CE Catalog

• General Planning

In this continuing education session, learners will review How Financial Planners Actually Do Financial Planning, the fourth report in a biannual series by Kitces Research that explores the factors that drive advisor productivity. This report examines four key domains of the financial planning landscape: time, process, technology, and pricing.

1. Explain the parameters and key definitions of the Kitces Research study on advisory productivity.
2. Discuss trends in how financial planners deliver financial plans and advice to clients.
3. Evaluate the advantages and disadvantages of various team structures in relation to their impact on advisor productivity.
4. Compare and contrast the technology financial planners use to develop and deliver financial plans based on individual firm priorities.
5. Apply knowledge of various financial planning service pricing models to maximize value and productivity.

401(k) Plan: A retirement account sponsored by an employer, which allows employees to contribute a portion of their salary, invest their funds in a variety of investment options (which may include company stock), and defer ordinary income tax on the contributions they make to the account.

Assets Under Management (AUM): The dollar amount of client assets managed by a financial advisory firm. Firms using an AUM fee structure generally calculate client fees based on a percentage of the client’s AUM.

Registered Investment Adviser (RIA): A firm or individual registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission or state authorities and working in the investment advice business.

Practice: Any entity for which there is a common business vision, budget, client base, and service standard. Across the entity, resources and profits are pooled. A practice could be an entire firm or an individual or team of individuals affiliated with a larger firm. Affiliations, for example, could include a broker-dealer, an independent RIA, or a platform service provider.

Service Team: A service team is typically a subset of a practice that consists of a group of individuals or a single individual within the practice that serves a defined client base. At a minimum, the service team will have at least one individual managing client relationships and leading the delivery of financial planning advice. Support roles could include associate advisor, paraplanner, or client service administrator (Shared resources, such as centralized financial planning specialists, were not considered part of a service team for the purposes of this research.)

Established practices: Any practice not in the startup phase of its development

Lead Advisor: Roles responsible for maintaining client relationships (Senior Advisors and Service Advisors)

Support Staff: Roles responsible for supporting those maintaining client relationships (Associate Advisors, Paraplanners, FP Specialists, and CSAs)

Team Structure: A team structure is expressed as X+Y (e.g., 1+2), where X represents the number of lead advisors, Y represents the number of support staff, and the sum (X+Y) reflects the total team size

Unsupported Solo: Senior Advisor with no other advisors or W-2 employees

Supported Solo: Senior Advisor with ultimate responsibility for all clients of the practice, supported by one or more W-2 employees, which may include associate advisors

Silo: Multiple advisors or advisor teams, each independently responsible for their own distinct client base and profits

Ensemble: Multiple advisors or advisor teams pooling all resources and profits, where clients are clients of the firm and are served under a consistent standard

Executive: General term for any executive role within the firm dedicated to full-time or management responsibilities. Specific job titles included Chief Executive Officer and Chief Operating Officer

Senior Advisor: Accountable for business development, most (or all) valued clients, and may mentor or manage other advisors

Service Advisor: Primarily accountable for relationship management and retention of existing clients

Associate Advisor: Supports more senior advisors on a team to deliver advice in a client-facing capacity but typically has no primary responsibility for client relationships

Paraplanner: Conducts financial planning analyses and provides similar financial planning support for more senior advisors but is not responsible for delivering recommendations to clients

Financial Planning Specialist: Serves as a centralized planning resource to support all advisors of a practice; may include Director of Financial Planning

Client Service/Administrative: Interacts with with clients only with respect to administrative requests

Calculator Financial Planning Approach: Financial plan analysis is used to calculate the client’s needs or gaps, which helps the advisor identify products to implement

Comprehensive Financial Planning Approach: Printed output of planning software is used to show a more holistic picture of the client’s current and projected financial situation

Custom Financial Planning Approach: A custom-written financial plan is developed for each individual client’s circumstances

Collaborative Financial Planning Approach: Planning software is used as a collaborative tool (e.g., via screen share or a conference room monitor) live in client meetings

Targeted Financial Plan Breadth: A financial plan that covers 5 or fewer financial planning topics

Narrow Financial Plan Breadth: A financial plan covering6 to 9 different financial planning topics

Broad Financial Plan Breadth: A financial plan covering 10 to 12 different financial planning topics

Extensive Financial Plan Breadth: A financial plan covering 13 to 19 different financial planning topics

Most Extensive Financial Plan Breadth: A financial plan covering 20 or more planning topics

Adoption Rate: Of all advisors or respondents, the share that is applying technology in support of a particular advisor function

Market Share: When referring to comprehensive planning software, the share that is using a particular provider among those using that technology; when referring to specialized planning software, the share that is using a particular provider, regardless of whether they use the technology

Post-CFP: Advisors are considered to have post-CFP designations if they CFP certification as well as at least one of the following designations: CFA, ChFC, CLU, CPA, CPWA, CIMA, C(k)P, EA, RICP, RLP (Registered Life Planner), RMA

Internal Services: The service is provided by member(s) of the service team

Centralized Services: The service is provided by a centralized support team affiliated with the team’s firm or platform

External Services: The service is provided by an external third-party vendor or outsourcing provider

Clients: A client is a single household unit with an ongoing relationship, excluding prospective or pro bono clients, unless individual members are served separately. This includes households with no meetings or planning work completed in the past year

Full-Time Equivalents (FTEs): Measure of total team members (whether owners, employees, or contractors) based on hours worked as opposed to the actual number of individuals

Direct Client Activity: Meeting with clients, meeting with prospects, client meeting preparation, financial plan preparation, client servicing

Adjusted weekly median hours: The number of weeks a respondent works per year, multiplied by the number of hours that they work per week, divided by 52

Meeting Surges: Concentrated time windows during the year in which advisors schedule a high volume of client meetings for the purpose of streamlining their meeting process

Client Service Calendars: Schedules that dedicate particular client service activities for all clients to occur during specific periods throughout the year

Graduated Pricing Structures: AUM fee schedules which feature multiple tiers with different rates, where client fees are calculated as a blended rate, where each tier’s rate applies incrementally to the portion of the client’s portfolio that falls within that tier

Cliff Structures: AUM fee schedules which feature multiple tiers with different rates, where once a client’s portfolio reaches the next tier, the new rate applies retroactively to the entire portfolio (starting from the first dollar)

Flat Pricing Structures: Apply a single rate to the entire portfolio, regardless of its size

Stated Rate: The marginal rate being charged at each portfolio size in the advisor’s fee schedule

Blended Rate: The average fee calculated across portfolio tiers

“All-In” Fees: The sum of the blended rate, expense ratios of underlying investments, and any associated platform fees

Planning Fees: Hourly fees, subscription/retainer fees, and standalone project fees

Advice-Only: Revenue comes exclusively from planning fees

Advice-Centric: Revenue comes primarily from planning fees, with some from AUM fees or commissions

Advice-Supplemental: Revenue comes primarily from AUM fees or commissions, with some from planning fees

Advice-Bundled: Revenue comes exclusively from AUM fees or commissions

CFP / IWI: Intermediate
NASBA: Basic

• 5.5 CFP hours
• 8.0 NASBA hours
• 5.5 IWI General Financial Planning hours
• 0.0 IWI Taxes and Regulations hours
• 0.0 IWI Ethics hours
• 0.0 IAR EPR Hours
• 5.5 IAR PP Hours

All self-study courses will be available at least through December 31, 2025.
Live courses are only available for the scheduled date.
All of our courses are reviewed on a yearly basis and renewed or discontinued every December.

