Course summary

The foundation year of this Coventry University degree will be delivered from our CU Coventry campus. Course delivery from year 1 of the degree onwards will be from Coventry University campus. Interested in a career that helps people achieve financial well-being while offering work-life balance and competitive earnings? Explore financial planning. Foundation year The foundation year aims to provide a credible broad-based preparatory course that will equip you with the necessary skills and competencies to study at degree level. Degree Financial planning is a professional service designed for individuals, their families and businesses. As a financial planner, you can help others organise their financial affairs to achieve financial goals and lifestyle objectives. The demand for financial planning is growing due to factors such as increasing life expectancy, the complexity of financial services and products, evolving individual lifestyle goals and aspirations and shifts in workplace pensions and government welfare provision. This specialist vocational degree aims to equip you with the necessary skills to pursue a professional career in the financial services sector, such as personal financial planning, investments or wealth management. This course also offers you the optional opportunity to gain the Chartered Institute of Securities and Investment’s (CISI) Investment Advice Diploma (IAD), a mandatory qualification for those who wish to offer financial advice in the UK and abroad.2 Why study this course Foundation year Supports you to gain the academic skills required for degree-level study.Provides a grounding in key areas of finance and economics. Degree

• Course content is mapped against CISI’s Investment Advice Diploma (IAD) professional standards. You will have an option to take the IAD professional qualification as part of the course at no additional cost. The IAD is designed to meet the standards set by the Retail Distribution Review (RDR), which aims to improve the quality of financial advice provided to retail clients. The IAD is recognised by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) as an appropriate exam for retail advisors, ensuring that individuals who have the qualification are competent to provide investment advice.

• Learn software, such as Voyant, and gain hands-on experience of market leading financial databases such as Bloomberg, LSEG Workspace, Fitch Connect and Bureau van Dijk Fame. You would also have the opportunity to get professional certifications for Bloomberg, LSEG Workspace and in ESG.

• We endeavour to provide you with opportunities to attend industry conferences, network with practitioners and take part in our own mentoring scheme, where you can engage directly with industry mentors. They provide one-to-one support and can help you to improve your technical knowledge and skills, gain industry insights and support you with advice and goal setting.

• You can choose to study an optional sandwich year, which offers you the chance to gain hands-on industry placement experience.

• Access maths and statistics support through drop-in sessions and bookable appointments.

• We are a CISI Centre of Excellence and you could be nominated for the CISI Educational Trust Award.

• Enrich your student experience by becoming a member of a student-led society such as the Investment Society or the Economics Society.

• Benefit from real-world exposure and network with like-minded professionals and visit key financial institutions, which have previously included Bloomberg, Cooper Parry Wealth and Fidelity International.