How long is the BSc in Financial Planning?

Three years full-time, with part-time and accelerated online routes. The BSc in Financial Planning schedules cohort calls across UK and APAC time zones so distance learners stay synchronous.

Can the BSc in Financial Planning be studied online?

Yes. The BSc in Financial Planning runs fully online, on-campus in London and by distance learning, assessed against the same capstone client file and wealth-firm brief.

Is the BSc in Financial Planning recognised by UK IFA firms?

Yes. The BSc in Financial Planning is a UK honours degree reviewed against the CII DipPFS, CII AF units and CISI Chartered Wealth Manager pathway, so UK IFA firms recognise the credential.

What are the entry requirements for the BSc in Financial Planning?

BBC at A-level (or IB 28, BTEC DMM), GCSE English at grade 5 and Maths at grade 5, plus IELTS 6.5 for international applicants. Mature applicants may enter on portfolio and interview.

What does the BSc in Financial Planning cost?

Tuition varies by route and domicile. Contact LSIBM admissions for the current schedule and bursary eligibility for the BSc in Financial Planning.

BSc in Financial Planning | LSIBM London | Harold International College of London

Course Overview

The BSc in Financial Planning at the London School of International Business and Management (LSIBM) is the three-year UK honours route into paraplanning, financial-planning and wealth-advice careers across the UK IFA sector, private banks and platform businesses. Delivered inside the Accounting, Finance & Economics faculty, this BSc combines core finance and behavioural-economics theory with the applied toolkit an IFA practice uses: cash-flow modelling in Voyant or Truth, FCA COBS suitability under Consumer Duty, and complex retirement and estate planning. The syllabus is refreshed each cohort to sit alongside the FCA Consumer Duty, the ongoing Retirement Advice Review and the SM&CR expectations placed on UK advice firms, so classroom debates and case work track the questions UK employers are asking this year rather than last decade’s textbook.

You will complete a suitability-report simulation in year two, sit a Consumer-Duty file review capstone in year three, and produce a final-year dissertation supervised by a Chartered Financial Planner. Curriculum is reviewed against the CII Diploma and Advanced Diploma in Financial Planning and the CISI Level 6 route, so graduates leave with a credential UK advice firms recognise. Across the three years full-time, you sit alongside a small tutor-visible cohort, work through applied case studies drawn from London-facing employers, and close with an assessment mix that mirrors the situations working practitioners actually face on the job. The BSc in Financial Planning runs on-campus in central London, fully online with UK / APAC time-zone cohort calls, or by distance learning, so applicants pick the study pattern that fits the rest of their working week.

Key Features

Level pitched at UK Bachelor's degree standard with tutor-visible small cohorts and a single intake schedule.
Three study modes — on-campus in central London, fully online with UK / APAC time-zone cohort calls, or by distance learning.
Voyant / Truth cash-flow modelling practice on the London campus.
Structured route toward the CII Diploma in Regulated Financial Planning with tutor mock-marking.
Assessment blend — suitability report, mock client meeting and a written viva rather than a single long exam.
Structured over three years full-time (part-time and accelerated routes available), with fortnightly practitioner clinics and defined assessment milestones.
Placement and application coaching in every final year, feeding UK graduate schemes.
Careers support covering CV clinics, mock interviews and warm introductions through fortnightly practitioner sessions.
Cohort networking across a single intake schedule, with London evening events at the CMI, IoD Pall Mall clubhouse and relevant professional-body chapters.

What You Will Learn

The three-year honours route balances theory, applied practice and a substantial dissertation. You will graduate able to run a working project, lead a small team on a live brief, and defend a final-year piece supervised by a working practitioner.

The UK financial-advice landscape — IFAs, restricted firms, platforms and networks.
FCA rulebook for advice firms — COBS, SYSC and the Consumer Duty.
Investment planning — asset allocation, risk profiling and platform due diligence.
Pensions — defined contribution, defined benefit, SIPPs and the annual and lifetime allowances.
Retirement income planning — annuity, drawdown, UFPLS and sustainable withdrawal rates.
Cash-flow modelling in Voyant, Truth or CashCalc for a UK household.
Tax planning — income tax, CGT, IHT and the annual gift exemptions.
Trusts, wills and estate planning at introductory level.
Protection planning — life, critical illness, income protection and inheritance-tax cover.
Ethics, SM&CR conduct rules and the CII Code of Ethics.
Client communication, vulnerable-client care and file review under Consumer Duty.

Who This Course Is For

The BSc in Financial Planning is designed for a mix of new entrants and working professionals. The five audience segments below are the ones we most often see on the Bachelor's degree intake list, and the tutor team tailors examples so every segment is visible in the classroom.

Administrative staff at UK IFA firms moving into paraplanning.
Career switchers from banking, insurance or accountancy into financial planning.
AAT-qualified professionals broadening into personal-finance advice.
Recent graduates targeting an IFA graduate scheme.
International applicants preparing a UK-facing CV for a UK advice-firm role.

Career Pathways

Graduates typically join UK graduate schemes and progress into specialist and management-track roles. The degree strengthens applications but does not by itself guarantee job offers or visa outcomes. Typical destinations include:

Paraplanner
Financial Planner
Wealth Adviser
Retirement Planning Analyst
Client Portfolio Analyst
IFA Administrator
Senior Paraplanner
Practice Manager (IFA)

The BSc in Financial Planning is a natural runway toward the MSc in Financial Planning or the Chartered Financial Planner (CII) route. Graduates leave with a portfolio of applied work, a written credential UK employers recognise, and enough classroom rehearsal of the discipline-specific conversations that a first interview panel or a promotion window feels familiar rather than intimidating. The LSIBM careers office also runs an alumni-referral programme and structured warm introductions in the closing term, so applicants leave with a working London network rather than only a certificate.

Entry Requirements

Three A-levels at BBC or above, or equivalent UK / international qualification (IB 28+, BTEC DMM, Access to HE, Foundation Year pass, or a relevant Higher Diploma with confirmed credit transfer); numeracy is important on this degree.
GCSE English Language at grade 5/C and Mathematics at grade 5/C or above (or equivalent).
IELTS 6.5 overall (no band below 6.0) for non-native English speakers.
A personal statement showing genuine interest in personal finance (extended reading, family experience, professional-body engagement). Mature applicants (21+) may enter with a portfolio and a short interview.

Why Study at LSIBM

The London School of International Business and Management (LSIBM) is a specialist business-education provider based in central London and part of Harold International College. Undergraduate cohorts sit in small groups so every student is visible to their tutor, run a single intake schedule students can rely on, and every degree route is reviewed against UK professional-body competencies — ACCA, CIMA, CIM, CIPD, CMI, CIPS, CFA UK and IOE&IT — so graduates carry a credential that City recruiters engage with.

London puts the City, Canary Wharf, Whitehall, Companies House, the FCA, the Bank of England and the West End within a short tube ride of every classroom. Undergraduate students access a fortnightly practitioner clinic, at least one industry-careers day per academic year, a structured placement route and one-to-one application coaching in the final year.

Apply for the BSc in Financial Planning

Launch your UK career with the BSc in Financial Planning. Click Enrol Now and admissions will reply within one working day with UCAS guidance, intake dates and the current fee schedule. LSIBM undergraduates receive structured placement and application coaching in every final year.