• General Planning

Historically, there has been limited research and insight when it comes to assessing how financial advisors actually work. To establish advisor trends in productivity with respect to preparing plans, using technology, and determining client fees, Kitces Research conducted its third bi-annual survey of financial advisors in 2022. In this latest report, various perspectives of financial advisor productivity are examined, and findings are compared with those from previous studies conducted in 2018 and 2020.

1. Discuss how financial advisors spend their time differently based on their advisory roles and business models.
2. Identify the components of and differences between the Calculator, Comprehensive, Customized, and Collaborative planning approaches and how each approach impacts plan delivery.
3. Describe how different members of a financial advisory team impact financial plan creation.
4. Explain how CFP certification impacts an advisor’s plan development process and the time spent on developing the plan.
5. Evaluate the different ways that financial planners communicate with clients.
6. Compare how different financial planning tools are used and how they impact the financial planning process.
7. Determine how financial planning fees and fee structures relate to different business models and clientele.

Registered Investment Advisor (RIA): A firm or individual registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission or state authorities and working in the investment advice business.

Collaborative Planning: Financial planning approach that generally relies on planning software used as a live/real-time collaborative tool with clients during client meetings.

Custom Planning: Financial planning approach that generally relies on custom-written plan developed for each individual client’s circumstances.

Comprehensive Planning: Financial planning approach that generally relies on printed reports from financial planning software used to show a more holistic picture of the client’s current and project ted financial situation.

Calculator Planning: Financial planning approach that generally relies on plan analyses to calculate the client’s needs or gaps, which help the advisor identify products to implement.

Broker-Dealer (B/D): A financial entity engaged in executing securities trades in their own account as a dealer, and in executing securities trades on behalf of customers as a broker. 

Financial Planning Practice: An entity for which there is a common business vision, budget, client base, and service standard. Across the entity, resources and profits are pooled. A practice could be an entire firm, an individual, or a team of individuals affiliated with a larger firm (e.g., a broker-dealer, an independent RIA, or a platform service provider).

Service Team: A subset of a practice that consists of a group of individuals within the practice that serves a defined client base, with at least 1 individual managing client relationships and leading the delivery of financial planning advice. Support roles could include associate advisor, paraplanner, or client service administrator.

Unsupported Solo Advisor: Advisors with no other advisors or W-2 employees.

Supported Solo Advisor: Senior advisor with ultimate responsibility for all clients of the practice, supported by 1 or more W-2 employees, which may include associate advisors.

Senior Advisor: Accountable for managing the most valued client relationships as well as business development and mentoring other advisors.

Ensemble Advisory Firm Or Team: Multiple advisors or advisor teams pooling all resources and profits, where clients are clients of the firm and are served under a consistent standard.

Silo: Multiple advisors or advisor teams, each independently responsible for their own distinct client base and profits.

Service Advisor: Primarily accountable for relationship management and retention of existing clients.

Associate Advisor: Supports more senior advisors on a team to deliver advice in a client-facing capacity but typically has no primary responsibility for client relationships.

Paraplanner: Conducts financial planning analyses and provides similar financial planning support for more senior advisors but is not responsible for delivering recommendations to clients.

Financial Planning Specialist: Serves as a centralized planning resource to support all advisors of a practice; may include Director of Financial Planning.

Client Service Associate: Interacts with clients only with respect to administrative requests.

CFP / IWI: Intermediate
NASBA: Basic

• 3.0 CFP hours
• 4.0 NASBA hours
• 3.0 IWI General Financial Planning hours
• 0.0 IWI Taxes and Regulations hours
• 0.0 IWI Ethics hours
• 0.0 IAR EPR Hours
• 3.0 IAR PP Hours

All self-study courses will be available at least through December 31, 2025.
Live courses are only available for the scheduled date.
All of our courses are reviewed on a yearly basis and renewed or discontinued every December.

• Financial Psychology
• Nerd's Eye View

In this continuing education session, learners review two Nerd’s Eye View blog articles: 10 Charts To Help Address Client Concerns On Recession Fears, Tariff Risks, And Market Volatility and Helping Clients Grasp Abstract Retirement Income Strategies With Historical Market Visualization.

In the first article, James Liu, CFA, and Lindsey Bell walk advisors through 10 charts that offer valuable insights into current market conditions and economic trends to help guide clients through turbulent times. In the second article, Derek Tharp, PhD, explains the concept of Historical Market Visualization and how advisors can utilize this technique to provide clients with a more relatable illustration of retirement income strategies.

1. Recognize how economic and policy uncertainty influences investor sentiment and behavior.
2. Apply strategies for communicating long-term investment principles to clients during periods of short-term market volatility.
3. Describe the role of asset class diversification and disciplined investing in achieving long-term financial goals amid evolving market conditions.
4. Explain the concept and effectiveness of Historical Market Visualizations.
5. Differentiate between traditional Monte Carlo simulations and Historical Market Visualizations.

• CFP: Psychology of Financial Planning
• NASBA: Specialized Knowledge (Personal Financial Planning)
• NASAA: New and emerging issues or products for the IAR to navigate

• CFP/IWI: Intermediate  
• NASBA: Basic  

• 1.0 CFP hours
• 1.5 NASBA hours
• 0.0 EA hours
• 1.0 IWI General Financial Planning hours
• 0.0 IWI Taxes and Regulations hours
• 0.0 IWI Ethics hours
• 0.0 IAR EPR Hours
• 1.0 IAR PP Hours

Consumer Price Index (CPI): A measure of the average change in prices that consumers pay for a market basket of goods and services and is generally used to assess how effective government policies are.

Fed Funds Rate: The target interest rate determined by the Federal Open Market Committee, which commercial banks use as an overnight rate to lend and borrow excess reserves to each other.

Gross Domestic Product (GDP): A measure of the value of all finished goods and services produced within a particular country.

Inflation: The general increase in prices that corresponds with a fall in purchasing power over time.

Recession: The contractionary business cycle p when economic activity (including consumer spending) declines.

Guardrails Strategy: A retirement spending approach developed by Guyton and Klinger, this strategy considers upper and lower portfolio limits (i.e., the “guardrails”), that serve as pre-determined thresholds for determining when to increase or decrease future spending.

Historical Market Visualization: A framework that involves backtesting retirement income strategies using real-world historical data to assess how a strategy would have performed if it were used in past markets.

Monte Carlo Analysis: A type of probability-based analysis often used in retirement planning, which at a basic level calculates multiple iterations of a client’s projected income and spending over a specified time period while randomizing investment returns, with an output representing the percentage of iterations in which the client did (or did not) deplete their assets over the time period.

All self-study courses will be available at least through December 31, 2025.
Live courses are only available for the scheduled date.
All of our courses are reviewed on a yearly basis and renewed or discontinued every December.

