March 29, 2024
Updated May 11, 2025
17 minute read
A financial planner is a professional who helps individuals and organizations manage their finances and achieve their long-term financial objectives. This involves a comprehensive look at a client's entire financial picture, including savings, investments, insurance, taxes, retirement, and estate planning. Financial planners work to understand their clients' goals and then develop a roadmap to reach them.
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Find a path to becoming a Financial Planner. Learn more at:
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Reading list
We've selected some books
that we think will supplement your
learning. Use these to
develop background knowledge, enrich your coursework, and gain a
deeper understanding of the topics covered in
Financial Planner.
This curriculum is the official study material for the CFA exam. It provides a comprehensive overview of the investment management profession.
Foundational text in corporate finance, essential for gaining a broad understanding of financial performance. It covers core concepts such as valuation, investment decisions, and financing, providing a strong theoretical and practical basis. It is widely used as a textbook in undergraduate and graduate programs.
Another widely respected corporate finance textbook that covers the theoretical and practical aspects of financial decision-making. It uses a unifying valuation framework and includes contemporary topics. It's a comprehensive resource for undergraduate and graduate students.
Provides a comprehensive framework for analyzing financial statements to assess a company's performance and value. It's highly relevant for understanding the inputs into financial performance analysis. It is often used as a textbook and is valuable for both students and professionals.
This McKinsey & Company publication leading resource for understanding how to measure and manage company value, a direct outcome of financial performance. It provides practical frameworks and real-world examples, making it highly relevant for professionals. It valuable reference tool.
This textbook provides a comprehensive framework for business analysis and valuation using financial statements, with a focus on IFRS standards. It's highly relevant for understanding global financial reporting and its impact on performance analysis. It is commonly used in academic settings, particularly for international finance courses.
Explores the human behaviors and biases that influence financial decisions, offering timeless lessons on wealth and happiness. It provides a valuable perspective that complements traditional economic and financial theories by focusing on the behavioral aspects of money. This is highly relevant for understanding individual financial choices and market phenomena.
Is considered a classic in the field of investing. It provides a framework for making sound investment decisions and avoiding common mistakes.
Provides a comprehensive framework for understanding and applying equity cost of capital in corporate finance. It covers various methods for estimating the cost of equity and discusses its impact on enterprise value.
Focused specifically on FP&A, this book practical guide for professionals involved in budgeting, forecasting, and performance management. It provides essential techniques and insights directly applicable to improving financial performance. It is considered an essential desk reference for FP&A professionals.
Another widely used textbook by Mishkin, this book offers a comprehensive introduction to the economics of money, banking, and financial markets. It covers monetary policy, financial institutions, and the structure of financial markets. It is suitable for both undergraduate and graduate students seeking a thorough understanding.
Is crucial for anyone analyzing financial performance, as it details how companies can manipulate financial statements. Understanding these techniques is vital for accurate analysis and preventing misleading conclusions about performance. It's highly relevant for identifying potential risks.
This guide provides practical approaches to managing financial performance within organizations. It covers key performance indicators, reporting, and analysis, directly addressing the core topic. It useful reference for finance professionals responsible for performance management processes.
Covers the theoretical and applied aspects of financial analysis, planning, and forecasting, all critical components of managing financial performance. It comprehensive resource suitable for advanced students and practitioners. It provides in-depth coverage of quantitative techniques.
Damodaran explores how combining financial numbers with a compelling narrative leads to better business valuation and understanding of performance. is highly relevant for those who need to communicate financial performance effectively and understand the qualitative factors influencing it. It adds a unique perspective to traditional financial analysis.
Provides a comprehensive guide to investing for the long term. It teaches readers how to create a diversified portfolio and manage their investments through market ups and downs.
Provides a comprehensive overview of cash flow statements. It covers all the basics of cash flow statements, from how to prepare them to how to use them to make informed financial decisions.
Provides a step-by-step guide to cash flow forecasting for startups. It covers all the basics of cash flow forecasting, from how to build a cash flow forecast to how to use it to make informed financial decisions.
Provides a step-by-step guide to cash flow for rental properties. It covers all the basics of cash flow for rental properties, from how to analyze properties to how to manage them.
Provides a broad and engaging history of finance, tracing its evolution from ancient Mesopotamia to the modern world. It is excellent for gaining foundational knowledge about how money and financial systems developed. It serves as valuable background reading for anyone interested in the history of economic thought and financial institutions.
This comprehensive guide introduces fundamental concepts and advanced topics in the cost of capital. It covers topics such as the weighted average cost of capital (WACC), its estimation, and applications in corporate finance.
This practical guide focuses on building financial models in Excel, an essential skill for analyzing and forecasting financial performance in a corporate setting. It's highly relevant for those who need to translate financial theory into practical applications. It valuable tool for developing hands-on financial analysis skills.
