Approved IAR CE Courses

America is aging and firms are struggling to meet the needs of senior clients. Because advisers can help mitigate the potentially devastating financial impact of cognitive decline, regulators urgeinvestment advisers to develop specific procedures to recognize and formally respond to diminished capacity to prevent financial and personal abuse. Indeed, the ethical responsibility and capacity toto observe changes in and make judgments about senior investor behavior and ability places investment adviser representatives in a unique and challenging position. To protect vulnerable clients, IARs must demonstrate subject matter expertise, patience, empathy, vigilance, an understanding of how people age normally'and how to respond, escalate, and document when and IAR suspects a client with diminished capacity is becoming vulnerable. Notably, IARs are both obligated by law'and protected by law'to report their suspicions.This course, The Ethics of Recognizing Diminished Capacity, discusses the symptoms of diminished cognitive and financial capacity and how financial professionals must identify and mitigate any harm,thereby protecting the client, the adviser, and the firm. It identifies the most frequent types of suitability ...

Regulation S P is the operative federal rule for adviser customer data protection today. Safeguarding customer information is the crux of maintaining investor trust, meeting regulatory obligations, and the protecting the integrity of the markets. This course reviews the purpose, scope, and recent amendments to the SEC’s Regulation S P, with emphasis on how protecting customer information is a shared and proactive responsibility across business units, supervisory functions, and operational roles. Use this guidance to reinforce awareness of responsibilities, understand escalation expectations, and recognize how individual conduct contributes to firm compliance. Scenarios and a case study demonstrate the SEC’s enhanced expectations of firms and advisers. The SEC now treats protection of customer information as a governance and controls issue; it is no longer just a disclosure obligation. Reg S-P requires firms to be operationally prepared to detect, respond, document, and notify individuals of unauthorized access to sensitive customer information within certain timeframes. These obligations apply across the firm and are integrated into supervisory systems, vendor oversight, and recordkeeping practices. Moreover, regulators and examiners assess compliance only on evidence. Firms must maintain written policies and incident response programs, records of vendor oversight, and clear documentation of actions taken in response to information security events. Even in the absence of a data breach, the inability to demonstrate preparedness may result in examination findings or supervisory deficiencies.

Money laundering can have a devastating effect on the economic development and political stabilityof some countries as it supports some of the worst criminal activity in others. It represents one of themost pressing issues facing domestic and international financial markets and is a primary concern for regulatory authorities. This course is a two-part, two-credit course covering both thefundamentals of combating money laundering and the latest AML trends and developments.

Asset allocation is the process of determining the optimal allocations for the broad categories of assets (stocks, bonds, cash, and real estate) that match an investor's time horizon and risk tolerance. This course explains asset allocation and fundamental methods for determining a sound allocation, including suitability, developing an investor profile, formulas, and distributions. It coversthe concept of the efficient market hypothesis, a fundamental concept to the mechanics of asset allocation, as well as optimal portfolio theory and portfolio risk and correlation, two methods thatapply the central concepts in asset allocation to actual portfolio management.

Investment Adviser Representative: Counteract Sexual Harassment & Foster a Culture of Compliance is a two-part, two-credit course. It is designed for investment adviser representatives and supervisors who wish to work in and foster a firm culture of compliance that supports ethicaland legal behavior from a human and institutional perspective. Sexual harassment is a pervasive issue that every employer and employee must address. Part I discusses the rules and cases thatdefine sexual harassment. It describes the types and the subjective nature of sexual harassment law.Part I helps supervisors identify the elements of a sexual harassment policy and why a comprehensive, written, and universally understood workplace policy is necessary. It outlines how asexual harassment policy is best followed and enforced when people at all levels of a company areinvolved, and how it protects both individual employees and the employer. Part II broadens the focusto why a culture of compliance and ethical behavior is important in not only preventing sexual harassment but in working in an ethical and productive environment that respects both its people the laws. **continued on attachment

Even legitimate products and sales practices can be problematic for seniors, meaning that even IARs with the best intentions have received deficiency letters and fines. Meanwhile, well-meaningIARs can demonstrate a lack of sensitivity to senior clients and their unique issues. And even worse,as has been demonstrated in recent examinations'others have deliberately exploited thisvulnerability, and scams targeting older investors are on the rise. IAR Senior Protection: Ethical Sales & Account Practices reviews the unethical, fraudulent and misleading activities discoveredduring regulatory examinations initiated by industry regulators and outlined in the SEC's National Senior Investor Initiative Report, the 2019 SEC Examination of Investment Advisers, and NASAA'sInvestment Adviser Coordinated Exams reports in 2021 and 2023. The course highlights how to adjust the advising approach for seniors and the unique factors to consider so that recommendations are in your senior clients' best interest. It explains The NASAA Model Act to Protect Vulnerable Adults from Financial Exploitation, which, when adopted as regulation or *** continued on Timed Outline