Exam preparation
CFP
- Multiple choice
- United States
- Finance
- CFP Board
2 guides for this exam — how to prepare, what to practise, and how to know it has gone in.
Plan your CFP revision: a day-by-day calendar up to your exam date, free and without an account.
A written answer, marked
A question from a CFP mock paper, answered and marked. From CFP Preparation: A Practical Guide to Case-Based Questions.
A client has a credit-card balance at 24%, cash equal to three months of expenses, and contributes 3% of salary to a plan matching 50% of the first 6%. The client has no stated near-term cash need and asks how to allocate additional monthly savings. What is the strongest next step?
3/4Increase the plan contribution to 6% to receive the full stated match, then use additional available savings to reduce the 24% card balance. Keep the cash reserve because liquidity still matters.
You identified both the match and the high-cost debt and used the stated reserve rather than assuming all cash was available. The answer is sound, but it does not mention verifying that the match formula and plan terms apply to this client.
Missed
−State that the recommendation relies on the match formula and plan terms given in the vignette; do not assume other plan features.
Model answerIncrease the contribution from 3% to 6% if the stated match formula applies: that raises the employer contribution from 1.5% to 3% of salary. Retain the stated three-month cash reserve because the case gives no basis for treating it as surplus. Direct additional available savings towards the 24% credit-card balance. Confirm relevant plan terms before implementation, and do not infer tax or withdrawal details the vignette does not provide.
Yours are written from your own notes, and the free plan needs no payment details.
Guides
- CFP Preparation: A Practical Guide to Case-Based QuestionsA practical CFP preparation guide to case vignettes, calculations, ethical duties and a repeatable study method based on your own planning material.
- CFP Study Plan: A Practical Six-Week ScheduleA six-week CFP study plan with timed weekly sessions, case practice, a revision-board example and a method for targeting weak areas.
Preparing for CFP? Build your CFP board from your own notes — the cards, papers and lectures are written from it. Free plan: 20 cards, a paper, a lecture and a viva to try.
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