Approved IAR CE Courses

This course is about business continuity planning. Additionally, this course investigates theorigins of business continuity planning and the historical events that helped shape business continuity planning. It then uses these events as a lens to understand better the importance of having a business continuity plan (BCP) and the regulations relevant to BCPs. Additionally, this course covers regulatory guidance relevant to creating a business continuity plan (BCP). Finally, it describes the process of succession planning and why it is important to business continuity planning.

This course gives securities firms and registered professionals an overview of regulatory requirements and industry practices for business continuity planning.

It covers the key requirements and definitions of FINRA Rule 4370 including creating and updating a business continuity plan. In this course, we will abbreviate “business continuity planning” and “business continuity plan” as “BCP.”

Each of the ten required elements of BCP is explained in terms of regulatory definitions and industry practice. The course also covers emergency contact and customer disclosures requirements, guidelines for assuring customers’ prompt access to funds, and significant business disruptions (SBDs) that can trigger business continuity plans. The course concludes with case studies that illustrate BCP in action.

Business Entities Decoded: A Financial Advisor’s Guide to Entity Structure, Planning, and Client Opportunity is a continuing education course for investment adviser representatives and other financial professionals who advise business-owner clients. The course explains the primary American business entity types — including sole proprietorships, general partnerships, limited partnerships, LLPs, LLCs, S corporations, C corporations, and professional entities — through a practical four-lens framework: operations, management and control, taxation, and liability. Learners will examine how entity structure affects retirement plan design, buy-sell planning, key person insurance, succession, self-employment and payroll tax exposure, liability protection, and advisory referrals. The course also addresses cross-entity planning issues such as administrative LLC structures after Connelly v. United States, entity conversion planning, and the advisor’s role in identifying planning gaps and coordinating with legal and tax professionals.

This course provides an ethical model for investment adviser representatives (IARs) basedupon government legislation, self-regulatory rules organization (SRO) rules, and regulatorybest practices. It includes an introduction to ethical theory, ethics, and conflicts of interest withinthe securities industry, and current ethical issues in the marketplace. This course focuses on anIAR's requirements acting in a fiduciary capacity and provides examples on how that can beseen in practice. The course offers possible motivations for "white collar" crime and detailssteps to take when struggling with ethical dilemmas. The course concludes with a review of common unethical business practices presented to IARs and how to mitigate them.

Those who provide investment advice to others, Investment Advisers, are subject to regulation by both federal and state regulators. This regulation is complex and comes with serious consequences if violations are committed. After defining the term Investment Adviser, this course covers the registration requirements for Investment Advisers and explains the relationship between the business practices of investment advisers and the Form ADV which is utilized in the registration process. Then the course outlines the business practices that investment advisers are required to employ in order to comply with The Investment Advisers Act of 1940. Those practices include: fulfilling their fiduciary duty; establishing compliance programs; recordkeeping requirements; disclosure requirements; creating a code of ethics; maintaining books and records; preparing client contracts; and advertising their services. The course also discusses the special requirements for investment advisers who recommend broker-dealers to their clients, vote proxies of their clients, pay others to solicit new clients and/or have custody or possession of clients’ funds or securities.

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.

Maximizing value from the purchase of a business requires a detailed understanding of valuation
methods. The Business Valuation course provides insights into the circumstances under which different
valuation methods should be used, and discusses how to sort out those situations in which a
range of valuations are indicated. The course goes on to describe how to value intangible assets, a
number of valuation adjustment factors, valuation mistakes, and similar topics. In short, the course
is a valuable reference for anyone seeking a better understanding of how much a business is worth.

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.