CLU^®

Required courses:
HS 311 Fundamentals of Insurance Planning:
Focuses on the role of planning for insurance needs. Covers basic concepts in risk management and insurance, insurance industry operations, legal principles pertaining to this industry, and regulation of insurers. Examines social insurance, life insurance and annuities, medical and disability income insurance, long-term care insurance and personal property and liability insurance. Concludes with an overview of commercial property and liability insurance and a case study.

HS 323 Individual Life Insurance:
Focuses on life insurance policies and annuities available for the personal needs of individuals and their use in financial planning. Covers individual insurance products, insurance reserves regulation, and the organization, operations, and investments of insurance companies.

HS 324 Life Insurance Law:
Examines legal rights and obligations of the policy owner and the insurance company, the way disputes between the insured and insurers are resolved and general principles of the judicial process. Covers legal aspects of life insurance, including basic principles of contract law; policy provisions and the incontestable clause; assignments, ownership rights and creditor rights; beneficiary designations and disposition of proceeds; the law of agency; and advertising and privacy issues.

HS 330 Fundamentals of Estate Planning:
This course provides a basic understanding of the estate and gift tax system, including strategies of estate planning. Covers various aspects of estate and gift tax planning, including:

• Nature, valuation transfer, administration, and taxation of property
• Gratuitous transfers of property outright or with trusts, wills and powers of appointment
• Use of the marital deduction
• Valuation of assets
• Buy-sell agreements
• Client interview/fact finding
• Ethical standards
• Development of personal estate plans

HS 331 Planning for Business Owners and Professionals:
Focuses on tax and legal aspects of organizing a business; compensation planning for the business owner; business succession planning; buy-sell agreements; estate planning and estate freezing techniques; methods for transferring a family business; lifetime disposition of a business interest.

Elective courses (choose three)
HS 300 Financial Planning: Process and Environment:

This course provides an overview of the financial planning process, including the role and responsibilities of a financial planner along with analytical tools to aid in financial decision-making. Topics include:

• Communication techniques
• Ethics
• Education planning and funding
• Time-value-of-money concepts
• Financial planning applications
• Regulatory issues
• Legal and economic environment for financial planning

HS 321 Income Taxation:
The course examines the federal income tax system with particular reference to the taxation of individuals.
Concepts covered include:

• Gross income, exclusions from gross income
• Deductions
• Tax credits
• Capital gains and losses
• Taxation of life insurance
• Taxation of annuities
• Entity taxation of partnerships, LLCs, corporations, and proprietorships

HS 326 Planning for Retirement Needs:
This course focuses on selecting the right retirement plan for the business and on individual retirement planning. Covers:

• Qualified plans, SEPs, SIMPLEs and 403(b) plans
• Nonqualified deferred compensation plans
• Practical knowledge needed for choosing the best retirement plan, especially for the small business, and designing a plan that will meet a client’s needs
• Individual retirement planning including IRAs and Roth IRAs, Social Security benefits, saving for retirement and planning for retirement plan distributions

HS 328 Investments:
This course covers various aspects of the principles of investments and their application to financial planning. Topics include:

• Risk analysis, risk and return computations
• Risk reduction through diversification
• Expected returns of various investments
• Nature of securities markets and investment companies
• Tax issues in investing
• Issues in the practice of portfolio management
• Examples of ethical and practical investment considerations

HS 334 Estate Planning Applications:
Covers estate and gift tax principles with an emphasis on life insurance planning applications. Discusses forecasting the gross estate, life insurance trusts, valuation principles, the use of charitable contributions as an estate planning technique, planning opportunities stemming from the marital relationship, the taxation of trusts, implications of employee benefits and estate freezes. Includes a case study reflecting procedural aspects of estate planning.

