Approved IAR CE Courses

This course provides a comprehensive guide to navigating the complex world of business succession and estate planning. Explore strategies for crafting effective buy-sell agreements, tax-efficiently passing businesses to heirs, and leveraging trusts and valuation discounts for closely held entities. Delve into planning for unique circumstances, including special needs beneficiaries, non-U.S. citizens, and digital assets. Learn how to use life insurance for funding buy-sell agreements, protecting key personnel, and addressing estate tax liquidity needs. Additionally, the course covers Roth conversions, managing highly appreciated assets, and strategies for minimizing state-level estate and inheritance taxes. Designed for professionals and advisors, this program equips you with actionable tools to create tailored, tax-savvy plans for clients with diverse needs.

This course will address core compliance considerations for Investment Adviser Representatives (IARs) contemplating buying or selling a client list or an investment adviser entity. The course will cover essential topics including fiduciary duties, regulatory requirements, and best practices for seamless transitions. Participants will gain insights into federal and state laws, privacy and confidentiality concerns, and the importance of due diligence. The course will also explore various types of transactions, such as asset purchases and mergers, and their compliance implications. By the end of the session, attendees will be equipped with the knowledge to manage client relationships ethically and effectively during the sale or purchase process.

If you spend any time on the internet or watching the news, you will be bombarded with doom and gloom. In this webinar, Michael Finke makes the case for optimism. In his research, Michael has found that optimism helps people to invest more in the present with expectations of payoffs in the future in the realms of health, relationships, and personal finances, setting clients up with a higher chance of a happier retirement. Additionally, optimism can help clients be resilient when faced with inevitable setbacks in life and in their investments. However, overoptimism can negatively affect financial behaviors like risk tolerance. Finke uses this research to explain how advisors can work best with optimistic clients and encourage optimism in clients that tend to have a more pessimistic outlook.

This course will discuss ethical challenges and fraudulent activities that investment advisers may face. It will discuss ethical obligations and case studies of moral failures, fraud, scams, and schemes in the financial services industry.

The compliance regulations that RIAs are subject to can and do evolve over time, as markets and platforms change, and regulators update their own rules accordingly. In this session, compliance attorney Chris Stanley will address the latest changes in regulations for RIAs and their IARs, covering five critical topics: FinCEN Beneficial Ownership Reporting, FTC Non-Competes, SEC Marketing Rule Enforcement Actions, Custody Rule Triggers and Reporting, and the SEC's Reg S-P Rule Amendments, to help financial advisors ensure they stay compliant with the evolving regulatory landscape.

Ethics CE: A Practical Application of CFP Board's Code and Standards fulfills the two-hour requirement for CFP Board-approved Ethics CE. The program is designed to educate CFP professionals on CFP Board's current Code of Ethics and Standards of Conduct, which went into effect on July 1, 2024.

This course provides investment adviser representatives, CFPs, CPAs, and other financial planners with timely insights into Federal Reserve policy, U.S. economic growth, and stock market fundamentals. Using September 2025 data, Fritz Meyer analyzes weak job formation, construction spending, and inflation trends alongside stronger retail sales, household net worth, and GDP forecasts. Attendees learn how earnings estimates, valuation ratios, and record stock prices shape long-term portfolio strategy in light of global economic challenges. The session integrates key slides, transcript highlights, and interactive MCQs to reinforce understanding of core learning objectives. By the end, participants gain practical, research-based knowledge to strengthen economic outlooks, client communication, and portfolio decision-making in a fee-only business model.

Charitable giving isn't just about generosity'it's a powerful tool for financial and estate planning. This session explores a range of strategic charitable giving options, from annual gifting and Qualified Charitable Distributions (QCDs) to more sophisticated vehicles like Charitable Gift Annuities, Charitable Remainder Trusts, Charitable Lead Trusts, Donor-Advised Funds, and Family Foundations. Learn how to help clients maximize their philanthropic impact while optimizing tax benefits, preserving wealth, and creating lasting legacies.