Approved IAR CE Courses

This session is a practical, on-the-ground compliance update for investment advisers who need to know not just what the rules say, but where the SEC is focusing its attention and what that means for how they run their firms. Compliance attorney Chris Stanley walks through the current state of Reg S-P and what written incident response programs need to look like in practice, common custody triggers and how to comply with the custody rule’s requirements, where SEC examiners are spending their time and what they want to see, and how advisors should think about the SEC’s recordkeeping rule in the context of modern technology.

In this session, advisors will gain critical insights into the evolving regulatory landscape impacting investment advisers. Compliance expert, Max Schatzow, will explore FinCEN’s final rule expanding the definition of “financial institution” under the Bank Secrecy Act, along with new AML/CFT reporting requirements. Attendees will learn about recent amendments to Regulation S-P, which mandate written incident response programs and enhanced oversight of service providers. The session also covers current SEC examination priorities, equipping advisors with practical strategies to maintain compliance in an increasingly complex regulatory environment.[

What do you do when you suspect an aging client is being financially exploited, often by a friend or family member taking advantage of them? Two regulatory tools exist specifically to help you act: the trusted contact framework and temporary disbursement hold authority. But many advisors either don't know these tools exist, don't understand the conditions under which they can be used, or are so uncertain about the rules that they default to doing nothing (to avoid accidentally breaching client privacy) while allowing a client's assets to remain at risk.

Join Amy as she takes a deep dive into these two specific provisions of NASAA's Model Act to Protect Vulnerable Adults from Financial Exploitation: what they actually say, what they allow, what they require, and why regulators created them in the first place. Using real case scenarios, attendees will work through exactly how to apply these tools in practice: when a trusted contact can be reached out to and for what purpose, what triggers the authority to place a temporary hold on a disbursement, what documentation must accompany that hold, and what happens next. 

Many financial planners encounter clients with equity compensation, but fewer have a framework for clients who hold four grant types at once. This session delivers a practical, 201-level coordination framework for managing RSUs, ISOs, NQSOs, and an ESPP as an integrated portfolio rather than four separate planning problems. Attendees work through a real client case study, apply a grant sequencing model, and leave with an actionable tool they can use with clients. Suitable for advisors who already understand equity comp basics and those seeking to learn more, this session goes deep on cross-grant strategy, concentration risk, and AMT credit recovery.

This month, we review December blog articles. This quiz includes the following articles: When Does A Financial Coach Need To Register As An Investment Adviser? The 'ABCS' Test To Determine Status and AI-Generated Financial Advice And The Fiduciary Catch-22.

In this continuing education session, learners will review 2 Nerd’s Eye View blog articles: Why (Most) Advisors Shouldn’t Serve As Clients’ Trustees: Ethical Conflicts, Dual Fiduciary Duties, And The SEC Custody Rule and Why The SEC May No Longer Allow “Hedge Clauses” In Client Advisory Agreements (And How To Replace Them Compliantly).

In the first article, Ben Henry-Moreland examines why financial advisors should generally avoid serving as trustees for their clients' trusts due to conflicts of interest, competing fiduciary obligations, regulatory custody requirements, and potential legal liability. It also explores the circumstances under which advisors may choose to offer professional trustee services, as well as the infrastructure, compliance procedures, and risk-management practices required to do so successfully.

In the second article, Isaac Mamaysky explains why the SEC has intensified its scrutiny of hedge clauses in Investment Management Agreements (IMAs), arguing that such provisions may mislead clients and conflict with an adviser’s fiduciary duty under the Investment Advisers Act. It outlines recent enforcement actions, provides guidance for identifying problematic hedge-clause language, and offers compliant alternatives that limit liability by clearly defining the scope of the advisory relationship rather than attempting to waive client rights.

This interactive course explores the psychological, emotional, and behavioral factors that affect whether clients implement financial advice. Drawing from Self-Determination Theory, the Stages of Change model, and adult learning principles, the course equips financial professionals with practical tools to foster motivation, reduce resistance, and promote follow-through. Participants will learn how to structure discovery conversations, respond to client ambivalence, and communicate in ways that enhance autonomy and internal buy-in. Through live discussion, role play, and real-world case work, advisors will build confidence in applying behavioral insight to the planning process.

Technically sound financial advice does not always produce client action. This course gives advisors a practical framework for determining why a client is not implementing a recommendation and what to address first. Participants learn to distinguish five common barriers—misunderstanding, cognitive bias, emotion, relationship conflict, and low readiness—and to recognize when more than one barrier is operating. The course then introduces a neutral, question-based method for identifying the controlling barrier: the barrier that must be addressed before the client can move forward.
The presentation emphasizes observation, inquiry, and appropriate initial responses. It does not train advisors to diagnose clients or provide mental-health treatment; instead, it strengthens the advisor’s ability to clarify, explore, sequence, and facilitate sound client decision-making within the advisor’s professional role.

In this eye-opening session, college planning experts Beth Walker and Joe Messinger will show financial advisors how even high-income, high-asset families — including business owners — can implement sophisticated strategies to optimize financial aid outcomes. Using real-world case studies, they will demonstrate how strategic income timing, asset positioning, and business planning decisions can meaningfully reduce out-of-pocket college costs, even for clients who assume they won’t qualify for aid.

Jonathan Sparling of Private 529 Plan will join Beth and Joe to present sophisticated 529 plan strategies many advisors overlook. Jonathan’s review will include the power of grandparent-owned 529 plans, how funding 529 accounts during low-income years can create meaningful state tax arbitrage opportunities, how ownership structuring can position 529s as a powerful financial aid asset strategy for divorced or remarried families, and how deliberate beneficiary “generation shifting” can extend tax-free compounding across decades. Jonathan will also explore he unique value of private 529 plans — including the ability to lock in tuition at participating private colleges, hedge tuition inflation risk, reduce reported parental assets (depending on structure), and potentially improve financial aid positioning.