Approved IAR CE Courses

This course addresses one of the most challenging moments in any adviser's career — the phone call from a panicked client when markets are in freefall. By blending behavioral finance insights with practical communication strategies, this course will help IARs understand why clients react the way they do under stress and how to respond in ways that are both empathetic and legally sound. By focusing on important issues from disclosure obligations to managing difficult conversations, this course prepares an IAR to be the calm, credible voice clients need most when markets are volatile.

When a client shares their income, assets, debts, family circumstances, health considerations, and long-term fears with a financial planning professional, they are extending a form of trust that has no parallel in most other professional relationships. The ethical obligation that arises from that trust — the duty of confidentiality — is not simply a compliance requirement. It is a foundational expression of the fiduciary relationship itself.

This course examines client data stewardship and privacy as an ethics and professional responsibility issue, grounding the analysis in the fiduciary duty framework applicable to investment adviser representatives and CFP® professionals. Drawing on the NASAA IAR Model Rule's ethical standards, the CFP Board's Code of Ethics and Standards of Conduct, and the fiduciary obligations that define the financial planning profession, the course equips learners to understand the ethical — not merely regulatory — dimensions of how client information is collected, used, protected, shared, and disclosed.

Regulation S-P and related regulatory requirements appear throughout the course as context, but they are not the subject. The subject is professional ethics: what the fiduciary relationship demands of a financial planning professional with respect to client information, how to reason through situations where ethical duties conflict, how to fulfill the duty of candor when something goes wrong, and how to assess whether minimum regulatory compliance is sufficient — or whether professional responsibility demands more.

This course is designed for IAR CE credit in the Ethics & Professional Responsibility competency category under the NASAA IAR Model Rule framework, and for CFP CE general credit mapped to Principal Knowledge Topic A.6 (Fiduciary Standard and Application). It does not satisfy the CFP Board's mandatory Ethics CE requirement, which requires a CFP Board-approved ethics course addressing the CFP Board's Code of Ethics and Standards of Conduct specifically.

This self-study continuing education course introduces investment adviser representatives to the foundational ethical and regulatory principles governing client privacy and data security. Designed for IARs new to the profession or those seeking a refresher on core concepts, the course frames privacy not as a technical compliance burden but as a pillar of the fiduciary relationship. Participants will learn why client confidentiality is foundational to investment advice, how Regulation S-P and related rules translate that ethical obligation into specific operating requirements, and what everyday behaviors protect — or compromise — client trust. The course uses scenarios drawn from common advisory settings to help participants recognize privacy risks before they become incidents.

This self-study continuing education course builds on the foundational principles of client privacy to address the ethical and operational complexities that experienced investment adviser representatives encounter in modern practice. The course examines the SEC's 2024 amendments to Regulation S-P — including the new incident response and customer notification requirements — and explores how ethical obligations evolve as advisory firms adopt cloud services, work with vendors, integrate artificial intelligence tools, and respond to cybersecurity incidents. Participants will analyze the ethical dimensions of vendor due diligence, examine the duties that arise when a privacy breach occurs, and apply judgment to ambiguous scenarios where regulatory requirements and ethical obligations diverge. The course assumes prior exposure to Regulation S-P fundamentals and is designed for IARs, compliance officers, and operations personnel with several years of advisory experience.

This course explores what it really takes for investment advisers to communicate with integrity — from crafting RFP responses and presenting performance figures to producing institutional reports and engaging with retirement plan investment committees. Through analysis of the SEC's Marketing Rule and the anti-fraud provisions of the Investment Advisers Act, readers will discover exactly where advisers have gone wrong and what compliant, transparent communication looks like in practice. For any person who wants to build lasting client trust, this course makes the case that honest communication is not just an ethical obligation; it's a competitive edge.

This course is designed to give investment advisers representatives a comprehensive command of closed-end funds (CEFs), showing how they differ from mutual funds and ETFs and why their fixed-capital, exchange-traded structure creates distinct opportunities and risks. From the legal foundations in the Investment Company Act of 1940 to the mechanics of IPO pricing and the premium-discount phenomenon, the course will explore the full life-cycle of a CEF, including specialized vehicles such as interval funds and business development companies. Detailed sections explain leverage, dividend policies, and fee structures, then tie these concepts to real-world market behavior so that IARs can analyze when CEFs trade at attractive discounts or justify persistent premiums. The course closes with an examination of the tax treatment and the suitability of account placement so that CEFs can be positioned suitably within client portfolios.

In an era of heightened market turbulence, this panel brings together leading Investment Officers from across the West Coast to uncover whats truly driving todays market dynamics. Panelists will share diverse perspectives on how investors can navigate hidden portfolio risks, identify potential shifts in traditional safe haven assets, and position clients for both protection and growth amid ongoing volatility. Attendees will gain actionable insights into managing downside exposure, capturing upside potential, and adapting investment strategies to a rapidly evolving global landscape.