Approved IAR CE Courses

In today's rapidly evolving financial landscape, the role of Investment Advisor Representatives (IARs) has never been more crucial. Clients turn to investment advisor representatives not only for their expertise but for their integrity, ethical judgment, and unwavering commitment to acting in clients' best interests. This course will provide you with a thorough understanding of the principles and regulations that underpin ethical conduct in the insurance and financial advisory industries.

The course will introduce the basics of interest, interest rates, and a history of lending. The course will also teach students about the relationship between the economy, interest rates, and the Federal Reserve. In the final sections, the course will review how bonds and stocks are effected by interest rates.

The fiduciary responsiblity that investment advisers and investment adviser representatives have with their clients includes the duty of care, which means that they must have the knowledge of the products they recommend and the ability to explain both the benefits and risks of the investments. Annuities can be complex products that offer characteristics of insurance and securities investments. In the past, these have been the focus of regulators regarding unsuitable recommendations and this course will describe the fundamental characteristics, risks, and benefits of annuities so thatinvestment adviser representatives can feel comfortable and knowledgeable when providing suchrecommendations to their clients.

This course presents an introduction to many of the core principles of behavioral finance. In this course, participants will learn about some of the assumptions underlying standard finance theoryand how behavioral finance undermines some of these assumptions, specifically regarding whether investor and market behavior is rational. The course will cover cognitive and emotional biases, and how these biases can sometimes lead to poor investment decisions. To learn aboutthese biases, participants will explore examples of how they can affect their own investment behavior and the behavior of the markets. Finally, the course will cover practical applications of behavioral finance principles, such as how to formulate an ideal employee retirement plan and novel methods of encouraging bank account holders to increase their savings.

This session provides a comprehensive introduction to the key principles and tools of estate planning. Participants will explore the goals of estate planning, essential documents such as wills, trusts, and powers of attorney, and the basics of federal estate and gift tax regulations. The session also covers state estate and inheritance taxes, along with the strategic role of life insurance in ensuring liquidity, equalizing inheritances, and funding buy-sell agreements. Ideal for professionals and individuals seeking a solid grounding in estate planning essentials.

This course provides a concise overview of the Investment Adviser Representative (IAR) Continuing Education (CE) requirements. Participants will explore the history and purpose of the IAR CE rule, understand basic requirements across categories such as Products and Practice and Ethics and Professional Responsibility, and learn to identify approved course providers.The course will also cover managing and tracking CE credits using tools like FinPro, as well as navigating professional designations and dual registration. Knowledge assessments will reinforce learning, equipping participants to confidently comply with IAR CE requirements.

This course introduces financial professionals to the information they will need to understand the products and services that are integral components of comprehensive investment planning programs.

This course is a self-studying offering that has no prerequisites or advanced preparation required. It is designed for participants who are on a basic to intermediate level.

The course will help financial professionals:

Learn and be able discuss investor objectives such as preservation of capital, growth and speculation
Understand the key characteristics of, and differences among, investment asset classes
Gain an overview of common investment techniques such as diversification and dollar cost averaging
Obtain an overview of how investment markets are regulated
Understand how investments trade on exchange and over-the-counter markets, including market participants, types of trading accounts, and mechanics of placing orders
Develop a more fluent investment vocabulary by knowing common terms used in discussing strategies and options with clients

This course will introduce the process of conducting fundamental and technical analysis. The fundamental analysis section will cover the income statement, balance sheet, and financial filings with the SEC. Then, the course will go over the calculation of earnings per share (EPS) and fully diluted EPS. It will also cover profit margins and coverage ratios. After a brief explanation of the balance sheet, the course will then examine return on equity, price to book value, and liquidity measurements. The final part of the fundamental analysis section will cover the price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio and valuing a company based on its dividends. Technical analysis will be covered last and includes information on technical patterns and theories.

In today's competitive financial services market, your ability to use estate and financial planning techniques to the best advantage of your clients is vital to your success. Trusts are one of the major building blocks of those techniques. This course is designed to cast you in the role of financial planner for five clients. You will interview the clients to determine their circumstances, needs, and resources. You will analyze their situations to develop a financial plan using trusts, and you will implement the plan with the execution of appropriate documents.