• Estate Planning
• Nerd's Eye View

In this continuing education session, learners will review two Nerd’s Eye View articles by David Haughton, JD, CPWA®: What To Do When Gifts To Minors No Longer Fit: Adjusting UTMAs, 529 Plans, And Trusts When Family Goals Don’t Align and Estate Planning In The Digital Age: Why Digital Assets Are A Critical Part And How To Help Clients Address Them.

In the first article, David explains the various avenues that can be used to alter common methods of gifting to minors, including UTMAS, 529 plans, and trusts, when previous gifts no longer suit the child or align with the grantor’s goals. In the second article, David discusses the unique challenges digital assets pose when working on estate planning and shares the latest insights on addressing these challenges based on current laws and platform-specific terms of service agreements.

1. Describe the implications of different asset transfer vehicles for minors, including UTMA accounts, 529 plans, and trusts, in the context of control, tax treatment, and flexibility.
2. Assess options to restructure or mitigate previously completed gifts to minors to align more closely with long-term planning goals.
3. Identify the key components of digital assets and how they differ from traditional assets in estate planning.
4. Explain how the Revised Uniform Fiduciary Access to Digital Assets Act (RUFADAA) structures access to digital assets for fiduciaries.
5. Evaluate strategies financial advisors can use to help clients incorporate digital assets into their estate plans to avoid legal and logistical barriers.

• CFP: Estate Planning
• NASBA: Specialized Knowledge (Personal Financial Planning)
• NASAA: New and emerging issues or products for the IAR to navigate

• CFP/IWI: Intermediate  
• NASBA: Basic  

• 1.0 CFP hours
• 1.5 NASBA hours
• 0.0 EA hours
• 1.0 IWI General Financial Planning hours
• 0.0 IWI Taxes and Regulations hours
• 0.0 IWI Ethics hours
• 0.0 IAR EPR Hours
• 1.0 IAR PP Hours

529 Plan: A state-agency-sponsored tax-advantaged account established for education savings intended to be used for college expenses (tuition, books, and other qualified expenses), K-12 tuition, certain apprenticeship costs, and some student loan repayments.

Irrevocable Trust: An irrevocable trust is a type of trust that cannot be revoked or easily changed by the grantor after it is established. The grantor gives up ownership and control of the trust and its assets to a trustee, who manages the trust.

Kiddie-Tax: A tax levied on unearned income such as interest, dividends, capital gains, and distributions from inherited IRAs, 401(k) plans, and other retirement accounts.

Uniform Transfers to Minors Act (UTMA) Account: A custodial account that allows an adult to hold and manage a wide range of assets—including cash, securities, real estate, and personal property—on behalf of a minor until they reach the age of termination (typically 21). Once contributed, the assets irrevocably belong to the minor.

Uniform Gifts to Minors Act (UGMA) Account: A custodial account that permits transfers of financial assets like cash or securities to a minor, with the custodian managing the account until the child reaches the age of majority (usually 18), at which point the assets become the child’s property.

Digital Asset: Anything that’s stored in electronic form but separate from the physical hardware on which that electronic data lives.

Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA): a federal law enacted in 1996 that sets national standards for protecting sensitive patient health information from being disclosed without the patient’s consent or knowledge.

Uniform Fiduciary Access To Digital Assets Act (UFADAA): Approved on July 16, 2014 by the Uniform Law Commission, sought to give various rights with respect to digital assets, such as access and control, to potential fiduciaries who might need those rights to execute their duties, such as executors, guardians, trustees, and powers of attorney.

Revised Uniform Fiduciary Access to Digital Assets Act (RUFADAA): A law adopted by most states that governs how fiduciaries can access a person’s digital assets after death or incapacity. It prioritizes user control by allowing individuals to grant access through online tools or estate planning documents while also providing a legal process for fiduciaries to request access when no instructions are in place.

All self-study courses will be available at least through December 31, 2025.
Live courses are only available for the scheduled date.
All of our courses are reviewed on a yearly basis and renewed or discontinued every December.

• General Planning
• Nerd's Eye View

In this continuing education session, learners will review 3 Nerd’s Eye View blog articles: “How Much Does Having The ‘Right’ Capital Market Assumptions Matter In Retirement Planning?”, “How RIAs Can Craft An Effective Operating Agreement That Aligns Owners’ Interests And Mitigates Risks”, “Why Health Savings Accounts (HSAs) Aren’t Always Worth The ‘Triple Tax Savings’ Advantage”.

In the first article, Justin Fitzpatrick, Ph.D., CFP, CFA, evaluates the impact of accurate and precise Capital Market Assumptions (CMAs) on the ability to advise clients on how much they can withdraw in retirement and other factors that could impact the ideal level of retirement spending a client engages in. In the second article, Richard Chen explains the importance of thoughtfully crafting RIA operating agreements with both current and future business need in mind. In the third article, Ben Dobler explains the personal and financial circumstances that may make High Deductible Health Plans (HDHP) and their associated Health Savings Accounts (HSAs) less beneficial to a client than other health care insurance options.

1. Describe the role and limitations of Capital Market Assumptions (CMAs) in retirement income planning.
2. Identify strategies to mitigate associated risks of inaccurate CMAs on retirement spending advice.
3. Recognize the importance of operating agreements in protecting the interests of RIA owners and their role in succession planning.
4. Address common mistakes in preparing operating agreements and the necessary steps to create an effective and comprehensive document for RIA firms.
5. Explain the advantages and disadvantages of Health Savings Accounts (HSAs) and High Deductible Health Plans (HDHPs) in relation to tax benefits and healthcare costs.

• CFP: General Principles of Financial Planning
• NASBA: Specialized Knowledge (Personal Financial Planning)
• NASAA: New and emerging issues or products for the IAR to navigate

• CFP/IWI: Intermediate  
• NASBA: Basic  

• 1.0 CFP hours
• 1.5 NASBA hours
• 0.0 EA hours
• 1.0 IWI General Financial Planning hours
• 0.0 IWI Taxes and Regulations hours
• 0.0 IWI Ethics hours
• 0.0 IAR EPR Hours
• 1.0 IAR PP Hours

Guardrails Strategy: A retirement spending approach developed by Guyton and Klinger, this strategy considers upper and lower portfolio limits (i.e., the “guardrails”), that serve as pre-determined thresholds for determining when to increase or decrease future spending.

Sequence-Of-Return Risk: The risk presented by return volatility over time, as even if short-term volatility averages out into favorable long-term returns, a retiree could still be in significant trouble if the sequence of those returns is unfavorable (e.g., if bad returns occur at the beginning of retirement).

Registered Investment Adviser (RIA): A firm or individual registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission or state authorities and working in the investment advice business. 

Limited Liability Company (LLC): A business structure that can be recognized by the IRS as a corporation, partnership, or a disregarded entity, depending on the nature of the structure and the election made by the owners of the structure. LLCs can protect owners from personal liability of business debt.

Health Savings Account (HSA): A savings account that receives favorable tax treatment when distributions are used to pay for medical expenses. Contributions are tax-deductible, growth is tax-deferred, and withdrawals used to pay for (qualified) healthcare expenses are tax-free. In order to contribute, an individual must be covered by an HSA-eligible HDHP and have no other health coverage, may not be enrolled in Medicare, may not be claimed as a dependent on someone else’s tax return.

