Individual Financial Life Cycle and Decision Making Training

Learning Outcomes

• Describe the stages of an individual's financial life cycle and the key financial needs at each stage.
• Analyze how major life events (e.g., marriage, parenthood, career change, retirement) influence financial decisions.
• Apply appropriate financial strategies to address the goals and risks associated with different life-cycle stages.
• Evaluate the impact of inflation, taxation, and investment returns on long-term financial planning.
• Demonstrate the ability to create a basic personal financial plan aligned with life-cycle considerations.
• Identify and recommend suitable financial products (e.g., insurance, retirement annuities, investments) for different life stages.

Target Audience

This course is designed for financial advisors, personal financial planners, and individuals seeking to enhance their personal financial management skills. It is also suitable for entry-level finance professionals who need a foundational understanding of life-cycle financial planning.

Prerequisites

None — open enrollment

Course Outline

Practicals

Overview

Practical sessions allow learners to apply financial life cycle concepts to real-world scenarios. Through case studies, financial calculations, and the development of a personal financial plan, learners gain hands-on experience in decision-making and financial product selection.

Practical Activities

• Financial Life Cycle Case Study Analysis — Learners analyse a series of case studies representing different life stages, identifying appropriate financial decisions and products. (4h)
• Retirement Needs Calculation and Product Selection — Learners calculate retirement funding needs using spreadsheets and compare retirement products to select the most appropriate. (4h)
• Risk Management and Insurance Needs Analysis — Learners assess a client's risk exposure and design an insurance portfolio covering life, disability, and health needs. (4h)
• Comprehensive Personal Financial Plan Development — Learners develop a full personal financial plan for a hypothetical client, integrating all course topics. (4h)

Summatives

Each delegate is assessed continuously throughout the course via daily exercises, scored practical assignments, and a final summative test at the end.

Practical Assignments — 30%

Practical assignments are observed and scored against a rubric during the practical sessions. Each delegate's practical mark is averaged into a single 100% score and contributes 30% to the final total.

Daily Exercises — 20%

Every training day ends with a multiple-choice exercise scored out of 100%. The scores from each daily exercise are averaged across the duration of the course to produce a Daily Average mark, which contributes 20% to the final total.

Final Test — 50%

On the last day a final summative test is written. It is a multiple-choice paper with multiple-answer questions: each question may have more than one correct option, and a single wrong selection on a question marks the entire question wrong — no partial credit. The final test is scored out of 100% and contributes 50% to the overall mark.

Final Total

Component	Out of	Weight
Practical Assignments (rubric-scored)	100%	30%
Daily Average (multiple choice)	100%	20%
Final Test (multi-answer multiple choice)	100%	50%
Final Total	—	100%

All marks are recorded on the AATICD LMS and visible to each learner under their account.

Certificate

How it works

• Certificates are auto-generated on the AATICD LMS as soon as the marks pass the 50% threshold.
• Each certificate is a branded PDF with the delegate's name, the course title, the unit standard ID, NQF level, credits, and the date of issue.
• You can download or print your certificate from your LMS dashboard at any time after issue — there's no reissue fee and no expiry date.
• If you scored under 50% you can sit the final test again at the next scheduled session at no extra cost.

Where to find it

Sign in to the LMS, open your dashboard, and your certificates appear under My Certificates. Each entry has a View / Download button and a print option.

Training Discounts

Group discounts apply automatically — the more delegates you enrol, the greater the saving. Discounts are calculated at 3% per 5 delegates, scaling up to 40% off for 100+ delegates.

Delegates	Discount
5	3% off
10	6% off
15	9% off
20	12% off
25	15% off
30	18% off
50	30% off
75	35% off
100	40% off

3% discount per 5 delegates, up to 40% off for 100+ delegates. Contact us for a custom group quote.