October 2019 Student Forum

Student Forum Meetings are intended for prospective and current students at UCSC-Extension in the Personal Financial Planning Program, UCSCX PFP alumni, and for members of the Financial Planning Association (any chapter).  These meetings are not open to the general public.

Overview:

The CFP® exam seems a mystery. You hear it is “hard”.  The PFP courses provide a foundation, but most students need more preparation before attempting to pass the 6-hour exam that is taken electronically. Are you looking for more on the exam details, how to prepare for it, experiences with the prep classes and words of advice?

In this session, we will hear from four recent test takers on their experiences.  This is an opportunity to learn from former students who were in your shoes a few scant months ago. You will hear a candid assessment of the areas where they felt unprepared, feedback on the prep classes that they took, strategies they used and some hints for the exam day. The panelists will introduce themselves and speak about their exam experience prior to opening the session up for a general question and answer period. Come with your questions!!

The room opens for networking at 11:30am.

Panelists: Dave Crook, Karla Rees, CFP®, EA, Sridhar (Sri) Krishnan, BS, MBA, James Yi.

Location: UCSC Extension, Santa Clara

Registration: Click here to register

Panelist Bios:

Dave Crook is an alum of the UCSCX PFP program and a CFP® certificant, having passed the exam in late 2017.  He is currently working on accruing hours needed for the credential.  His background is somewhat unconventional, with degrees in engineering and many years spent in the local high tech industry in a HR/recruiting role — combining the analytic and the interpersonal, which has proved useful in his early work with clients.

Sridhar (Sri) Krishnan, BS, MBA is the owner of Encover Personal Finance LLC, a Registered Investment Advisor in Fremont, CA. Sri began his career in Financial Planning after over 20 years of management and start-up experience in the Silicon Valley. He pursued his financial planning education through College for Financial Planning and passed the CFP® Board exam and Series-65 in 2017. His firm provides fee-only financial planning to professionals in the Bay Area who want to build, grow and secure their financial future. He is a member of XY Planning Network, FPA and NAPFA.

Karla Rees, CFP®, EA, has worked as an Associate Advisor at Wade Financial Advisory, Inc. for the past three years and holds a BS in Business Administration with a concentration in accounting from San Jose State University.  Karla is a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ professional and an Enrolled Agent, enrolled to practice and to represent taxpayers before the IRS.  Karla completed the Personal Financial Planning Certificate program at UCSC Extension in 2015. She sat for the CFP® exam and the final parts of the EA exam in 2016.  Prior to changing careers to financial planning, Karla worked as a corporate accountant in various roles/companies/industries for 20 years.

James Yi passed the CFP^® exam in July of 2019 after completing the Certificate of Personal Financial Planning program at UCSC Silicon Valley Extension in December of 2018. He had been a business strategy and operations professional in the high-performance computer industry. He is seeking to build a new career in the financial planning field.