This course equips advisors with the knowledge and tools to navigate ethical challenges during times of financial crises and market volatility. Advisors will explore key ethical principles, such as transparency, accountability, and empathy, while learning how to manage client relationships under pressure. Through real-world case studies and actionable frameworks, participants will examine the complexities of balancing short-term decisions with long-term goals, addressing conflicts of interest, and using financial products responsibly. The course emphasizes best practices for ethical crisis management, including leveraging technology, understanding behavioral finance insights, and fostering a firm-wide culture of integrity. Advisors will also gain insights into emerging challenges, such as data privacy, sustainable investing, and the ethical use of artificial intelligence.
The course will examine the importance of maintaining ethical policies and procedures when clients are faced with making decisions during times of market uncertainty. A description is provided of the different types of market volatility and how investors typically react. Some of the most effective methods that can be used to manage client concerns will be covered. Case studies will be provided throughout to provide real-world examples of the various issues and how they should be handled.
In today's increasingly complex regulatory and technological landscape, business continuity and succession planning have become essential components of an investment adviser's fiduciary responsibility. These two documents serve as operational guardrails, protecting both clients and advisory firms from disruption, client uncertainty, and reputational harm. This self-study guide was developed to equip financial professionals with a comprehensive understanding of the ethical, regulatory, and practical considerations involved in developing and maintaining effective business continuity and succession strategies.
This course provides a foundational framework for understanding how ethical decision-makingoccurs in a business context. The course covers how ethical standards are established, as well as the importance of observing them. The investment adviser representative is encouraged toevaluate how the norms within a workplace can have a positive or negative impact on the ethicalbehavior of individuals. Theories of ethics are discussed, including the history, advantages,and limitations of each, with examples to illustrate the implications of different approaches toethics. Through discussion and examples, the representative is encouraged to take a balancedand thoughtful approach to understanding ethical decision-making. The course distinguishesbetween actions that are obligatory, permissible, and impermissible. The course discusses theinvestment adviser representative's obligation to take the client's values into account whenmaking investment recommendations. Examples of ethical decision-making are presented thatrequire the IAR to either determine the best course of action or understand the thought processbehind a particular ethical decision.
This course examines the previous regulatory approach to investment adviser advertising and thenanalyzes the purpose of the new SEC Marketing Rule. The important terms used in the new rule willbe defined and explained to ensure understanding of the application of the rule. The rule's numerousexceptions and prohibitions will be explained so that readers understand how advisers must analyzethe particular facts and circumstances of each advertisement for compliance. Since the rule nowpermits advisers to use testimonials and endorsements as well as third-party ratings, the course willcover the specific conditions and requirements for their use/inclusion. Finally, the requirements for including performance advertising are examined.
Exchange-Traded Funds (ETFs) have grown rapidly since their inception in 1993. This course will explain their features and characteristics, how they trade, the creation/redemption process, and some applications.
This course delves into key concepts related to ETFs including the creation and redemptionmechanism as well as arbitrage. Both passive and active management strategies are discussed including index, inverse and leveraged ETFs.