Approved IAR CE Courses

This presentation introduces a simple 4-step retirement income plan that helps advisors gain a deeper understanding of the client's attitudes toward lifestyle and legacy goals. Goal-based retirement planning provides a client-driven process that matches investment risk and financial product selection to spending. Moving beyond a traditional withdrawal strategy and failure rates demonstrates the need for spending adjustments and provides a framework for discussing products that reduce longevity risk. Through a better understanding of client preferences and a deliberate discussion of objectives and income tradeoffs, the goal-based income plan provides retirees with a deeper and more realistic understanding of how their investments relate to how they spend in retirement.. At this webinar, Professor of Wealth Management at The American College of Financial Services, Michael Finke, explains the practical implementation of a simple 4-step retirement income plan designed to help financial planners gain a deeper understanding of their clients' attitudes toward lifestyle and legacy goals.

In this session, learners will review two estate planning articles from the Nerd's Eye View blog by David Haughton, JD, CPWA: Creating Incentive Trusts To Foster Beneficiary Legacies Without Spoiling The Kids and Making Estate Planning More Tax Efficient And Equitable For Beneficiaries By NOT Just Splitting The Assets Evenly. Both articles examine how inherited assets may impact beneficiaries and how clients, with the assistance of their advisors, can be proactive by planning for the realities of future inheritances. In the first article, Haughton walks through the common ways decedents transfer assets to beneficiaries and explains how incentive trusts can be used to incentivize (or disincentivize) behaviors in accordance with their values, such as personal responsibility, entrepreneurship, and philanthropy. In the second article, Haughton discusses how clients commonly leave their beneficiaries equal amounts of each asset to be distributed as a way to split assets tax-efficiently and equitably. But Haughton suggests an alternative asset-by-asset approach that can be more effective, which considers the beneficiary's unique financial circumstances and that may result in a more equitable split of assets. This article explains the approach, its advantages and disadvantages, and when it may be a useful strategy for clients to adopt.

Bonds are a common part of a client's investment portfolio. However, common does not mean uncomplicated. The bond type, method of purchase, and circumstances by which it is sold can all impact how a bond's basis is adjusted, the tax that will be applied, and the applicable forms for tax reporting. In this webinar, Tim Steffen, CPA/PFS, CFP', CPWA' demystifies taxation rules on bonds that can be easily overlooked, such as the tax treatment on Original Issue Discount (OID) bonds, market discount, and premium on bonds. For each unique bond scenario, Tim explains options for how applicable taxes on bonds can be reported and walks through how to review the forms used for tax reporting. Tim concludes this webinar with a review of savings bonds that are particularly popular in a high-interest rate environment and highlights the difference between how individual bonds and bond funds are taxed.

In this continuing education session, the learner will read three articles from the Nerd's Eye View blog.In 'Designing 'Custom GPTs' With Advanced ChatGPT Features To Enhance Advisor Capabilities With AI', David Ortiz walks readers through how he uses CustomGPTs to create efficiency in his practice through prompt engineering. Ortiz explains how AI tools can be utilized in conjunction with client meetings to enhance client engagement. In ''Legacy IRA' Rollover To A Charitable Gift Annuity: Using This New Tax-Advantaged Opportunity To Help', Kathleen Rehl shares her experience creating her "Legacy IRA" rollover to a Charitable Gift Annuity to support her chosen nonprofits after Congress passed the SECURE 2.0 legislation, highlighting the potential benefits of creating a legacy IRA. In 'In The Long Run, Stocks Outperform Bonds' Or Do They?', Larry Swedroe explains recent studies on the performance of stocks and bonds and how these studies may alter the advisor's understanding of long-term stock and bond performance and of using bonds as portfolio diversifiers.

In this continuing education session, learners will review 2 Nerd Eye View blog articles: Using Digital Estate Planning Platforms To Complement Attorney And Advisor Roles and Seeking Best Execution: Understanding The SEC's Expectations For Advisors To Deliver Best Outcomes For Clients. In the first article, David Haughton provides an overview of digital estate planning platforms, including their beneficial applications for clients and limitations. David then discusses the concept of the unauthorized practice of law and how advisors can mitigate ethical and legal concerns associated with digital estate planning platforms. In the second article, Chris Stanley explains the fiduciary duty of investment advisors in relation to the best execution of client securities transactions. In this article, SEC expectations, guidance from the 2018 Risk Alert, and directed brokerage arrangements are discussed.

We live in a digital world. Our entire life is becoming stored online in the cloud, but very few people understand or plan for what this means from an asset transfer, management, and ownership standpoint. What happens to your emails, passwords, photos, and websites when you pass away? Honestly, it really depends on your level of planning. Most states now require you to do affirmative planning in order to pass on these assets to your heirs or to allow others to access the information. Failure to do such planning could leave your assets tied up forever in the cloud, unavailable to business partners or loved ones, causing tremendous hardship and financial damages. So learn the rules around digital asset ownership, transfer, and how to set up a digital asset estate under the new law RUFADAA.

In this continuing education session, learners will review 2 Nerd Eye's View blog articles: 6 Discovery Meeting Questions To Find Clients' (Real) 'Why' And Set Goals That (Actually) Resonate and Helping Clients Understand When They Have Enough Retirement Savings To 'Coast FIRE' (And Keep Working Without Necessarily Contributing More). In the first article, Meghaan Lurtz, Ph.D., FBS, explores why early financial planning conversations often fall flat when advisors rush into structured goal-setting without first addressing a client's emotional state. She emphasizes the importance of timing and vision-building, showing how meaningful, motivating goals are best developed after initial stressors are acknowledged and trust is established. In this article, Adam Deusen, CFP' describes an alternative to the traditional early retirement movement: Coast FIRE, illustrating how to identify interested clients and practically how to address the financial and psychological risks associated with Coast FIRE.