WMCP 2018 Tax Changes

Transcription

1 WMCP 2018 Tax Changes

2 WMCP Students As you know, The American College strives to provide the most up-to-date and timely content to our students. We are now happy to announce that the WMCP has been revised in consistency with 2018 Tax Law. As a WMCP student who has not tested yet, you will be tested on 2018 Tax Law. Please review this PDF to see what content has changed and revisit items in the program that have been updated. How to Use the Outline Below The items below in bold and red are areas of study where the final exam has been changed. The items below in bold indicate content that has been updated to 2018 Tax Law. Please revisit all of these items before you test, so you are prepared to test on the latest tax laws. Thank you for taking WMCP and enjoy the rest of the program.

3 I. Life Cycle, Goal-Based Planning A. Lifetime Role of Wealth 1. Life-Cycle Theory 2. Consumption Smoothing 3. Utility Maximization 4. Life-Cycle Uncertainty 5. Income Volatility B. Life-Cycle Framework 1. Uncertain Returns and Utility 2. Returns Over the Life Cycle 3. Goal Flexibility 4. Risk Premium 5. Risk Preferences 6. Contingent Claims C. Value of Goal-Based Approach 1. Elements of Goals 2. Life-Cycle Goals 3. Risk and Goals 4. Liquidity and Goals 1

4 II. Efficient Investment Portfolios A. Statistical Concepts 1. Calculating Returns 2. Covariance 3. Return Distributions 4. Correlations B. Modern Investment Theory 1. Portfolio Efficiency 2. Modern Portfolio Theory 3. Capital Asset Pricing Model 4. Evaluating Alpha 5. Market Efficiency 6. Asset Pricing C. Efficient Household Portfolios 1. Social Security 2. Return Predictors 3. Human Capital 4. Home Equity 5. Creating Efficient Portfolios D. Goal-Based Investing 1. Liability Driven Investing 2. Tax Sheltering Overview 3. Mortality and Longevity Risks 4. Inflation 5. Rebalancing 6. Asset Location 7. Tax Sheltering Strategies E. Financial Markets 1. Macroeconomics 2. Historical Asset Returns 3. Time Diversification 4. Financial Intermediaries 5. Global Investing 2

5 III. Financial Instruments A. Fixed-Income Instruments 1. Bond Features 2. Bond Pricing 3. Bond Investments 4. Liquid Investments 5. Corporate Bonds 6. Municipal Bonds 7. Federal Bonds B. Equity Instruments 1. Corporate Payout 2. Emerging Market Funds 3. Equity Financing 4. Microstructure 5. Dividend Stocks 6. Firm Valuation 7. Firm Characteristics C. Diversified Securities 1. REITs 2. Mutual Funds and ETFs 3. Responsible Investing 4. Market Indices 5. Fund Features 6. Life-Cycle Funds D. Other Financial Instruments 1. Direct Real Estate Investing 2. Property and Liability Insurance 3. Annuities 4. Permanent Life Insurance 5. Life Insurance Features 6. Annuity Features 7. Social Security Benefits 8. Alternative Investments 3

6 IV. Strategic Wealth Management A. Taxation of Social Security 1. Taxation of Social Security 2. Alternative Minimum Tax 3. Estate and Inheritance Taxes 4. Federal Income Tax Strategies B. Alternative Minimum Tax 1. Traditional IRAs 2. Roth IRAs 3. IRA Strategies 4. Education Funding 5. Deferred Compensation Plans C. Estate and Inheritance Taxes 1. Behavioral Finance 2. Communication Strategies 3. Client Discovery 4. Investment Policy Statements 5. Role of an Advisor D. Federal Income Tax Strategies 1. Professional Principles 2. Ethical Practices 3. Regulatory Environment 4

7 V. Complex Planning Strategies A. Estate Planning Goals 1. Wealth Transfer Goals 2. Estate Plan Preparation 3. Trusts 4. Wealth Transfer Methods B. Charitable Planning Goals 1. Donor Advised Funds 2. Tax-Efficient Charitable Planning 3. Charitable Trusts 4. Philanthropic Goals 5. Private Foundations C. Business Owners and Executives 1. Small Business Ownership 2. Small Business Transfer Methods 3. Retirement and Succession Planning 4. Business Entities 5. Executive Compensation Strategies 6. Small Business Financial Statements D. Specialized Planning 1. Diverse Family Structures 2. Special Needs Planning 3. Employer Defined Contribution Plans 4. Behavioral Modification Strategies 5