Approved IAR CE Courses

Transitioning from making and saving money to spending one’s life savings is a vulnerable period for clients that often centers on a major underlying goal: ensuring the assets last through the remainder of their lives. Researchers and practitioners have found several techniques to meet this goal, but they all have tradeoffs. In this webinar, Amy Arnott of Morningstar reviews the evolution of retirement income planning and examines how flexible withdrawal strategies can improve retirement outcomes compared to the traditional 4% rule. She explains the strengths and weaknesses of fixed real withdrawal approaches, emphasizing that retirees’ spending patterns typically change over time and that market conditions materially affect sustainable withdrawal rates.
Throughout the presentation, eight flexible spending methods are compared, including guardrails, RMD-based withdrawals, constant percentage spending, and endowment approaches, highlighting the trade-offs between higher lifetime spending, cash flow stability, and leaving a legacy. Arnott also discusses the importance of incorporating Social Security timing, non-portfolio income, inflation risk, and spending shocks into retirement planning decisions.

In this continuing education session, learners will review 2 Nerd’s Eye View blog articles: Box Spreads Explained: A (Lower-Interest) Borrowing Alternative To Margin Loans And SBLOCs and Reducing Retirement Income Volatility With The Modified RMD Safe Withdrawal Method.

In the first article, Ben Henry-Moreland explains how box spreads function as a synthetic lending strategy that can provide lower borrowing costs than traditional margin loans and SBLOCs by leveraging options pricing tied to near risk-free rates. It also evaluates their tax treatment, risks (notably margin calls), and appropriate use cases within the broader hierarchy of debt options.

In the second article, Michael Woloch, CFP®, illustrates how a modified Required Minimum Distribution (RMD) approach can be used as a flexible and practical safe withdrawal strategy in retirement. It highlights how using a rolling three-year average of portfolio values can reduce income volatility while maintaining adaptability to market conditions and client goals.

New planning strategies often create confusion for both advisors and clients, especially when complex rules, unfamiliar terminology, and political branding create barriers to clear communication and objective analysis. With the introduction of Section 530A “Trump Accounts,” advisors must navigate new contribution structures, tax treatments, and planning use cases while determining where these accounts fit relative to more established vehicles like 529 plans and custodial accounts. In this webinar, Ben Henry-Moreland breaks down the core mechanics of Trump Accounts, including contribution types, growth-period restrictions, distribution rules, and post-age-18 planning strategies such as Roth conversions. He also highlights key pitfalls, including gift tax concerns, kiddie tax implications, and state-level tax differences, while offering practical guidance on how to explain these accounts to clients. This webinar concludes with a framework advisors can utilize when evaluating whether Trump Accounts align with client goals, particularly in the context of retirement-focused gifting strategies for children.

As clients move from early career through retirement, aligning budgeting and cash flow strategies with

evolving financial priorities becomes increasingly important. Join us for an interactive webinar exploring

Practical approaches advisors can use to help clients build confidence and long-term financial stability at every

stage of life. Topics include:

- Budgeting strategies for millennials balancing debt, savings, and lifestyle goals

- Key considerations for pre-retirees fine-tuning cash flow before retirement

- Best practices for retirees managing income, withdrawals, and spending

The Presenters review the ins and outs of advisers' compliance calendar - including email/social media review, best execution review, gifts and gratuities logging, and other compliance tasks.

This course provides investment adviser representatives with the ethical principles, regulatory knowledge, and practical skills that are required to uphold a fiduciary standard in every client interaction. Through modules on foundational ethics, SEC and state regulations, communication and disclosure techniques, conflict management, decision-making frameworks, and information-protection best practices, readers will progressively build the competencies needed to establish transparency and trust. Case studies are provided throughout the course to translate theory into real-world application. Readers will be prepared to identify fiduciary duties, manage conflicts, safeguard client data, and design firm policies that support consistent, client-first advisory practices.

In this continuing education session, learners will review 2 Nerd's Eye View articles: Business Buy-Sell Agreements In The Wake of Connelly V. IRS: Ensuring Clients' Business Succession Plans Don't Create Future Estate Tax Issues and Gifting Without The Headache: Tax-Efficient Strategies To Stay Under Gift Reporting Limits. In the first article, advisors will review the mechanics of buy-sell agreements, including the pros and cons of cross-purchase versus entity-purchase agreements, and then delve into the impacts of the Supreme Court's decisions in Connelly V. IRS. In the second article, David Haughton, JD, CPWA' provides an overview of gifting, including what gifts result in taxation or the necessity of gift tax reporting. Strategies to structure gifts to not use the lifetime gift and estate tax exemption or the annual exclusion are also discussed.