Approved IAR CE Courses

One of the fundamental aspects of financial advising is creating diversified portfolios tailored to the client's needs. However, when it comes to long-term portfolio success, it's not just about what investments the client owns, but where they own them. Asset location is a commonly overlooked strategy in portfolio construction that can cost clients hundreds of thousands of dollars over their lifetime. In this webinar, Michael Kitces explains how asset location can be used to optimize after-tax returns and why the traditional 'pro rata' method may not be the most effective approach. Throughout the session, Michael illustrates how tax characteristics, account types, expected returns, and investor behavior intersect to drive wealth outcomes. Through the framework of the 'Asset Location Smile,' topics such as tax drag from dividends and turnover, the impact of time horizons, special considerations for Roths, 529s, non-qualified annuities, and held-away accounts will be discussed.

The Department of Labor (DoL) Retirement Security Rule (the "Final Rule") will go into effect on September 23, 2024. This rule significantly expands the application of the fiduciary standard, providing advisors with the task of reviewing their compliance programs and updating their processes to meet the new fiduciary standards. In this webinar, Jacqueline Hummel reviews the evolution of the Department of Labor's Retirement Security Rule, bringing advisors up-to-date with the latest information about the scope and implications of this fiduciary standard. She further explains changes to Prohibited Transaction Exemption (PTE) 2020-02 and provides practical, actionable tips on how advisors can comply with the Retirement Security Rule.

Ever go through the process of reviewing a client’s risk tolerance questionnaire, only to find that their responses do not match their behavior during a financial crisis? If so, you are not alone. Most advisors have stories of just this scenario, with the results ranging from a good opportunity for client connection or education to disastrous impacts on a client’s portfolio or on the advisor-client relationship.

In this webinar, Dr. Meghaan Lurtz shares research-based findings on how financial advisors can reframe conversations about risk to foster deeper client understanding and risk alignment. She challenges the limitations of traditional risk tolerance questionnaires, advocating for a more human-centered, behaviorally informed approach that recognizes risk as contextual, emotional, and multidimensional. Using the seven dimensions of risk, she illustrates how planners can have richer, more empathetic discussions about risk, moving the conversation from a perfunctory assessment to an exercise that builds client trust, emotional safety, and decision-making.

Change is constant, yet navigating it is often a challenge for individuals, especially during pivotal financial moments. This session equips financial advisors with the tools and frameworks to become effective agents of change, leveraging the Transtheoretical Model (TTM) to guide clients through the complexities of financial decision-making. Attendees will explore real-world case studies, uncover techniques to manage client ambivalence, and develop strategies to foster client confidence and self-efficacy. By mastering the art of adaptive communication and scenario planning, advisors can help clients align their financial behaviors with long-term goals, creating meaningful, lasting change.

Healthcare ranks on top of the list as a big worry for clients as they approach retirement. In this session, Dr. McClanahan will share her checklist of preparing clients for their healthcare and insurance issues before retirement, at retirement, during retirement and at the end of life.

In this continuing education session, learners will review 3 Nerd's Eye View articles: Why Held-Away Asset Management Technology Is Being Scrutinized By State Regulators (And How Advisors Can Compliantly Manage Clients' 401(k) Assets), How RIAs Can Launch A Private Fund: Legal Requirements And Common Missteps, and A Recordkeeping Checklist For Financial Planning Services: Proactive Documentation Of Service Delivery To Reduce Regulatory Scrutiny. In the first article, Ben-Henry Moreland discusses the challenges financial advisors face when managing clients' employer-sponsored retirement accounts, how data aggregation tools have evolved to address these challenges, and the regulatory concerns associated with held-away asset management. In the second article, Richard Chen explains how RIAs can establish a private fund along with the regulatory requirements and risks associated with managing a private fund. In the third article, Travis Johnson, IACCP' explains bookkeeping requirements for Registered Investment Advisers (RIAs) and how to use checklists to assist firms in auditing their books and records.

In this continuing education session, the learner will read three articles from the Nerd's Eye View blog: 'Using 'Magic Wand' Questions To Help Clients Articulate Financial Needs And Goals (That They Otherwise Struggle To Express)', 'Drafting A Power Of Attorney (POA) Using A Comprehensive 'Kitchen Sink' Approach To Avoid Common Pitfalls', and 'Using A Testamentary Charitable Remainder Unitrust (T-CRUT) To Give Twice To Both Loved Ones And Charitable Organizations'. In 'Using 'Magic Wand' Questions To Help Clients Articulate Financial Needs And Goals (That They Otherwise Struggle To Express)', Dr. Meghaan Lurtz discusses how to use "magic wand" questions to ease client tensions while exploring their financial goals, concerns, and dreams. How this strategy can be used to facilitate financial discussions with couple clients is also discussed.In 'Drafting A Power Of Attorney (POA) Using A Comprehensive 'Kitchen Sink' Approach To Avoid Common Pitfalls', David Hauhgton, JD, CPWA, explains the common power of attorney features that could lead to rejection by financial institutions and how they can be addressed through conscientious drafting or with actions post-rejection.In 'Using A Testamentary Charitable Remainder Unitrust (T-CRUT) To Give Twice To Both Loved Ones And Charitable Organizations,' Kathleen M. Rehl, PhD, CFP, CEFT emeritus, explains how Testamentary Charitable Remainder Unitrusts function and shares her experience in establishing one. She concludes this article with a review of the pros and cons of implementing a T-CRUT and the types of clients these trusts may be a good fit for.

A unique element of financial planning is that client relationships can last for a very long time, with many advisors assisting clients over the course of decades as their financial planning needs evolve in step with their personal lives. Due to this aspect of the planning relationship, it is almost inevitable that an advisor will encounter a time when a client is diagnosed with a terminal illness. And while it is important for the advisor to review technical areas of the financial plan (from cash flow to estate planning) with these clients, an even more critical consideration is how to best communicate and interact with a client whose thoughts are consumed by their illness. If the advisor isn't aware of the strategies for working with a client with a 'sick brain', all the best financial plans will be useless.

In this continuing education session, learners will review 2 Nerd’s Eye View blog articles: Helping Underspenders And “Savers” Understand They CAN Spend More With 4 Stages Of “Experiments”, Minimize The Data-Gathering Slog: Using “WOOP” Framework To Get Clients To Act, and From Risk Profile To Risk Partnership: 9 Questions To Understand Clients’ Risk Tolerance As More Than ‘Just’ A Score.

First, author Meghaan Lurtz explores how long-standing saver identities, doom forecasting, and the psychological discomfort associated with drawing down assets can inhibit retirees from spending in ways that align with their stated goals and values. Rather than focusing solely on technical withdrawal strategies, the discussion emphasizes the advisor’s role in identifying whether a client’s frugality reflects deeply held personal values or fear-based constraints.

In the next article, Sydney Squires examines how advisors can apply Dr. Gabriele Oettingen’s WOOP (Wish, Outcome, Obstacle, Plan) framework to improve client engagement and follow-through during and after the discovery meeting. The discussion examines the behavioral science behind mental contrasting, the limitations of positive thinking alone, and the common “value-action gap” that prevents clients from acting on their stated goals.

Lastly, we turn back to Meghaan Lurtz to review how financial advisors can reframe risk tolerance as an ongoing partnership conversation rather than a static questionnaire score. The session explores the multidimensional nature of client risk—including tolerance, capacity, composure, perception, literacy, and related behavioral factors—and the limitations of relying solely on traditional risk profiling tools.