IAR CE Individual Courses

Understand the unique needs of retired individuals, the resources available to meet those needs, and planning techniques available to clients at various stages of life. This course considers life insurance, annuities, health insurance, and long-term care, and covers critical market conduct issues.

Learn how annuities can satisfy client investment goals. This course discusses the features of annuities and where they belong within the range of retirement saving and distribution options that are available to clients. The course also links annuity features to the sales process.

Learn the fundamentals of individual annuity contracts. This course covers variable annuities in depth, distinguishing them from fixed annuities and discussing variations such as single and periodic premium, immediate and deferred annuities. How annuities are used and tax rules are also covered.

Money laundering occurs when funds from illicit activities are made to look like legitimate funds. The process attempts to disguise the financial assets so they can be used without detecting the illegal activities that produced them. Money laundering has devastating social consequences. The tainted funds are used to finance a wide range of illegal activities, such as narcotics trafficking, arms smuggling, financial frauds, trafficking human beings, and financing terrorism. This course, Anti-Money Laundering: Applying the Rules, will provide you with a clear understanding of the various techniques by which money laundering occurs; the laws, rules, and regulations regarding money laundering; unusual and suspicious activities that may indicate money laundering activities; the scope and importance of AML programs; and the individual agent's and representative's responsibilities in preventing money laundering.

This course provides students with knowledge and understanding of the threats and problems created by money laundering and how money launderers operate—including their techniques. Students will learn the laws, rules, and regulations that have been put in place to combat the problems. They will also learn their role in identifying signs that money laundering is taking place and their responsibilities once they have recognized unusual and suspicious activities.

Focuses on the allocation of investment resources in variable annuity sub accounts. Describes common approaches to asset allocation and the relationship between asset allocation and investment diversification, as well as the various forms of financial risk and how to develop a client profile and identify client investment objectives.

Explore the foundational concepts of asset allocation and practical implications of modern portfolio theory. This course also covers rebalancing and the risks that investors may encounter, an extensive history of the capital markets, and a section devoted to suitability and the benefits and disadvantages of wrap accounts.

Options are notorious for being one of the most challenging products for students who are studying for securities-related qualification exams and for registered representatives and investment adviser representatives who do not regularly use them in their practice. This course is designed to help you gain a basic understanding of options, how they work, and when they can be suitably applied.

This course gives securities firms and registered professionals an overview of regulatory requirements and industry practices for business continuity planning.

It covers the key requirements and definitions of FINRA Rule 4370 including creating and updating a business continuity plan. In this course, we will abbreviate “business continuity planning” and “business continuity plan” as “BCP.”

Each of the ten required elements of BCP is explained in terms of regulatory definitions and industry practice. The course also covers emergency contact and customer disclosures requirements, guidelines for assuring customers’ prompt access to funds, and significant business disruptions (SBDs) that can trigger business continuity plans. The course concludes with case studies that illustrate BCP in action.

Those who provide investment advice to others, Investment Advisers, are subject to regulation by both federal and state regulators. This regulation is complex and comes with serious consequences if violations are committed. After defining the term Investment Adviser, this course covers the registration requirements for Investment Advisers and explains the relationship between the business practices of investment advisers and the Form ADV which is utilized in the registration process. Then the course outlines the business practices that investment advisers are required to employ in order to comply with The Investment Advisers Act of 1940. Those practices include: fulfilling their fiduciary duty; establishing compliance programs; recordkeeping requirements; disclosure requirements; creating a code of ethics; maintaining books and records; preparing client contracts; and advertising their services. The course also discusses the special requirements for investment advisers who recommend broker-dealers to their clients, vote proxies of their clients, pay others to solicit new clients and/or have custody or possession of clients’ funds or securities.

Virtually everything we say or do communicates some message. Therefore, communication with the public must be understood as more than just letters and telephone calls, but also as newspaper and magazine advertisements, commercials on television and radio, as well as signs, billboards, circulars, and much more. In short, we must understand all the many different ways that information can be communicated from one person or group to another. To help agents in this understanding, Communications with the Public examines, in detail, the rules and regulations that registered representatives must abide by when communicating with customers. Every method used to interact with customers, whether they are form letters, research reports, telephone recordings, or telemarketing scripts, is subject to specific rules that govern communications with the public. The course covers the topics listed above in an interactive format. Instructional design features, including an engaging interactive activity, are included to help students understand the material.

This course covers an area of increased SEC scrutiny – RIAs' obligations to eliminate, mitigate or disclose conflicts of interest. It reviews common types of conflicts and the steps RIAs can take to prevent potential regulatory problems and the associated loss of client goodwill. It concludes with an evaluation of recent regulatory cases, focusing on different types of conflicts.