High-Deductible Health Plan (HDHP): A healthcare plan that has a higher deductible requirement than a traditional health insurance plan. In order to be an HSA-eligible HDHP, a plan must have a minimum annual deductible and a maximum annual out-out-pocket amount that meets the limits set by the IRS.

All self-study courses will be available at least through December 31, 2025.
Live courses are only available for the scheduled date.
All of our courses are reviewed on a yearly basis and renewed or discontinued every December.

• Nerd's Eye View
• Retirement Planning

In this continuing education session, learners will review 2 Nerd’s Eye View blog articles: Social Security Fairness Act: Planning Considerations For The Repeal Of The Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP) And Government Pension Offset (GPO) and “How Much More Will I Get?”: Calculating The Impact Of WEP And GPO’s Repeal On Social Security Benefits. In these articles, Ben Henry-Moreland walks readers through the impacts of the Windfall Elimination Provision (WPO) and Government Pension Offset (GPO) repeal. Ben begins by explaining these provisions and their effect on Social Security benefits before their repeal on January 5, 2025, and then explains how Social Security benefits calculations will change for clients impacted. New planning considerations based on the repeal of WPO and GPO are also discussed.

1. Describe the historical context and purpose of the Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP) and Government Pension Offset (GPO) in Social Security benefit calculations.
2. Explain the effects of the Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP) and Government Pension Offset (GPO) on Social Security benefits for individuals with non-covered pensions.
3. Analyze the impact of the Social Security Fairness Act on retirement income planning for individuals affected by the WEP and GPO.
4. Identify the key client demographics and criteria impacted by the repeal of the WEP and GPO provisions in Social Security.
5. Analyze the financial implications of the repeal of the WEP and GPO on individual and household Social Security benefits.

• CFP: Retirement Savings and Income Planning
• NASBA: Specialized Knowledge (Personal Financial Planning)
• NASAA: New and emerging issues or products for the IAR to navigate

• CFP/IWI: Intermediate  
• NASBA: Basic  

• 1.0 CFP hours
• 1.5 NASBA hours
• 0.0 EA hours
• 1.0 IWI General Financial Planning hours
• 0.0 IWI Taxes and Regulations hours
• 0.0 IWI Ethics hours
• 0.0 IAR EPR Hours
• 1.0 IAR PP Hours

Government Pension Offset (GPO): An amendment to Social Security to address policymakers’ concerns that workers who received a pension from a Federal, state, or local government job not covered by Social Security were “double-dipping” by also receiving spousal or survivor benefits that were nominally intended for beneficiaries who hadn’t worked and were financially dependent on a working spouse for benefits.

Primary Insurance Amount (PIA): The amount a worker is entitled to receive as a Social Security retirement benefit at their Full Retirement Age.

Social Security: A government benefit that helps older Americans, workers who become disabled, and families in which a spouse or parent dies, often meant as a supplemental source of income to replace a percentage of a worker’s pre-retirement income based on the worker’s lifetime earnings.

Social Security Fairness Act: A law enacted on January 5, 2025 that eliminated the Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP) and the Government Pension Offset (GPO), which reduce Social Security benefits for individuals who receive pensions from non-Social Security-covered employment.

Spousal Benefit: A spouse can claim a “spousal benefit” that allows them to collect 50% of their spouse’s social security benefit based on their full retirement age.

Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP): A rule that reduces Social Security benefits for individuals who receive a pension from work not covered by Social Security, such as certain government or public sector jobs. The WEP adjusts the formula used to calculate Social Security benefits, potentially lowering the amount received.

All self-study courses will be available at least through December 31, 2025.
Live courses are only available for the scheduled date.
All of our courses are reviewed on a yearly basis and renewed or discontinued every December.

• Financial Psychology
• Nerd's Eye View

In this continuing education session, learners will review 3 Nerd’s Eye View blog articles: Why Don’t Prospects Commit? How “Negative Close” Can Be A Powerful Way To Help Prospects Move Forward, Five “Self-Persuasion” Questions To Connect With Prospects Who Say They’re Interested… But Aren’t Moving Forward, and Fix, Fine, Flourish: A Framework To Take Clients From (Just) “Fine” Stagnancy To Being Engaged Again.

In the first article, Sydney Squires explains why prospects may be struggling to commit and how advisors can utilize the negative close strategy to close more prospects. In the second article, Dr. Meghaan Lurtz explains why prospective clients may experience ambivalence about engaging with financial advisors and how advisors can utilize self-persuasion questions to help clients feel more confident in the decision to work with an advisor. In the final article, Meghaan explains why prospective clients may experience ambivalence about engaging with financial advisors and how advisors can utilize self-persuasion questions to help clients feel more confident in the decision to work with an advisor.

1. Identify the psychological and situational factors that contribute to a prospect’s hesitation in committing to a financial advisor.
2. Explain the concept of the negative close and how it facilitates decision-making in sales processes.
3. Explain the concept of ambivalence in decision-making and its impact on financial planning prospects.
4. Identify how financial advisors can use self-persuasion questions to address ambivalence and build trust with prospective clients.
5. Identify the risks of client disengagement when financial monitoring meetings become routine and strategies for reframing them as opportunities for growth with the “Fix, Fine, Flourish” framework.

• CFP: Psychology of Financial Planning
• NASBA: Specialized Knowledge (Personal Financial Planning)
• NASAA: New and emerging issues or products for the IAR to navigate

• CFP/IWI: Intermediate  
• NASBA: Basic  

• 1.0 CFP hours
• 1.5 NASBA hours
• 0.0 EA hours
• 1.0 IWI General Financial Planning hours
• 0.0 IWI Taxes and Regulations hours
• 0.0 IWI Ethics hours
• 0.0 IAR EPR Hours
• 1.0 IAR PP Hours

Collaborative Planning: Financial planning approach that generally relies on planning software used as a live/real-time collaborative tool with clients during client meetings.

Close-Ended Questions: Questions that can often be answered with just a single word, such as “Fine”, “Great”, or “Okay”.

Discovery Meeting: A meeting with prospects where the advisor and prospect can learn about one another to facilitate deciding whether they will enjoy working together and envisioning the scope of work that will be done through the engagement.

Open-Ended Questions: Questions that cannot be answered with a single word, and that are useful for encouraging careful thought and reflection.

Self-Persuasion Questions: Questions that questions invite prospects to explore and articulate their own reasons for taking action, guiding them gently through the decision-making process.

Status Quo Bias: A cognitive effect whereby individuals prefer to stay in their current situation when faced with the possibility of change.

All self-study courses will be available at least through December 31, 2025.
Live courses are only available for the scheduled date.
All of our courses are reviewed on a yearly basis and renewed or discontinued every December.

• Ethics
• Nerd's Eye View
• Regulation & Compliance

In this continuing education session, learners will review 3 Nerd’s Eye View articles: Why Held-Away Asset Management Technology Is Being Scrutinized By State Regulators (And How Advisors Can Compliantly Manage Clients’ 401(k) Assets), How RIAs Can Launch A Private Fund: Legal Requirements And Common Missteps, and A Recordkeeping Checklist For Financial Planning Services: Proactive Documentation Of Service Delivery To Reduce Regulatory Scrutiny.