Another insightful book by Michael Lewis, this work details the events and key players involved in the 2008 financial crisis. It provides a compelling look at complex financial instruments and the failures that led to the crisis. It's highly relevant for understanding recent financial history and systemic risk.
Is specifically tailored to the needs of millennials who are struggling to manage their finances. It provides practical advice on budgeting, saving, and investing.
Explores the psychological factors that influence our financial decisions. It provides insights into how to make better financial decisions and avoid common pitfalls.
A more focused look at interpreting financial statements by the legendary Benjamin Graham. classic that provides fundamental techniques for understanding a company's financial health through its reports. It's a concise yet insightful guide for anyone analyzing financial performance.
Another foundational classic by Benjamin Graham, this book delves deep into the analysis of securities, which requires a thorough understanding of financial statements and performance. It provides a historical perspective on financial analysis techniques. While dense, it's a cornerstone for serious finance professionals and investors.
Is based on a study of over 1,000 millionaires in America. It reveals the common habits and characteristics of wealthy individuals.
Challenging conventional wisdom, this book explores the historical relationship between debt and different forms of money. It offers a broad, anthropological perspective on the origins of economic systems. This is valuable for readers looking to understand the social and historical context of money beyond traditional economic viewpoints.
Provides a simple and effective plan for building wealth through automatic savings and investing.
Provides a comprehensive overview of budget management principles, covering everything from creating a budget to sticking to it. It is written in a clear and concise style, making it accessible to readers of all levels.
Tells the story of the central bankers of the world's major economic powers in the years leading up to the Great Depression. It offers a deep historical perspective on monetary policy and its global impact. It's valuable for understanding the historical context of central banking and its challenges.
Investigates the equity risk premium, which key component in estimating the cost of equity. It provides a comprehensive analysis of the historical and cross-sectional behavior of the equity risk premium around the world.
Provides a comprehensive overview of valuation methods, including those that utilize cost of equity. It covers a wide range of valuation techniques and discusses their application in different contexts.
While not solely focused on money, this book by a Nobel laureate in Economics provides a deep dive into the two systems of thought that shape our judgments and decisions, including those related to finance. It is crucial for understanding the behavioral economics principles that underpin many contemporary financial topics. foundational text in behavioral economics.
Aimed at managers without a finance background, this book helps in understanding financial statements and metrics. It bridges the gap between financial data and business decisions, making it easier to interpret and utilize financial performance information. It's a good starting point for those new to financial analysis.
Covers both valuation and risk management, emphasizing the importance of cost of equity in both disciplines. It provides practical guidance on incorporating cost of equity into valuation and risk assessment models.
Aims to demystify corporate financial analysis, offering accessible methods and strategies. It's a good resource for those seeking practical approaches to analyzing financial performance without getting bogged down in overly complex theory. It can serve as a helpful supplementary read for beginners.
Offers a concise and accessible introduction to accounting fundamentals, which are essential prerequisites for understanding financial performance. It's particularly useful for those with little to no accounting background who need to grasp the basics quickly. It serves as excellent background reading.
A seminal work in monetary economics, this book provides a detailed empirical analysis of the role of money and monetary policy in the U.S. economy. It is crucial for a deep understanding of monetary history and its impact on economic cycles. While historically focused, its analysis of monetary phenomena is highly relevant for contemporary issues.
Provides a philosophical approach to personal finance. It challenges readers to re-examine their relationship with money and find financial independence.
Explores the impact of rare and unpredictable events (black swans) on financial markets and other areas. It challenges conventional risk management theories and encourages thinking about the limitations of models. It's highly relevant for understanding market volatility and unexpected financial crises.
This practical handbook provides step-by-step instructions on calculating the weighted average cost of capital (WACC), a key component of cost of equity. It includes Excel templates and case studies for easy implementation.
Presents a case for Bitcoin as a potential alternative to traditional forms of money and central banking, viewed through an Austrian economics lens. It is highly relevant for understanding digital currencies and the economic theories behind them. It offers a specific, in-depth perspective on a contemporary topic.
Provides a simple and straightforward plan for building wealth. Bach argues that the key to financial success is to automate your savings and investments.
This extensive work examines the dynamics of wealth and income inequality over centuries, offering deep insights into the nature of capital and its accumulation. While broad in scope, it directly addresses the concentration of money and its implications for economic systems. It significant contemporary work that provides valuable context.
This textbook covers the core concepts of corporate finance, including cost of equity. It provides a balanced treatment of theory and practice, making it suitable for both students and practitioners.
Provides a hands-on guide to financial modeling using Microsoft Excel. It includes a chapter on cost of equity estimation, demonstrating how to apply theoretical concepts in a practical setting.
Challenges traditional views on money and investing. It teaches readers how to think like an entrepreneur and build wealth through assets and investments.
For more information about how these books relate to this course, visit:
OpenCourser.com/career/m5epe5/financial
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