Wealth management involves managing the financial assets of high net worth families and individuals. This is a challenging and rewarding field that requires expertise in a variety of subjects. Our program enables working professionals to acquire advanced training in wealth management on their own schedules, taking all their courses online, one course at a time.
Curriculum
The LLM degree is designed for those who have earned either a Juris Doctor (JD) or a Bachelor of Laws (LLB) degree and who wish to improve their knowledge in a specialized area. The LLM degree requires 24 units. Each course is offered for 3 units. After taking an introductory foundations course, students concentrating in financial compliance and risk management must take six elective courses in that concentration and a thesis course.
Required Courses
An introduction to basic concepts of finance and taxation that will prepare students for enrollment in more advanced elective courses in the field of financial compliance and risk management.
An advanced research course in which each student must write a thesis under faculty supervision. The thesis topic is chosen by the student, subject to approval by the instructor. During the course, students will learn advanced research techniques and participate in workshops in which they receive comments on their work from both the instructor and other students. Taken in the student’s final term.
Elective Courses
Study of the law regulating investment advisers, including the establishment of relationships, fiduciary duties, and recordkeeping. The course also examines SEC and state authority over investment advisers and enforcement under the Advisers Act.
Introduction to the federal regulation of the financial services industry. This course includes types of depository institutions currently playing a significant role in the economy of the United States as well as a close look at the state and federal laws and agencies regulating financial institutions.
Regulation of consumer financial services in the United States, including mortgage lending, loan servicing, credit and debit cards, Truth in Lending, Equal Credit Opportunity, unfair and deceptive trade practices, and other topics. The course also will examine financial institution compliance policies and risk management.
The study of tax and other legal issues that arise in the context of estate planning. Topics include gifts, inheritances, and the probate process.
Provides aspiring professionals with a practical understanding of the foundational principles and mechanics of financial accounting, enabling them to: read financial statements with insight; analyze such statements for investment, risk, tax, strategic management, and compliance purposes; achieve an enhanced understanding of their clients and their financial realities; make sounder professional judgments and business decisions; and communicate with others in the business world on a deeper and more sophisticated level.
An examination of the of principles that wealth managers use to understand their client's challenges and to offer varied solutions to those challenges. Other topics include investment strategies, tax impact analysis, factors affecting retirement plan selection for family businesses, and the efficient transfer of clients’ wealth to succeeding generations or charitable organizations.
The identification and analysis of the tax implications of a variety of common individual and business investment activities. This course seeks to develop a conceptual understanding of the federal income tax system and to provide a framework for integrating income tax planning into the investment decision-making process. The course is designed to help students anticipate the impact of taxation on activities and seek alternatives that maximize the use of pre-tax dollars and after-tax value.
