Approved IAR CE Courses

For most financial advisors, compliance is simply something you 'have to do' to satisfy regulators while providing financial advice. But in practice, regulations are put in place to protect consumers, and understanding the principles that underlie those regulations can make it easier to adhere to the requirements. In this session, Chief Financial Planning Nerd Michael Kitces is joined by compliance experts Terria Heng, Max Schatzow, and Leila Shaver to discuss what RIAs need to keep in mind as they seek to create a positive culture of compliance, develop and operate within their compliance policies and procedures, and what to watch out for to minimize the risk of audit deficiencies when compliance reviews inevitably come.

This course, Key Variables in Retirement Portfolio Analysis, provides financial professionals with a deep understanding of the factors that impact retirement portfolio sustainability and income adequacy. Participants will explore critical concepts such as asset allocation, withdrawal strategies, inflation considerations, portfolio costs, and the role of required minimum distributions (RMDs) in retirement planning. Through data-driven analysis, the course examines how different withdrawal methods'fixed-dollar, percentage-based, and RMDs'affect portfolio longevity, as well as the importance of adjusting historical returns for realistic future projections. Additionally, attendees learn how equity exposure helps combat inflation and why cost sensitivity plays a crucial role in long-term financial success. By the end of the course, professionals are equipped with the practical knowledge needed to implement low-expense retirement income strategies and optimize portfolio management for clients while meeting requirements as fiduciaries.

This session uses a business-owning client in his late 30s with a complex trust structure and a prenuptial agreement to expose a gap that appears in nearly every estate planning engagement: the difference between having documents and having an estate plan that is complete, funded, and actually works. Early-career advisors typically treat an executed estate plan as finished work; they review documents for content without verifying that assets are titled where the documents assume they are, and they miss the cascading legal consequences when that verification step is skipped. Participants will cross-reference document reviews, test them against a real titling gap discovered mid-engagement, and rehearse the client conversation that follows, uncovering a serious problem the client did not know existed. By the end, participants should be able to conduct a basic estate plan verification review, trace a titling gap through its downstream consequences, and communicate that finding to a client in plain language without triggering alarm.

This session uses the retirement of a high-asset couple in their late 50s as the vehicle to explore tax planning opportunities that are uniquely available in early retirement and almost universally overlooked, specifically the 0% long-term capital gains rate, the ACA Premium Tax Credit, and non-conventional account distribution sequencing. The purpose is to surface two blind spots that early-career advisors commonly carry into this type of case: framing retirement income as a portfolio yield problem rather than a 1040 management problem, and defaulting to Roth conversions as the obvious pre-RMD move without recognizing when that default closes off strategies that save more tax with greater certainty. Beyond the technical content, participants will practice two behavioral experiences that rarely get rehearsal time — reframing a client's presenting concern without dismissing it and holding a sound recommendation under pressure when a client keeps returning to something they want that the numbers don't support. Participants should leave with a sharper eye for early retirement tax windows, a clearer instinct for when a conventional planning default needs to be questioned, and enough practice with the client communication moments that they're not encountering them for the first time when it counts.

This session uses a high-earning couple in their early 40s with nearly their entire net worth concentrated in a C-Corp startup position to explore the planning decisions that arise when a major liquidity event is imminent, and the impact of taxes are at a magnitude in the millions. Early-career advisors typically see a concentrated stock situation and default their recommendations to a sell-or-hold paradigm; they tend to miss both the qualifying criteria that could eliminate the tax entirely and the strategies that, when structured correctly, can multiply that elimination across the whole family. Participants will sketch their own recommendations, compare them against the expert path, and rehearse the client conversation in a small-group role-play. By the end, participants should be able to identify the QSBS fact pattern in a real client situation, articulate the stack-and-pack strategy to a skeptical client, and hold the hedging-versus-concentration frame under client pressure.

The lynchpin of the securities industry is the customer, and they must be considered above all else. If registered representative are to maintain high standards of ethical behavior, they must know and understand both the customer’s many facets, as well as the security they are recommending. FINRA has set up two “sister” rules that ensure fair dealing with the customer: 2090 (Know Your Customer) and 2111 (Suitability). This course examines certain facts essential to knowing the customer and making suitable recommendations.

This course discusses the key aspects of the FINRA Know Your Customer rule. The course contrasts Know Your Customer requirements with variable annuity suitability requirements. Additionally, this course reviews the features of a variable annuity and supervisory responsibilities in regards to variable annuities.

When the SEC takes action, it sends a clear message to the industry. Each enforcement case provides a real-world lesson in what effective compliance looks like and what happens when it falls short. This course walks you through case studies where firms failed to meet expectations, from undisclosed revenue-sharing arrangements to inadequate wrap fee monitoring. You will explore what went wrong, how it violated SEC rules, and what should have been done differently. The course also provides a practical explanation of key SEC rules, including fiduciary duty, Form ADV requirements, and the Marketing Rule, along with tools to help you recognize red flags and avoid common compliance mistakes. By learning from real enforcement outcomes, you will be better prepared to protect clients, support your firm, and strengthen your professional judgment.