Approved IAR CE Courses

This quiz covers questions and strategies advisors can employ with clients experiencing crisis. Crisis can include things like losing a spouse or market event, or even just being anxious around an expected financial change.

In this continuing education session, learners will review 2 Nerd’s Eye View blog articles: Personalizing Lifespan Assumptions For More Accurate Social Security And Retirement Withdrawal Recommendations, and 4 Alternative Retirement Paths And An Advisor's Role In Helping Clients Plan For Them. In the first article, K. Jeremy Ko, Ph.D., Founder and CEO of ShoreUp Retirement Solutions, examines how financial advicers estimate client lifespan and what changes when those estimates are personalized, documenting how heavily advicers rely on the default survival ages of 90 or 95 built into planning software and why clients' own longevity estimates are also unreliable, since younger individuals tend to underestimate their survival probabilities while older individuals tend to overestimate them. Ko then presents survival analysis showing that self-rated health, smoking status, education, race, and ethnicity together can move projected lifespan by 10 to 20 years, applies those estimates to Social Security claiming and retirement savings thresholds, and closes with a review of available lifespan calculators and conversational approaches for raising health and longevity topics that clients may otherwise find uncomfortable. In the second article, Adam Van Deusen, CFP®, Financial Planning Nerd at Kitces.com, explores why the 'traditional' model of working full-time into one's mid-60s and then leaving the workforce entirely may not fit every client, and how advicers can introduce alternatives that better match a client's goals. After tracing how employer pensions, Social Security, and the real estate and financial industries shaped the modern concept of retirement, Van Deusen outlines four alternative paths (financial independence, sabbaticals, Coast FIRE, and semi-retirement) along with the asset requirements, risks, and planning opportunities of each, and covers practical ways to identify interested clients, explain these paths in plain language, stress test the resulting plans, and support clients on an ongoing basis as they pursue or transition between paths. Together, the articles help advicers replace default retirement assumptions with personalized plans that reflect each client's projected lifespan, goals, and preferred path into retirement.

Monte Carlo analysis is a commonly used tool in financial planning, with the probability of success being the most common method for reporting a financial plan's results. However, this practice may be hurting clients more than helping them by creating more financial stress and a propensity for miserly financial behavior. In this webinar, Dr. Tharp explains how the use of probabilities of success is akin to the practice of bloodletting in the medical field, where professionals are commonly using a practice that is often misunderstood by professionals and clients. Through the presentation, Tharp explains what the probability of success metric truly means and its shortcomings, especially when considering ongoing planning. Tharp then explains an alternative planning method, adjustment-based guardrails, and presents practical methods to reframe retirement income planning to reduce the likelihood of underspending while helping clients enjoy their retirement fully.

The transition from employer insurance to Medicare is fraught with confusion. Clients turning 65 or leaving employment must leave the safety and simplicity of their pre-selected and subsidized employer plan to the wild world of Medicare, with all its parts, multiple enrollment periods, and private insurance options to fill the coverage gaps. This session will cover health insurance in retirement: how Medicare works, how to choose private insurance to go with Medicare, and how to establish a health care budget.

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.

In this continuing education session, learners will read articles highlighting how financial advisors can effectively communicate with clients during times of market volatility and economic uncertainty. The first article explores the concept of risk tolerance, examining how it can differ between partners in a couple and how to engage both partners effectively. The second article delves into the uncertainty caused by tariffs and how advisors can utilize a combination of visual and historical aids, along with empathy, to address client concerns. This idea is further developed in the third article, where learners will read about six questions they can ask to ease clients' market-related fears by leading with emotional validation and reflective reasoning before presenting logical reasoning to quell concerns.

This month, we review two Nerd's Eye View blog articles: Major Compliance Risks When Using AI Tools (And Best Practices To Mitigate Them) and The Risks Of AI Meeting Notetakers: Evaluating Accuracy And Data Privacy In Tools. In the first article, Richard Chen, founder of Brightstar Law Group, outlines the significant compliance risks Registered Investment Advisers (RIAs) face when using AI tools like ChatGPT and automated notetakers, providing actionable best practices to help firms mitigate these risks through training, oversight, tool evaluation, and adherence to regulatory standards. In the second article, Ben Henry-Moreland, Senior Financial Planning Nerd at Kitces.com, explores the rise of AI meeting notetakers for financial advisors, highlighting their potential to streamline documentation, enhance client engagement, and improve compliance workflows.

All successful financial planning practices face the challenge of scaling their advice to serve more clients and make their businesses more profitable. However, making a practice more scalable while still providing excellent service to the client can be a multi-faceted challenge that can take advisors years to address while finding themselves unable to grow sustainably. In this webinar, Michael Kitces shares research on scalability, walking advisors through the process of establishing expertise, systematizing client deliverables and engagement, coping with client variability, and delegating to leverage time efficiently. Throughout the webinar, Michael provides practical steps advisors can take to work forward scaling to financial advicers and how doing so can not only make practices run more efficiently but also increase advisor revenues.

Jeff Levine, CPA/PFS, CFP' and Director of Advisor Education at Kitces.com, will give an in-depth breakdown of the SECURE 2.0 Act that has been passed by both houses of Congress and is expected to be signed into law before the end of 2022. In this breaking-news webinar, Jeff will go over the numerous provisions of SECURE 2.0 that will be relevant for advisors and their clients, including the legislation's gradual pushing back of the RMD age from 73 to 75, the expansion of opportunities to make Roth contributions (including new SEP and SIMPLE Roth IRAs), and the elimination of RMDs on Roth-style employer retirement accounts; along with the ability to transfer 529 plan assets to a Roth IRA, expanded catch-up contribution limits, new exceptions to early-withdrawal penalties, and more. Advisors will walk away with information on how their clients will potentially be affected by the new law, as well as ideas on how to take advantage of some of the new planning opportunities it opens up.

As the Social Security Administration faces staffing cuts, long wait times, and service disruptions, the process of obtaining answers to questions about Social Security applications and benefits can leave clients exasperated and still missing crucial information necessary to address their needs. Clients are increasingly turning to financial advisors for guidance on their most pressing questions about Social Security and Medicare. In this webinar, Social Security expert Elaine Floyd, CFP', discusses how advisors can address these growing service gaps by leveraging AI and SSA resources, such as POMS, calculators, and official publications. Throughout the webinar, Elaine guides attendees through my Social Security registration and the exact resources she uses to help clients address common Social Security administration issues, ranging from difficulties connecting with a Social Security worker to assisting clients with appealing Medicare Income-Related Monthly Adjustment Amount (IRMAA) decisions. These practical examples provide advisors with clear guidance on how to offer relief and reassurance to clients by becoming familiar with a few lesser-known resources.