The
Externship
2025
The premier virtual summer training program that gives you the fast track to real financial planning experience.
Join us June 2-August 1, 2025
The Externship is an 8-week virtual, asynchronous program offering you a chance to learn the art and craft of financial planning while seeing inside real client meetings. You’ll dive into the foundations of financial planning, learn from 50+ experts, and get access to eMoney, Morningstar, Redtail, EncorEstates, and Asset-Map.
Plus, Externship Finishers can earn 500 CFP Board standard pathway hours and 180 AFCPE® experience hours.
Our Sponsors
The Externship is the best thing I have done on this journey toward becoming a financial planner.
It has allowed me to see financial planning in practice, and really gain insights in to what it means to be a financial planner.
Heike
More than 4,500 people have taken The Externship since 2020.
The Externship has become an industry standard — for students, aspiring professionals, experienced advisors, and the firms who hire them.
Watch real financial planners in action, learn the tools of the trade, and discover your path in this profession… all on your schedule.
The Externship: What's Inside?
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Watch real client meetings — PLUS commentary of each interaction by a Certified Financial Planner®, Hannah Moore
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Complete elements of the client’s financial plan, using tools of the trade like eMoney, Morningstar Advisor Workstation, Asset-Map, Redtail, and EncorEstates
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Dive deep into critical pillars of financial planning: cash flow planning, investment planning, retirement planning, estate planning, and more!
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Earn 500 CFP Board standard pathway hours and 180 AFCPE hours upon completion. (Yes, that’s on top of the 40-hour per week maximum for CFP Board!)
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Learn from 50+ experts from across the country as they share their journey through the profession, how they work with clients, and their expert views and resources
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Participate in live Q&A and expert sessions (questions can be submitted beforehand and replays are available!)
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Earn eMoney certification (re-certification available for those who’ve joined Externship before!)
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Network with peers as well as leaders in the profession inside our engaging forums and live calls
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… and so much more!
Unlock your potential in the profession
The Externship is for everyone.
The Externship is 100% virtual and asynchronous. That means you can take part anywhere in the world*, at any time of the day.
* Note: You can only access Externship content via a U.S.-based IP address
The Externship is for you
Students
Whether you’re majoring in financial planning or exploring future careers, The Externship can boost your summer learning (and your resume).
Career Changers
Whether you’re military, a parent returning to the workforce, or on the hunt for more fulfilling work, The Externship is your door to a new career!
Advisors & Professionals
The Externship isn’t just for those who are new to financial planning. It’s for advisors and existing professionals who want to dive deeper.
Wondering how you’ll fit The Externship into your schedule? Here are a few ideas →
Whether you are new to the profession, or an accomplished financial planner you will find what you’re looking for.
Don’t hesistate, you won’t regret it!
Lukas
Your Summer Inside The Externship
Inside The Externship, you can expect 15-20 hours of learning, watching, and working each week. While that is a large time commitment, our Externs love how deep they can dive into each topic and how many experts they can learn from.
NEW THIS YEAR: Catch up on Externship homework or catch your breath for the holiday!
This year, we’re adding a week to the middle of The Externship to allow for catch-ups and time off. While you can always do The Externship on your schedule, we hope this offers even more flexibility.
Onboarding &
Client Care
June 2-6
The Externship is now open! Get inside, learn your way around, get logged into the tech, and let’s get started!
Cash Flow
Planning
June 9-13
Dive into real client cash flow scenarios, analyze income and expenses, and learn how to guide clients toward financial stability.
Retirement
Planning
June 16-20
Learn how to structure retirement plans that foster security, optimize tax strategies, and create lasting income solutions for clients.
Investment
Planning
June 23-27
Explore real investment cases, uncover risk management strategies, and match investments to client goals.
Catch-up Week! June 30-July 4
College
Planning
July 7-11
Explore college saving plans and financial aid & student loan repayment strategies
Insurance
Planning
July 14-18
See how planners evaluate insurance needs, compare policies, and protect clients from financial uncertainty.
Tax
Planning
July 21-25
Help clients navigate deductions, credits, and tax-efficient strategies that support short- and long-term goals.
Estate
Planning
July 28-Aug 1
Learn to help clients structure wills, trusts, and beneficiary designations to protect assets and honor their wishes.
Earn Your Certificate of Completion!
August 2nd-August 31st
You’ll have time to catch up on any recordings you’ve missed, complete your assignments, and finish everything needed to earn your certificate (and your experience hours!)
Earn 500 CFP Board Standard Pathway experience hours
and 180 AFCPE hours! College credit can also be earned when you speak to your Registered Program Director.
Psst… Yes, this is on top of CFP Board’s 40-hour per week maximum!