In the first article, Ben-Henry Moreland discusses the challenges financial advisors face when managing clients’ employer-sponsored retirement accounts, how data aggregation tools have evolved to address these challenges, and the regulatory concerns associated with held-away asset management. In the second article, Richard Chen explains how RIAs can establish a private fund along with the regulatory requirements and risks associated with managing a private fund. In the third article, Travis Johnson, IACCP® explains bookkeeping requirements for Registered Investment Advisers (RIAs) and how to use checklists to assist firms in auditing their books and records.

1. Summarize the regulatory concerns surrounding the use of third-party platforms like Pontera for managing clients’ held-away retirement assets and the implications for financial advisors.
2. Analyze the potential alternatives to held-away asset management technology and evaluate the risks and efficiencies associated with each option.
3. Identify the legal, regulatory, and operational requirements necessary to launch and manage a private fund.
4. Describe the regulatory requirements for recordkeeping by state and SEC-registered Investment Advisers (RIAs).
5. Create a checklist system to audit a firm’s books and records to determine regulatory compliance.

• CFP: Professional Conduct and Regulation
• NASBA: Specialized Knowledge (Personal Financial Planning)
• NASAA: New and emerging issues or products for the IAR to navigate

• CFP/IWI: Intermediate  
• NASBA: Basic  

• 1.0 CFP hours
• 1.5 NASBA hours
• 1.0 IWI General Financial Planning hours
• 0.0 IWI Taxes and Regulations hours
• 1.0 IWI Ethics hours
• 1.0 IAR EPR Hours
• 0.0 IAR PP Hours

401(k) Plan: A retirement account sponsored by an employer, which allows employees to contribute a portion of their salary, invest their funds in a variety of investment options (which may include company stock), and defer ordinary income tax on the contributions they make to the account.

Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC): a regulatory agency in the United States, established by the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, responsible for enforcing federal securities laws and regulating the securities industry to protect investors, maintain fair, orderly, and efficient markets, and facilitate capital formation.

Form ADV: A set of foundational registration documents that must be submitted by any investment adviser seeking to become registered with the SEC or the states.

Investment Adviser: As defined by the Advisers Act, “any person who, for compensation, engages in the business of advising others, either directly or through publications or writings, as to the value of securities or as to the advisability of investing in, purchasing, or selling securities, or who, for compensation and as part of a regular business, issues or promulgates analyses or reports concerning securities”. The investment adviser generally refers to the firm (entity).

Investment Advisers Act Of 1940 (“the Advisers Act”): law that places certain requirements and restrictions on investment advisers pertaining to registration, compensation, and creation of advisory agreements.

Private Fund: a pool of assets gathered from one or more investors whose capital is contributed to an entity (typically a limited partnership or limited liability company) and subsequently invested in various investments that are acquired and disposed of by a private fund adviser during the life of the private fund.

Registered Investment Adviser (RIA): A firm or individual registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission or state authorities and working in the investment advice business.

Separately Managed Account: As defined by the SEC, any advisory account other than those that are pooled investment vehicles (i.e., registered investment companies, business development companies, and pooled investment vehicles that are not registered (including, but not limited to, private funds)). However, as a general industry term, separately managed accounts are considered those that are not managed directly by an advisory firm itself but is instead managed by a third-party advisory firm with specific directives distinct from the advisory firm’s other accounts.

Form ADV: A set of foundational registration documents that must be submitted by any investment adviser seeking to become registered with the SEC or the states.

Form CRS: Customer/Client Relationship Summary document that explains the nature of services, relationship, fees, costs, standard of conduct, and conflicts

Investment Advisers Act Of 1940 (“the Advisers Act”): law that places certain requirements and restrictions on investment advisers pertaining to registration, compensation, and creation of advisory agreements.

Registered Investment Adviser (RIA): A firm or individual registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission or state authorities and working in the investment advice business.

Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC): a regulatory agency in the United States, established by the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, responsible for enforcing federal securities laws and regulating the securities industry to protect investors, maintain fair, orderly, and efficient markets, and facilitate capital formation.

All self-study courses will be available at least through December 31, 2025.
Live courses are only available for the scheduled date.
All of our courses are reviewed on a yearly basis and renewed or discontinued every December.

• General Planning
• Nerd's Eye View

In this continuing education session, learners will review two Nerd’s Eye View articles: 529-To-Roth IRA Rollovers: Taking Advantage Of The New Option To Move Education Savings To Retirement Savings and Planning For Adoption: Understanding Different Pathways And Their Costs, Tax Breaks, And Financial Assistance Available. In the first article, author Ben Henry-Moreland walks the reader through the 529-to-Roth rollover option created by the SECURE 2.0 Act. In this article, Ben explains the 529-to-Roth rollover provisions, the limitations of this Roth rollover option, and when this option may be a useful planning tool. In the second article, Kathleen Boyd provides a deep dive into financial planning for adoptive parents, starting with a description of the various pathways to adoption and their associated costs. Kathleen then explains the various financial assistance programs available for adoptive parents and the potential for tax planning opportunities for families going through the adoption process.

1. Summarize the benefits and limitations of 529 savings plans.
2. Explain the provisions and restrictions of the SECURE 2.0 Act’s 529-to-Roth rollover rules.
3. Describe pathways to adoption and provide associated cost estimates.
4. Assist clients in identifying financial assistance options available to adoptive parents.
5. Identify tax planning opportunities tailored for adoptive parents.

CFP/IWI: Intermediate
NASBA: Basic

• CFP: General Principles of Financial Planning
• NASBA: Specialized Knowledge (Personal Financial Planning)
• NASAA: New and emerging issues or products for the IAR to navigate

• 1.0 CFP hours
• 1.5 NASBA hours
• 1.0 IWI General Financial Planning hours
• 0.0 IWI Taxes and Regulations hours
• 0.0 IWI Ethics hours
• 0.0 IAR EPR Hours
• 1.0 IAR PP Hours

Adoption Credit:  A non-refundable tax credit offered to taxpayers with up to $14,890 per child for qualifying expenses related to adoptions in 2022 (claimed on tax returns filed in 2023) and $15,950 per child for adoptions in 2023 (claimed on tax returns filed in 2024). There is no limit on the number of adopted children this tax credit can be applied to. 

Child And Dependent Care Credit: A non-refundable tax credit offered to taxpayers who have out-of-pocket expenses for child and dependent care. It is calculated by multiplying a taxpayer’s eligible expenses by their “Applicable Percentage”, which ranges from 20% to 35% depending on the taxpayer’s AGI (phaseout limitations range between $15,000 – $43,000). As of 2022, the maximum amount of allowed eligible expenses is $3,000 for one child and $6,000 for two or more children.  

Child Tax Credit: A tax credit (subject to AGI phaseouts) provided to taxpayers with dependent children. As of 2022, the Child Tax Credit provides up to $2,000 per qualifying child (of which up to $1,500 is partially refundable), and is claimed through IRS Form 1040 Schedule 8812.  

