling business challenges outside the seminar room and put theory into practice every day.

To find out more about this International Banking and Financial Studies masters degree go to www.southampton.ac.uk/management