Approved IAR CE Courses

State-sponsored retirement programs—often referred to as auto-IRA programs—are rapidly expanding across the country. And for financial advisors, they represent a meaningful opportunity to help individuals along their retirement savings journey and achieve financial security.

In this timely webinar, two leading experts will break down what’s happening—and what it means for your practice.
Angela Antonelli, Executive Director of the Center for Retirement Initiatives at Georgetown University, will provide a comprehensive overview of the state-run retirement landscape, including how auto-IRA programs work, which states have active mandates, and where expansion is headed next.

Peter Thompson of Commonwealth Savers will then take a deeper dive into RetirePath, one of the newer state-facilitated programs, and explain how it is evolving as it rolls out to more businesses later this year.

Together, they will help you understand:
1. How auto-IRA programs are reshaping the small business retirement market
2. Which employers are impacted—and when
3. Where advisors can still add value (and where they may be disintermediated)
4. How programs like RetirePath actually function in practice
5. Strategic ways to position yourself as a solution—not a substitute

As more states implement mandates and enforcement ramps up, advisors who understand this landscape will be better equipped to protect existing relationships, identify new opportunities, and guide clients with confidence. If you work with small business owners—or plan to—this is a conversation you can’t afford to miss.

IRA rollover recommendations are among the most common decisions financial advisors help clients make—and they can also present significant fiduciary and compliance considerations. In this session, securities attorney Michelle Atlas-Quinn will provide an in-depth look at how financial professionals can apply their fiduciary duty when advising clients on whether to remain in an employer plan, roll assets to another employer plan or IRA, or take a distribution.

Michelle will explain the key distinctions between financial advice and financial education, the conflicts of interest that can arise in rollover recommendations, and a practical seven-step Duty of Care process for evaluating a client’s alternatives. Through real-world scenarios and case studies, she’ll explore how advisors should evaluate costs, services, investment options, creditor protection, tax considerations, and client-specific needs—and why cost should be an important factor, but never the only factor.

The session will also examine documentation best practices, compensation-related conflicts, directed rollover requests, and common compliance pitfalls. Advisors will leave with a practical framework for making and documenting rollover recommendations that are client-specific, well-supported, and consistent with their fiduciary responsibilities.

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This month, we review October blog articles. This quiz includes the following articles: Helping Nervous Clients Understand The (True) State Of The Social Security System And What It Means For Their Retirement, Alternative Minimum Tax (AMT) Planning After TCJA Sunset: Preparing Clients To (Re)Encounter AMT After 2025, and Why Advertising 'Conflict-Free' Advice Could Violate The SEC's Marketing Rule.

This course provides financial professionals with a data-driven overview of today’s college admissions landscape, including key trends in selectivity, testing policies, and application strategies. Participants will learn how these changes impact planning considerations and how to incorporate admissions insights into more effective client conversations around education and financial planning.

This course has been developed to give financial and insurance professionals a complete guide to understanding annuities, annuity tax laws and contract structure

This course has been developed to give financial and insurance professionals a complete guide to understanding annuities, annuity tax laws and contract structure, and their suitability ethicalmarketing practices and Senior Fraud

This course provides an overview of the procedures and objectives of a Wisconsin Division of Securities examination of a state-registered investment adviser. It also reviews common deficiencies found by the Division and how advisers can take steps to prevent them.

The Bernie Madoff scandal in 2008 cast new light on an age-old challenge for investors, financial professionals, and regulators. Too often, our psychological and procedural defenses are set up to detect threats from the outside'burglars, hackers, corporate espionage attacks, fraudulent robo-callers, strangers in our midst. But how do we defend ourselves from the trusted criminal'the admired and respected high-achiever who wins our trust, and then betrays us? A better understanding of how Madoff's fraud worked can inform a smarter approach to this hazard for all investors and for everyone trying to keep investors safe from such predators.