Foster Care: Typically considered a temporary living situation for children whose biological parents are in crisis and unable to care for them. While in foster care, a child may live with relatives, in a state-run facility, or in congregate care (i.e., a residential childcare community). If the biological parents are not reunified with their child, their parental rights can be terminated, and their child can become eligible for adoption. 

529 Plan: A state-agency-sponsored tax-advantaged account established for education savings intended to be used for college expenses (tuition, books, and other qualified expenses), K-12 tuition, certain apprenticeship costs, and some student loan repayments.

Roth IRA: An Individual Retirement Account (IRA) in which after-tax distributions are made and future withdrawals (including interest) are tax-free when made after age 59 1/2.

SECURE 2.0 Act:  Part of the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2023 signed into law by President Joe Biden on December 23, 2022, SECURE 2.0 Act made sweeping changes to various retirement savings rules, including (but not limited to) pushing back RMDs to age 73 in 2023 (with a provision to push them back again to age 75 in 2033), elimination of RMDs from Roth accounts in employer retirement plans, allowing transfers from 529 accounts to Roth IRAs.

All self-study courses will be available at least through December 31, 2025.
Live courses are only available for the scheduled date.
All of our courses are reviewed on a yearly basis and renewed or discontinued every December.

• Financial Psychology
• General Planning
• Nerd's Eye View

In this continuing education session, learners will review two Nerd’s Eye View articles: Avoid Getting Caught Up In Big Market Delusions: The Case Study Of Electric Vehicles and Helping Hesitant Clients Boost Their Retirement Spending. In the first article, Larry Swedroe and Ben Henry-Moreland explain the concept of the “big market delusion” and how advisors can help clients avoid the consequences of this investment bias. In the second article, Adam Van Deusen explains why some clients may be hesitant to spend in retirement and how advisors can help these clients move past their discomfort by framing conversations about retirement income differently and implementing behavioral-based tactics to help clients prepare for their retirement spending.

1. Define the concept of “big market delusion” and identify key warning signs that signal a potential event.
2. Analyze how the electric vehicle industry exemplifies a “big market “delusion that emerged in the late 2010s.
3. Describe the technical and behavioral factors that may drive hesitancy to spend money in retirement.
4. Demonstrate how to apply framing strategies during conversations to support clients who are hesitant to spend retirement income.
5. Develop and implement behavioral-based tactics to help clients who are hesitant to spend money sustainably.

CFP/IWI: Intermediate
NASBA: Basic

• CFP: General Principles of Financial Planning, Psychology of Financial Planning
• NASBA: Specialized Knowledge (Personal Financial Planning)
• NASAA: New and emerging issues or products for the IAR to navigate

• 1.0 CFP hours
• 1.5 NASBA hours
• 1.0 IWI General Financial Planning hours
• 0.0 IWI Taxes and Regulations hours
• 0.0 IWI Ethics hours
• 0.0 IAR EPR Hours
• 1.0 IAR PP Hours

Bankruptcy: A legal process initiated when a person or business unable to pay outstanding debts files a case under the US Bankruptcy Code to seek relief from those debts. The process involves evaluating the debtor’s assets, which may be used to repay creditors and can result in the discharge of remaining debt.

Bubble: An economic cycle in which a particular market segment experiences a rapid increase in asset prices, driven by speculation, followed by a dramatic decline or ‘burst’ when prices correct to more sustainable levels.

Big Market Delusion: A phenomenon where stock prices of all firms within an emerging industry rise simultaneously, often driven by collective entrepreneur and investor enthusiasm and overconfidence in the industry’s growth potential.

Maximizer: Individuals who continually strive for the best possible outcome in every decision and is rarely satisfied with “good enough,” often leading to difficulty in contentment. 

Monte Carlo: A type of probability-based simulation used in retirement planning, to project a client’s income and spending over time. The analysis runs numerous iterations with randomized investment returns, producing a probability-based outcome that shows the likelihood of depleting assets within the specified time period.

Satisficer: An individual who is satisfied with achieving a solution or outcome that meets their criteria for “good enough,” rather than seeking the optimal result.

Social Security: A government program that provides benefits to retirees, disabled individuals, and families of deceased workers. It serves as a supplemental income source, replacing a portion of a worker’s pre-retirement income based on the worker’s contributions and lifetime earnings history.  

All self-study courses will be available at least through December 31, 2025.
Live courses are only available for the scheduled date.
All of our courses are reviewed on a yearly basis and renewed or discontinued every December.

• General Planning
• Investments
• Nerd's Eye View
• Taxes

In this continuing education session, the learner will read three articles from the Nerd’s Eye View blog.

In “Designing ‘Custom GPTs’ With Advanced ChatGPT Features To Enhance Advisor Capabilities With AI”, David Ortiz walks readers through how he uses CustomGPTs to create efficiency in his practice through prompt engineering. Ortiz explains how AI tools can be utilized in conjunction with client meetings to enhance client engagement. In “‘Legacy IRA’ Rollover To A Charitable Gift Annuity: Using This New Tax-Advantaged Opportunity To Help”, Kathleen Rehl shares her experience creating her “Legacy IRA” rollover to a Charitable Gift Annuity to support her chosen nonprofits after Congress passed the SECURE 2.0 legislation, highlighting the potential benefits of creating a legacy IRA. In “In The Long Run, Stocks Outperform Bonds… Or Do They?”, Larry Swedroe explains recent studies on the performance of stocks and bonds and how these studies may alter the advisor’s understanding of long-term stock and bond performance and of using bonds as portfolio diversifiers.

1. Identify ways to use AI tools in the financial planning process.
2. Evaluate AI prompts designed to enhance client engagement.
3. Explain how SECURE 2.0 expanded charitable IRA rollover provisions to create Legacy IRAs.
4. Discuss current research on the long-term performance of stocks and bonds.
5. Reassess client asset allocation strategies based on risk diversification research.

CFP/IWI: Intermediate
NASBA: Basic

• CFP: General Principles of Financial Planning, Estate Planning, Investment Planning, Tax Planning
• NASBA: Specialized Knowledge (Personal Financial Planning)
• NASAA: New and emerging issues or products for the IAR to navigate

• 1.0 CFP hours
• 1.5 NASBA hours
• 1.0 IWI General Financial Planning hours
• 0.0 IWI Taxes and Regulations hours
• 0.0 IWI Ethics hours
• 0.0 IAR EPR Hours
• 1.0 IAR PP Hours

ChatGPT: A conversational artificial intelligence program created by Open AI that provides responses to user-provided prompts in natural language.

Custom GPTs: Customized versions of GPT models designed to perform specific, user-defined tasks.

Generative AI: a form of artificial intelligence that analyzes large datasets to identify patterns and generates new content or predictions using advanced machine learning techniques.

Required Minimum Distribution (RMD): Distributions that are required by the IRS to be taken from most types of pre-tax retirement accounts upon reaching a specified age (73 in 2023).

Legacy IRA: A one-time rollover of up to $50,000 from a traditional IRA to a Charitable Gift Annuity, available to individuals aged 70 1/2 or older.

