Approved IAR CE Courses

Times are changing rapidly. Cars can drive themselves. Artificial intelligence is reshaping everyday life. Careers are becoming more flexible than ever before, with remote work, portfolio careers, and longer working lives replacing traditional employment paths. As the world evolves, clients' expectations and goals are evolving with it. Retirement is no exception.

In this webinar, Adam Van Deusen explores how the traditional concept of retirement, where a client leaves a full-time career followed by a period where the client fully exits the workforce, is a relatively modern construct and is increasingly no longer the only model for retirement planning. Adam introduces five retirement paths: traditional retirement, financial independence, sabbaticals, Coast FIRE, and semi-retirement, highlighting the unique benefits, trade-offs, and planning considerations associated with each. Adam emphasizes the advisor's role in helping clients recognize these alternatives, identify the path that best fits their values and financial circumstances, and assist clients in thinking through tax strategies, health insurance planning, retirement income planning, and stress testing to help clients successfully implement flexible retirement strategies.

This quiz includes the following articles: Form U4: Common Missteps And Best Practices For RIAs; and RIA Code Of Ethics: Important Nuances To Note In Relatively Straightforward Requirements

This quiz will include a review of the following articles: Framing Prospect Conversations Around What Motivates Them Today (And Not Their Future Goals) and Discovery Meeting Framework: 6 Questions To Help Prospects Who Are Resistant To Change

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.