The Externship is brought to you by our sponsors
Ready to Join Us?
What you get inside The Externship…-
Watch real client meetings with commentary breakdowns
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FREE access to eMoney, Morningstar Advisor Workstation, Asset-Map, Redtail, and EncorEstates — and training on how to use these industry-standard tools!
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Dive into cash flow planning, investment planning, retirement planning, estate planning, and more!
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Learn from 50+ experts
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Participate in live Q&A and expert sessions (recordings available)
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Earn eMoney certification (re-certification available for those who’ve joined Externship before!)
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Network with peers as well as leaders in the profession
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… and so much more!
FAQs about The Externship
The Externship will be between 15-25 hours every week if taken within eight weeks. This includes time in the course, time spent working on the homework and time learning the software. To earn 500 CFP Board Standard Pathway experience hours, you will need to complete all homework assignments before the end of the program.
Participants will have an additional four weeks after the program conclusion to complete course work. The last day to complete any course work to complete the program and/or obtain the 500 Standard Pathway experience hours is Sunday, August 31st, 2025.
Yes! In previous years, we’ve had Externs who worked a full-time job and were still able to participate and complete The Externship. The program was designed with scheduling flexibility in mind and can be completed on your time. There are live elements each week, but they are recorded and available for you to watch at your convenience.
Every week there will be live office hours and calls. We would love it if you could make the calls and ask questions live, but if you can’t, replays will be posted within 24 hours for you to watch.
Scheduled live office hours are every Wednesday at 11am, 1pm and 3pm CT. Additional live calls will be scheduled throughout the week based on speaker availability and specific programming. Externs will be provided with a calendar of events to help manage their schedule.
If you have a conflict, don’t worry, you will be able to watch the replays!
You will need a modern browser to access the course on our site and the ability to access files hosted by Google. You’ll also need a U.S.-based IP address, so use a VPN if needed!
To join live meetings and webinars, you will need to use Zoom. A free account works just fine!
Here is a sample week. NOTE: Not all weeks will perfectly align with this!
Monday – Meet the weekly experts as they showcase how they do financial planning
Tuesday – Technology training, homework assignments given, sit in on real financial planning meetings with Hannah Moore, CFP®, or a dedicated expert
Wednesday – Live office hours with experts (11am, 1pm, 3pm CT)
Thursday – Live technology training, special topics
Friday – Level-up sessions, homework walkthroughs
The Externship is designed to introduce you to some basic financial planning principles — and to show you how to work with clients well. Even if you’re not a financial planner or a student learning about financial planning, you can take so much away from The Externship!
The beauty of being a financial planner is that our learning is never done! While you may not need CFP Board experience hours, there is a lot of valuable information and you get the ability to learn from other experts — and take a peek inside their financial planning practices.
Yes! There are so many great reasons to become a financial planner and The Externship will highlight different career paths available to you (more than you’ll learn about in school!). Many career-changing Externs have said this program helped clarify their direction in their career as well as bring context to what they learn in their university’s program.
40% of our 2024 Externs were career changers! Whether you love numbers, want to help people live their best lives, or find fulfillment in working on teams, financial planning may be your ideal career path. The Externship showcases just what a planner’s work looks like, and how you can make an impact with this career!
You’ll get the opportunity to see how financial planning is applied in diverse financial planning firms, and with diverse clientele, so you can really decide if this career is for you.
Yes! We love seeing familiar faces! In fact, almost a quarter of our Externs every year are “return Externs” who’ve completed the program in previous years. Plus, you can get RE-certified for eMoney, as so much has changed with their platform!
Best of all, you can earn 500 CFP Board Standard Pathway hours for every Externship you complete.
No. While FPA is still a partner, The Externship is now no longer offered under their programming. It’s part of Amplified Planning and run fully by Hannah Moore, CFP®, who has run and hosted it since 2020!
Yes! You’ll be eligible to receive experience hours again this year, even if you’ve attend one or more summers in the past.
The great news is that completing The Externship now earns you 500 CFP Board Standard Pathway experience hours!
NOTE: Experience hours will only apply to those who finish The Externship in full and earn their certificate.
Unfortunately, the experience hours provided in this program do not qualify for CFP Board Apprenticeship Pathway requirement. The Apprenticeship Pathway requires that your experience be delivered by personally engaging with individual clients.
There will not be any opportunities to earn CE in the Externship course. If you need CE hours to renew your CFP® certification, check out our CORE and CORE+ subscriptions!
Thanks to our partners, we are able to offer a limited number of full scholarships to The Externship. To apply for a 2025 Externship scholarship, click here.
To apply for a 2025 Externship scholarship, click here.
If your question is not answered above, please contact us at [email protected].