Charitable Gift Annuity: A contract between an individual or couple and a qualified charitable nonprofit organization that combines a life annuity with an irrevocable charitable donation. In exchange for the donor’s gift, the nonprofit agrees to pay a fixed income to the donor (or the donor and their spouse) for their lifetime. After the donor(s) pass away, the remaining principal goes to the nonprofit.

Charitable Remainder Annuity Trust (CRAT): A type of Charitable Remainder Trust that distributes an annual fixed dollar amount of trust income, equal to at least 5% of the initial trust value, to beneficiaries. At least 10% of the trust’s original contribution must go to a charity upon the death of the trust beneficiaries, or for a fixed term of 20 years.

Charitable Remainder Unitrust (CRUT): A type of Charitable Remainder Trust that distributes a fixed percentage of trust income, equal to at least 5% of the actual value of the trust, to beneficiaries. At least 10% of the original contribution to the trust must be transferred to a charity upon the death of the trust beneficiaries, or for a fixed term of 20 years.

Qualified Charitable Distribution (QCD): Tax-free distributions made directly from a taxable IRA to qualified charitable organizations by individuals age 70½ or older. QCDs can count toward an individual’s Required Minimum Distribution and are excluded from gross income.

Cyclically Adjusted Price-To-Earnings (CAPE) Ratio: A valuation metric that divides the share price of an asset (generally broad equity indices) by the average inflation-adjusted earnings over a specific period, usually 10 to 20 years. The 10-year version is often called the Shiller P/E Ratio.

Recency Bias: A cognitive bias where individuals place greater weight on recent events compared to those further in the past.

IRA Aggregation Rule: A rule requiring the combined value of all IRA accounts to be considered when calculating the tax consequences of a distribution or conversion.

Roth Conversion: An irrevocable transfer of assets from a traditional IRA, SEP IRA, or SIMPLE IRA into a Roth IRA, triggering taxes in the year of conversion. Once converted, the assets grow tax-free in the Roth IRA.

Roth IRA: A type of Individual Retirement Account (IRA) funded with after-tax contributions, allowing for tax-free withdrawals (including earnings) after age 59 1/2.

All self-study courses will be available at least through December 31, 2025.
Live courses are only available for the scheduled date.
All of our courses are reviewed on a yearly basis and renewed or discontinued every December.

• General Planning
• Nerd's Eye View

In this continuing education session, learners will review 2 Nerd Eye View blog articles: Quantifying (More Accurately) The Real Impact Of A Financial Advisor’s Costs On Their Clients’ Nest Eggs and Enhancing Client Conversations About Charitable Giving: Sample Questions, Scripts, and Tools for Better Engagement. In the first article, Derek Tharp, PhD, CFP, CLU, RICP, evaluates criticisms of advisory fees and their impacts on clients by personal finance author Ramit Sethi. Derek highlights the mathematical and practical concerns of Ramit Sethi’s methodology for assessing the cost of financial advisors and the value they provide. He then explains the value that advisors can bring to clients. In the second article, Kathleen Rehl, PhD, CFP, CEFT Emeritus, explains the benefits of incorporating charitable planning into a financial planning practice, providing a practical guide that addresses concerns about engaging in charitable giving conversations with sample scripts and ideas for how to create client value in this area.

1. Evaluate the benefits of integrating charitable planning into financial advising, including its emotional, financial, and relational impacts on clients and advisors.
2. Implement strategies to initiate and structure charitable giving conversations with clients to ensure alignment of their plans with their financial objectives and personal beliefs.
3. Help clients clarify their charitable goals by creating a personal charitable mission statement that reflects their priorities and guiding principles.
4. Analyze common methodologies for assessing the cost of financial advisors and the value they provide.
5. Explain the potential benefits and challenges of working with financial advisors, including different fee models and service approaches.

CFP/IWI: Intermediate
NASBA: Basic

• CFP: General Principles of Financial Planning
• NASBA: Specialized Knowledge (Personal Financial Planning)
• NASAA: New and emerging issues or products for the IAR to navigate

Advisory Fee: A fee paid by investors charged by investment companies for making investment decisions and providing financial advice to clients. 

Assets Under Management (AUM): The total dollar amount of assets managed by a financial advisory firm. Firms using an AUM fee structure typically calculate client fees as a percentage of the client’s AUM. 

Charitable Mission Statement: A written summary created by a client to outline their charitable purpose and vision, reflecting their personal interests and goals.

Estate Planning: The process of organizing and preparing for the management and distribution of an individual’s assets after their death.  

Form ADV: A set of required registration documents submitted by investment advisers seeking to register with the SEC or state securities regulators. 

All self-study courses will be available at least through December 31, 2025.
Live courses are only available for the scheduled date.
All of our courses are reviewed on a yearly basis and renewed or discontinued every December.

• General Planning
• Investments
• Nerd's Eye View

In this session, learners will review three articles from the Nerd’s Eye View blog: Why Quality Factor ETFs Have Seen Large Inflows Over The Last Year – And How Advisors Can Use Them In Client Portfolios, Assessing Both Longevity AND Mortality Risk For More Effective Retirement Plans, and AI May Transform Your Advisor Practice In 10 Years, But It Still Won’t Do Much In 2 Years. In the first article, Robert Hum, a Managing Director and U.S. Head of Factor ETFs at Blackrock, discusses why Quality factor ETFs have seen significant inflows over the last year, the characteristics that define Quality, and how advicers can implement Quality ETFs investing in their clients’ portfolios. In the second article, Justin Fitzpatrick, Ph.D., CFP, CFA, highlights the importance of planning for both longevity and mortality risk when retirement planning for clients and highlights how advisors can incorporate this practice into their financial planning process. In the third article, Jason Pereira, MBA, CFA, CFP (Can & U.S.), RFP, TEP, addresses concerns about the role of AI in advisory by highlighting how new technology has historically been integrated into everyday lives. He further explains the functionality and limitations of AI technology today and provides advisors with some tips for how to start thoughtfully integrating AI tools into their practices.

1. Discuss trends in factor investing and why Quality factor ETFs have seen large inflows over the last year.
2. Implement a Quality ETF investment strategy in a client portfolio.
3. Describes the risks associated with longevity risk and mortality risk in retirement planning.
4. Identify strategies financial advisors can use to plan for uncertain lifespans in retirement planning.
5. Recognize potential future impacts of AI technologies on productivity and efficiency in advisory firms

CFP/IWI: Intermediate
NASBA: Basic

• CFP: General Principles of Financial Planning
• NASBA: Specialized Knowledge (Personal Financial Planning)
• NASAA: New and emerging issues or products for the IAR to navigate

Longevity Risk: The risk of outliving one’s money. 

Mortality Risk: The risk of dying earlier than expected and leaving a surviving spouse with less income than expected.

Generative AI: a form of artificial intelligence that processes large amounts of pre-existing data and picks up on patterns within that data through various types of advanced ‘learning’ techniques, which it then uses to make inferences about the future.

Investment Factor: specific drivers that influence a security or portfolio’s return. Th two main types of factors include macroeconomic (e.g., economic growth, inflation, credit, etc.) or style (e.g., value, momentum, quality, size, carry).

Magnificent 7: A financial moniker for 7 high-performing tech stocks, including Microsoft, Apple, Nvidia, Alphabet, Amazon, Meta, and Tesla (as of July 2024).

