Approved IAR CE Courses

This self-study course equips Registered Investment Advisers and Investment Adviser Representatives with practical tools to establish and maintain professional boundaries while strengthening client relationships. Using current NASAA and SEC expectations as the ethical and regulatory backbone, the course clarifies role boundaries, highlights risks of boundary erosion, and translates rules into everyday practices across modern communication channels. Through scenarios and policy templates, learners will practice identifying red flags, resolving boundary challenges, documenting decisions, and building firmwide procedures that promote trust, fairness, and compliance.

This program fulfills the requirement for CFP Board approved Ethics CE. It has been designed to educate CFP' professionals on CFP Board's new Code of Ethics and Standards of Conduct effective October 1, 2019. In this engaging and thought-provoking webinar on CFP ethics, Shelitha Smodic will delve into the ethical considerations and responsibilities of Certified Financial Planners. Explore the intricate balance between client relationships, fiduciary duty, and personal integrity, as we navigate the complex ethical landscape in the financial industry.

This course teaches financial professionals how to deliver insights that clients can hear, understand, and act upon during periods of market stress. Drawing on financial counseling principles and applied behavioral psychology, the program explains why client emotions often block rational decision-making and how advisers can ethically work through that resistance. Participants learn how framing, contrast, anchoring, and social proof influence client perception of risk, return, and long-term outcomes. The class emphasizes translating market data into real-life meaning that aligns with client goals and values. By the end of the program, advisers will be better equipped to communicate expertise in ways that strengthen trust, improve client outcomes, and reinforce fiduciary responsibility.

This course explores the transformative power of DEI within financial advisory firms, emphasizing its ethical implications and strategic advantages. Participants will gain a deeper understanding of how DEI principles foster innovation, enhance client relationships, and create equitable opportunities for employees. Through real-world case studies, actionable strategies, and regulatory insights, the course provides tools to integrate DEI into workplace cultures, client interactions, and long-term business strategies. This course empowers advisors, leaders, and compliance professionals to drive meaningful change, and position their firms as leaders in inclusivity and equity. By the end of the course, participants will be equipped with the knowledge and tools to create a more equitable financial ecosystem that benefits employees, clients, and the broader community

To heighten the standard of conduct for broker-dealers, and their registered representatives, the SEC introduced Regulation Best Interest (Reg BI). Reg BI holds broker-dealers and their representatives to a set of standards that exceed suitability requirements. Reg BI requires broker-dealers and their reps to act in their retail customers' best interest when a recommendation is made, without placing the interests of the firm ahead of their customers' interests. Reg BI alsorequires firms to either eliminate or disclose and mitigate, conflicts of interest. This course describesRegulation BI in detail, including who it applies to as well as the obligations that it carries. The course also compares Regulation BI to the suitability standard that has been required for broker-dealers, and to the fiduciary standard standard that is required for investment advisers and their representatives. The course also describes the content, goals, and scope of the new Form CRS. The course ends with a discussion of compliance issues related to Reg BI and Form CRS.

This course is intended for investment adviser representatives, and provides an in-depth review of financial exploitation of senior adults and how investment advisers can identify and prevent it. It includes five sections that focus on defining financial exploitation, risk factors of seniors, perpetrators of financial exploitation, identifying and responding to suspected exploitation, and suggested business practices for preventing financial exploitation.

This course will introduce the registered representative to some specific risks seniors face in today’s investment environment. We will closely examine the need for protecting the senior’s assets from “external” risks such as fraud, identity theft, investment risks, and “internal” risks such as the senior’s own mental health. The regulatory agencies are encouraging firms to increase their awareness of the dangers to seniors. As such, we will identify warning signs and present potential safeguards throughout the course.

Over half a million divorces occur in America every year, indicating that financial planners are likely to encounter client couples facing divorce within their practice. Due to the adversarial nature of the legal process, the emotional and financial strain on divorcing couples is often exacerbated, leading clients to experience significant stress and leaving advisors looking for ways to offer help. While financial planners are uniquely positioned to provide impactful support due to the collaborative and problem-solving nature of their work, they must navigate complex ethical considerations when working with clients undergoing divorce. This includes maintaining professional integrity while managing evolving client relationships and knowing when to call in specialized divorce planning experts.In this webinar, expert Michael Kothakota will discuss how financial planners can position themselves to support clients facing divorce. He will cover strategies to navigate the ethical and emotional aspects of divorce planning, ensuring that planners are well-equipped to provide the best possible guidance during such a challenging time.

The course will examine the evolution of trusts and then provide the history of both the Prudent Man Rule and Uniform Prudent Investor Act (UPIA). The concept of portfolio diversification and why it's an ethical requirement will be analyzed. Violations of the UPIA will be described and a hypothetical case study with examples of a trustee committing ethical violations is provided.