HS 375 Introduction to Disability:
This course introduces students to the field of disability and provides an orientation to working with individuals with disabilities and their families. It covers philosophical approaches, legislation, special education policies and procedure, disability etiquette, and how to work collaboratively with families. Students will learn the categories of disabilities such as emotional and behavioral challenges, sensory impairments, autism, and learning disabilities. Special attention is given to the planning requirements for transition of a child with disabilities into adulthood, when many educational programs and financial supports are no longer available. It also provides videotaped interviews with families in their home settings, providing powerful testimonies to the families’ determination to assist their children to become fully integrated into society and to reach their full potential.

HS 376 Legal and Financial Issues for Special Needs Families:
This course covers unique legal techniques and tools that apply to special needs planning. Of particular importance are special needs trusts, wills, powers-of-attorney, and guardianships. The applicable issues surrounding Social Security and Medicaid are covered. In addition, special income tax topics enable financial advisors to understand and identify tax deductions and/or credits that may be available to families with special needs. It addresses some unique aspects of the medical expense deduction, the child and dependent care credit, the adoption credit, and the dependency exemption rules for families of individuals with special needs. The student will examine some potential alternative minimum tax traps that may affect many of these families. This course builds upon Introduction to Disability (HS 375) by providing the detailed legal and financial considerations crucial to the special needs environment.

Self-study course: $785.
Package pricing: $2,095 Starter Package (first three courses); $4,710 full designation package.

Your tuition includes all required study materials, access to convenient online learning tools, and your examination.

Webinar and Intensive Review Program (IRP) options are available for an additional cost. See below for more details.

To receive the CLU^® designation, you must successfully complete eight courses and exams, meet experience requirements and ethics standards, and agree to comply with The American College Code of Ethics and Procedures. Participation in the Professional Recertification Program is also required.

Study at your own pace, or choose live online courses (for select courses).

You are free to create your own plan for how you want to pace your studies. We recommend a steady approach, so that you can truly absorb the material. From enrollment, you’ll have a window of four months in which to schedule your final exam. Your window opens on the day you enroll and includes the current month, plus the next four months.

In addition to course textbooks, extensive online study materials including practice exams, audio reviews, video clips, and more are made available to all students. You can purchase webinars and live reviews to enhance your learning experience. Once you complete a course, the next course in the program is automatically shipped to you if you’re signed up for a CLU^® package.

Earn Your CLU^® Your Way

Flexible Self-Paced Program
You can study at your own pace, wherever and whenever is most convenient for you. Complete your program as fast as you like; the self-paced program gives you the opportunity to truly tailor your education to your lifestyle. Our online study aids provide you with the guidance and practice you need to feel confident on test day.
With every registration, students are granted access to:

• Course textbooks
• Downloadable e-books for your iPad^®, iPhone^®, or Android device
• Online discussion with course professor
• Audio reviews
• Supplemental readings
• Streaming video lectures

Enhanced Online Learning: Webinar Classes Available

For select courses, a webinar study option is available for those who want a more familiar classroom feel as part of their student experience. Attend weekly classes online and ask questions in real-time. To enroll in a webinar add $250.00 on top of tuition.

Webinar Schedule

Intensive Review Program (IRP) for CLU^® Courses

Accelerate your CLU^® studies with a live classroom review. In your optional IRP component, highly qualified faculty members from The American College of Financial Services provide you with 18 hours of intensive review of all the major course concepts. You will also have the ability to ask questions and interact with fellow students. On the last day of the session, you will take a pencil-and-paper final exam, so there’s no need to make a separate appointment at a testing center. IRP sessions are a great way to study along with an expert right up to the moment you begin your exam. Students should still study their text and course materials prior to the IRP to be fully prepared.

Taking Your IRP
Below is a list of upcoming Intensive Review Programs. We recommend that you follow the recommended course sequence, and enroll in IRPs when they are available for your next course. If you are interested in enrolling in an IRP that is not for your next recommended course, please speak with a counselor by calling 888-263-7265. To enroll in an IRP add $350.00 on top of tuition.

If you have any questions, please read the IRP FAQ.

IRP Schedule

See the student handbook and policies page for comprehensive details on refund policies, learning policies, recertification information, and more.