Because advisory clients entrust investment advisers and their representatives with their financial well-being, ethics play a pivotal role in the investment advisory industry. These professionals are counted on to provide guidance and to manage their clients’ investments carefully. This comprehensive course delves into the intricate world of investment adviser ethics, exploring the principles, regulations, and standards governing the industry's ethical behavior. With a focus on client-centricity, fiduciary duty, conflicts of interest, disclosure requirements, and professional conduct, we will examine the essential components of ethical practices for investment advisers and their representatives. Furthermore, this course emphasizes the importance of upholding integrity and trust to foster long-term relationships with clients and to ensure the overall integrity of the financial services industry.

This course doesn't qualify for CFP ethics, but it does have eligible CFP CE credit.

Over 9 billion data records have been lost or stolen since 2013! With a frequency of almost 5.5 million records exposed every day, it is no longer a question of whether a company has been compromised, but more a question of when it will happen. Beyond prevention and mitigation, firms must be able to develop a comprehensive cybersecurity program that addresses cybersecurity end-user training, detection, response, and recovery.

This course presents the topic of cybersecurity and what it means to the firm. Through an overview of what it is, certain steps that should be taken to spot it, and other educational elements such as how and why cybersecurity regulations impact nearly everything digital, we hope to make clear the absolute necessity of protecting not only client records but the firm's platforms and infrastructure.

This course will present many of the current scams which bombard seniors, in the hopes that recognition and education will strengthen the walls which must be built around them. The course will cover this topic from possibilities to real-life examples of fraud and deception with a detailed discussion of topics such as guardianship as an abuse avenue. It will also look at what industry rules and regulations demand from each registered individual via the Senior Safe Act, FINRA Rule 2165, and amendments to Rule 4512. This course will endeavor to add another layer of protection for those who need it most; our seniors.

Conflicts happen every day in relationships; from family to business to political and religious. In most cases, they are resolved amicably with no one party always carrying the brunt of the consequences. Now, consider the fact that "conflicts" are slightly different than "conflicts of interest" and you begin to grasp the scope of this course. A conflict of interest (putting the rep's or the firm's interest before the customer's), either by design or by failure to see it as such, is one area in which the financial services industry cannot abide; especially when it causes negative outcomes to the customer. This course will examine and define examples of conflicts of interest, how to avoid them, and conflicts case studies to help firms stay ahead of FINRA's findings.

Learn the most important concepts relating to equity-indexed annuities (EIAs). This course describes EIA designs, features, and performance in detail. It also shows examples of the way various EIA design structures perform under different market conditions and why indexing is a solid investment strategy for the traditional annuity buyer.

Certain financial professionals are classified as "fiduciaries" and must uphold the standard of doing what is best for their clients. This course examines the standards of fiduciary duty, as well as the fiduciary's professional and ethical responsibilities to employers and the investing public.

This course constructs an ethical model for financial service professionals based upon government legislation and self-regulatory and regulatory practices. The content includes an introduction to ethical theory, ethics within the securities industry, and current ethical issues in the marketplace. The course concludes with a review of common ethical traps and techniques for avoidance.

This course doesn't qualify for CFP ethics, but it does have eligible CFP CE credit.

This course provides a background in the components of an ethical structure that guides financial services professionals, including:

• Professional codes of conduct and the ethics of financial professional organizations
• Self-regulatory organizations (SROs) and rule-making and enforcement bodies
• Laws and regulations that help to guide ethical behavior
• Supervisory requirements for the financial services industry

This course doesn't qualify for CFP ethics, but it does have eligible CFP CE credit.

With advisory clients entrusting their financial wellbeing to investment advisers and their representatives, playing by the rules is pivotal in the investment advisory industry. Among the various learning methods, case studies offer one of the best ways to simulate a hands-on experience. Our case studies, all based upon true SEC and state actions (names and other details have been modified for protection), will give you a more realistic opportunity to learn from the mistakes of others.

Key challenges to the financial security of retirees resources, and strategies for distributing retirement savings to provide income for a lifetime are tackled in this course. Learn the need for post-retirement planning, risk management strategies for addressing illness and injury, long-term care, uninsured death, and outliving one's income.

Financial exploitation occurs when a person misuses or takes the assets of a vulnerable adult for their own personal benefit. Assets are commonly taken via forms of deception, false pretenses, coercion, harassment, duress and threats. This course will provide answers to these questions: What is financial exploitation? Who does it impact? What are the signals? Why should you care? What to do about it? Additionally, this course will review the features of a variable annuity, suitability of variable annuities, and supervisory responsibilities in regards to variable annuities.

Get clued into the financial planning process and the financial services industry. This course covers the basic analytic tools of the trade, income tax planning, risk management planning, retirement planning, wealth accumulation planning, estate planning, and business planning, and concludes with a look at the profession.

Understanding the fundamentals of financial analysis is an important life skill as well as a requisite to providing sound investment advice to clients. Financial analysis was once considered only the language of Wall Street, but in today’s world of IRA’s and 401-k’s, the general population is learning more and more about financial analysis in order to preserve and enhance the value of their investments.

