United States
Hong KongHow case studies are built, and how to read one
A case gives a fuller client picture - assets, family, goals, constraints - supporting several questions that usually span three domains. Details are included deliberately, and most of them matter to only one question.
Case studies are the reason this exam is hard, and they are readable once you know how they are constructed.
The anatomy
- A client or couple, with ages, marital status, dependants and health.
- A financial position - assets by account type, liabilities, income and expenses.
- Goals, often competing.
- Constraints - a concentrated position, a business, an obligation to a parent, a blended family.
- Then several questions drawing on different parts of it.
The detail is deliberate. Ages are there because a threshold matters. Account types are there because taxation differs. A second marriage is there because the estate question turns on it.
Read the questions first
Then read the case knowing what you are looking for.
A case contains far more information than any one question needs. Reading it cold means holding all of it; reading it after the questions means noticing the four facts that matter.
A fifty-eight-year-old business owner with a concentrated position, a second marriage and a disabled adult child is a retirement, investment, estate and insurance question at once. Naming the four takes ten seconds and stops you answering from whichever you know best.
The details that always matter
| Detail | What it usually signals |
|---|---|
| An age near a threshold | 55, 59½, 62, 65, 67, 70, 73 - a rule changes |
| Account type named specifically | Taxation of the withdrawal, or asset location |
| A second marriage or stepchildren | Estate planning, and probably a QTIP |
| A concentrated low-basis holding | Capital gains, diversification, possibly charitable |
| A business interest | Succession, liquidity, valuation, plan selection |
| A dependant with special needs | A trust, and benefit eligibility |
| A stated risk tolerance at odds with the goal | Capacity against tolerance |
Pacing a case
Budget around five minutes for the case plus its questions, not two minutes per question. That is why the stand-alone questions have to be answered quickly.
Read the case once properly rather than re-reading it for each question. Re-reading is where the time goes.
When you cannot decide
Ask which option addresses the client's stated goal, and which addresses the constraint that would prevent it. The exam usually wants the one that resolves the binding constraint.
And where one option fixes an instance and another fixes the system, the system answer usually wins - the same pattern that runs through the professional conduct domain.
CFP® is a registered mark of Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards, Inc. We are not affiliated with, or endorsed by, CFP Board.
Common questions
What is a CFP case study?
A fuller client picture - assets, family, goals and constraints - supporting several questions that usually span three or more domains at once.
Should you read the case or the questions first?
The questions first, then the case knowing what you are looking for. A case contains far more information than any one question needs.
Which details always matter?
Ages near a threshold, specifically named account types, second marriages, concentrated low-basis holdings, business interests, dependants with special needs, and a risk tolerance at odds with the goal.
How long should a case take?
Around five minutes for the case plus its questions rather than two minutes each, which is why stand-alone questions have to be answered quickly to fund it.
How do you choose between two good answers?
Ask which resolves the binding constraint rather than the stated goal, and prefer the option that changes the system over the one that fixes an instance.