Approved IAR CE Courses

A Deeper Look into Indexed Annuities is a 6.0-credit, advanced-level, text-only self-study course in the Products and Practice content area. The course provides an in-depth examination of fixed indexed annuities, including crediting methods, contract guarantees, risks and limitations, liquidity considerations, regulatory requirements, federal taxation, retirement-income planning, and indexed annuity performance analysis.

Participants examine annuity suitability and best-interest considerations, product comparisons, insurer risk, surrender provisions, replacement transactions, disclosures, proprietary indexes, and the role of indexed annuities in comprehensive financial planning. The course emphasizes evaluating annuity recommendations using client-specific objectives, risk tolerance, liquidity needs, applicable regulatory standards, and actual contract terms.

Required course reading consists of Chapters 4 through 11, pages 36–186, of the Morton-Barber Learning Center instructional textbook. Participants must complete the assigned reading and pass the required assessment to earn course credit.

Advanced Lifetime Income Strategies is a 6.0-credit text-only self-study Products and Practice course for investment adviser representatives and other financial-services professionals. The course examines advanced retirement-income and annuity planning, including longevity and sequence-of-returns risk, fixed, variable, indexed and registered index-linked annuities, deferred and immediate income strategies, federal taxation, Roth and required-minimum-distribution planning, qualified longevity annuity contracts, long-term-care and hybrid products, Medicaid considerations, high-net-worth and multigenerational planning, and integrated lifetime-income strategies. Participants evaluate product features, guarantees, liquidity, costs, taxation, market and insurer risks, disclosure and best-interest considerations, client objectives, available alternatives, and the integration of annuity strategies with investment assets, Social Security, healthcare needs, tax planning, liquidity requirements and estate or beneficiary objectives.

Ethical Considerations for Insurance Professionals is a 6.0-credit text-only self-study Ethics & Professional Responsibility course examining the principles and decision processes that support ethical conduct in financial-services settings. The course addresses professional ethics, codes of conduct, honesty, fairness, confidentiality, competence, accountability, ethical decision-making, conflicts of interest, client and consumer protection, the relationship between ethics and law, senior and vulnerable clients, privacy and data ethics, technology and artificial intelligence, ethical leadership, governance, global ethical challenges, and emerging professional-responsibility issues. Applied examples and case studies help participants evaluate ethical risks and choose responses that support client trust and professional competence.

Lifetime Income Strategies in a Modern World is a 6.0-credit text-only self-study Products and Practice course for investment adviser representatives and other financial-services professionals. The course examines annuities and lifetime-income planning through product structure, accumulation and payout mechanics, fixed, indexed, and variable annuities, longevity and market risk, retirement-income strategies, federal taxation, replacement, suitability and best-interest obligations, communications, supervision, recordkeeping, and client-oriented case studies. Participants evaluate product features, risks, costs, liquidity, guarantees, client objectives, available alternatives, and applicable insurance and securities standards in order to apply annuity concepts within broader retirement and financial planning.

Real World Ethics is a 6.0-credit text-only self-study Ethics & Professional Responsibility course for investment adviser representatives and other financial-services professionals. The required course consists of the locked Real World Ethics textbook plus an IAR Ethics & Professional Responsibility Supplement. Together, the materials examine professional ethics, competence, fiduciary and other role-specific duties, conflicts of interest, compensation incentives, client relationships, disclosure, professional capacity, confidentiality, objectivity, fairness, diligence, needs-based advice, senior and vulnerable clients, financial exploitation, fraud, supervision, dual-capacity issues, and selected current securities-conduct standards. Applied scenarios require participants to identify ethical issues and evaluate appropriate professional responses.