This course provides an overview of the fundamentals of financial analysis, its importance, and the tools used to understand financial statements.

Finally the course speaks to the warning signs and qualitative factors in financial analysis that need to be considered in evaluating changes to an investment portfolio.

This course introduces financial professionals to the information they will need to understand the products and services that are integral components of comprehensive investment planning programs.

This course is a self-studying offering that has no prerequisites or advanced preparation required. It is designed for participants who are on a basic to intermediate level.

The course will help financial professionals:

• Learn and be able discuss investor objectives such as preservation of capital, growth and speculation
• Understand the key characteristics of, and differences among, investment asset classes
• Gain an overview of common investment techniques such as diversification and dollar cost averaging
• Obtain an overview of how investment markets are regulated
• Understand how investments trade on exchange and over-the-counter markets, including market participants, types of trading accounts, and mechanics of placing orders
• Develop a more fluent investment vocabulary by knowing common terms used in discussing strategies and options with clients

In today's competitive financial services market, your ability to use estate and financial planning techniques to the best advantage of your clients is vital to your success. Trusts are one of the major building blocks of those techniques. This course is designed to cast you in the role of financial planner for five clients. You will interview the clients to determine their circumstances, needs, and resources. You will analyze their situations to develop a financial plan using trusts, and you will implement the plan with the execution of appropriate documents.

Numerous factors must be taken into account to formulate suitable strategies for investing retirement assets for today's retirees. This course provides an introduction to distributions from tax-qualified retirement plans, as well as an overview of the principles of asset allocation that may be appropriate for a retired or retiring client.

This course describes the basic “building block” concepts in constructing diversified investment portfolios for individuals. It covers the techniques that professionals use to evaluate equities and bonds and also the common strategies that individual investors can pursue in asset allocation programs that utilize these asset classes.

As stocks and bonds are assembled into portfolios, risk factors are identified along with common tools and techniques for maintaining diversification and monitoring performance.

The lynchpin of the securities industry is the customer, and they must be considered above all else. If registered representative are to maintain high standards of ethical behavior, they must know and understand both the customer's many facets, as well as the security they are recommending. FINRA has set up two "sister" rules that ensure fair dealing with the customer: 2090 (Know Your Customer) and 2111 (Suitability). This course examines certain facts essential to knowing the customer and making suitable recommendations.

This course discusses the key aspects of the FINRA Know Your Customer rule. The course contrasts Know Your Customer requirements with variable annuity suitability requirements. Additionally, this course reviews the features of a variable annuity and supervisory responsibilities in regards to variable annuities.

This course familiarizes agents with the retirement planning market and the retirement planning process by covering three main areas: analyzing and identifying retirement income needs and how to address those needs, health care and health insurance options, and estate and distribution planning. Topics include needs analysis, Social Security, life insurance and annuities, investment products, qualified plans and IRAs, plans for small business owners, long-term care, and wealth distribution.

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.

Learn about pension, profit-sharing and 401(k) plans, as well as IRAs, Keoghs, and nonqualified deferred compensation. This course explains qualification and tax rules for each type of plan and examines each plan's design from the perspective of both employers and employees. Plan installation, administration, and termination are fully explained.

Retirees need to stretch their assets for 20-30 years or more. Savvy distribution planning can help. Learn when to tap different asset categories and how taxable funds differ from tax-free and tax-deferred funds. Manage your clients' risk so they won't outlive their resources.

This course provides a thorough examination of qualified tuition programs (QTPs), more commonly referred to as Section 529 college funding plans. These plans can be either prepaid tuition plans or college savings plans for payment of qualified higher education expenses. The course addresses the different plans and their respective benefits, as well as the rules that govern contributions to and distributions from these plans. Other issues addressed include the required coordination between QTPs and other education expense programs; the effect of QTPs on student eligibility for financial aid; the associated income, gift, and/or estate tax treatments for both contributions and distributions; and some of the important considerations in choosing a QTP.

Understand the financial concerns facing your retired clients. This course will help you increase the value of the consultative services you provide your clients by offering strategic solutions to address those concerns and make you aware of the market conduct and ethical issues involved in serving the senior market.

Traditional IRAs, Roth IRAs, education IRAs, and medical savings accounts are the subject of this course. Learn how these savings vehicles can be used with employer-sponsored retirement plans and medical savings accounts as part of an overall personal financial strategy, for both retirement and pre-retirement savings.

Take your knowledge of variable contracts to the next level. Learn to describe the formal characteristics of fixed premium variable life, variable universal life, and variable annuities to prospects and clients; determine suitability requirements of variable contracts; and explain and recommend asset allocation based on your clients' needs.

Explore the steps in the variable life insurance and annuity sales process through a series of case studies. Meet the clients, conduct a fact-finding interview, create a plan, present the plan, and follow up to determine if the plan continues to best serve the client.