All self-study courses will be available at least through December 31, 2025.
Live courses are only available for the scheduled date.
All of our courses are reviewed on a yearly basis and renewed or discontinued every December.

• Estate Planning
• Nerd's Eye View

In the session, we will review two blog articles: Utilizing Swap Powers In Irrevocable Trusts To Add Flexibility And Income Tax Efficiency and Why Pre-Tax Retirement Contributions Are Better Than Roth In Peak Earning Years (Even If Tax Rates Increase).

In the first article, Anna Pfaehler, CFP, AEP, illustrates how advisors can recognize when swap powers in irrevocable trusts can be used to make irrevocable trusts more flexible and allow for greater tax efficiency to account for changing grantor circumstances. In the second article, Ben Henry-Moreland explains the debate over pre-tax retirement accounts as potential “tax time bombs” while considering historical changes in marginal tax rates and modern tax reform. Through this analysis of the tax time-bomb debate, Ben explains the benefits of utilizing pre-tax retirement accounts and how to determine when they would benefit client retirement portfolios.

1. Describe swap powers in irrevocable trusts and how the power of substitution can be created in a grantor trust.
2. Recognize when it may be beneficial for clients to swap assets in an irrevocable trust.
3. List the steps required to execute an asset swap in an irrevocable trust and identify the professional collaborations necessary to do so effectively.
4. Explain the history of marginal tax rate changes and how they compare to modern tax reform.
5. Analyze the pros and cons of pre-tax and Roth contributions, considering individual income changes, potential future tax increases, and strategies for minimizing tax liability during retirement.

CFP/IWI: Intermediate
NASBA: Basic

• CFP: Estate Planning
• NASBA: Specialized Knowledge (Personal Financial Planning)
• NASAA: New and emerging issues or products for the IAR to navigate

• 1.0 CFP hours
• 1.0 NASBA hours
• 1.0 IWI General Financial Planning hours
• 0.0 IWI Taxes and Regulations hours
• 0.0 IWI Ethics hours
• 0.0 IAR EPR Hours
• 1.0 IAR PP Hours

Donor Advised Fund (DAF): A private fund administered by a third party that accommodates tax-deductible donations that grow tax-free and that are designed to benefit qualified charitable organizations. 

Intentionally Defective Grantor Trust (IDGT): A type of trust structure where the income of the trust is still the grantor’s for income tax purposes, but the assets of the trust are excluded from their estate for estate tax purposes.

Irrevocable Trust: A type of trust that cannot be revoked or easily changed by the grantor after it is established. The grantor gives up ownership and control of the trust and its assets to a trustee who manages the trust. 

Roth Account: An account in which after-tax contributions are made and future withdrawals (including interest) are tax-free after age 59 1/2. 

Roth Conversion: The irrevocable transfer of assets from a traditional retirement account into a Roth account. Taxes are due on the amount converted in the year of conversion but grow tax-free in the Roth account after conversion.  

Step-Up In Basis: The readjustment of an inherited asset’s value when the asset has appreciated between the time it was purchased and the time it is received by a beneficiary. 

Traditional (Pre-Tax) Retirement Account: A type of account that provides a tax deduction for contributions, but that ultimately results in taxable income when distributions are taken.

All self-study courses will be available at least through December 31, 2025.
Live courses are only available for the scheduled date.
All of our courses are reviewed on a yearly basis and renewed or discontinued every December.

• Nerd's Eye View
• Taxes

In this session, learners will take a deep dive into the IRS’s Finalized Regulations through an article written by Jeffrey Levine, CPA/PFS, CFP, AIF, CWS, MSA, and Ben Henry-Moreland. In this session, Jeff and Ben highlight the impact of the finalized regulations on eligible and non-eligible designated beneficiaries. The authors go on to detail the implications of the Finalized Regulations on required minimum distributions, trusts, and annuities. The article concludes with a summary of proposed IRS regulations and the clarifications that advisors can glean from the latest IRS communications.

1. Determine the post-death distribution rules that apply to non-eligible beneficiaries based on the IRS’s Final Regulations released in July 2024.
2. Consider the impacts of the Final Regulations on eligible designated beneficiaries.
3. Highlight how the Final Regulations create new rules for trusts that are beneficiaries of retirement accounts.
4. Explain how annuities will be treated within retirement accounts under the Final Regulations .
5. Describe new proposed IRS regulations that may impact retirees and beneficiaries.

CFP/IWI: Intermediate
NASBA: Basic

• CFP: Tax Planning
• NASBA: Specialized Knowledge (Personal Financial Planning)
• NASAA: New and emerging issues or products for the IAR to navigate

• 1.0 CFP hours
• 1.5 NASBA hours
• 1.0 IWI General Financial Planning hours
• 0.0 IWI Taxes and Regulations hours
• 0.0 IWI Ethics hours
• 0.0 IAR EPR Hours
• 1.0 IAR PP Hours

Conduit Trust: A see-through trust that requires any distributions from an inherited IRA to pass through directly and immediately to the underlying income beneficiary, and that only the income beneficiary’s life expectancy must be considered. This allows subsequent remainder beneficiaries to be ignored.

Eligible Designated Beneficiaries: Designated beneficiaries of retirement accounts who fall into one of the following categories: surviving spouses; individuals who are disabled; persons who are chronically ill; persons not more than 10 years younger than the deceased individual; minor children of the decedent; or certain trusts.

Individual Retirement Account (IRA): Retirement accounts that have tax benefits such as tax-free growth and/or the ability to defer taxation to a later date (hopefully when one’s individual tax rate is lower).

Inherited IRA: An IRA account that is established when a person inherits a tax-advantaged retirement plan.

Non-Eligible Designated Beneficiary: Due to the changes brought about by the SECURE Act these individuals are not able to stretch retirement account distributions and must comply with the 10-year rule.

SECURE Act 2.0:  Part of the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2023 signed into law by President Joe Biden on December 23, 2022, SECURE Act 2.0 made sweeping changes to various retirement savings rules, including (but not limited to) pushing back RMDs to age 73 in 2023 (with a provision to push them back again to age 75 in 2033), elimination of RMDs from Roth accounts in employer retirement plans, allowing transfers from 529 accounts to Roth IRAs.

Setting Every Community Up For Retirement Enhancement (SECURE) Act: Signed into law by President Donald Trump on December 20, 2019, this piece of legislation will have the largest direct impact on retirement accounts since the passage of the Pension Protection Act in 2006.

All self-study courses will be available at least through December 31, 2025.
Live courses are only available for the scheduled date.
All of our courses are reviewed on a yearly basis and renewed or discontinued every December.

• Ethics
• General Planning
• Nerd's Eye View
• Regulation & Compliance

In this continuing education session, learners will review 2 Nerd Eye View blog articles: Using Digital Estate Planning Platforms To Complement Attorney And Advisor Roles and Seeking Best Execution: Understanding The SEC’s Expectations For Advisors To Deliver Best Outcomes For Clients. In the first article, David Haughton provides an overview of digital estate planning platforms, including their beneficial applications for clients and limitations. David then discusses the concept of the unauthorized practice of law and how advisors can mitigate ethical and legal concerns associated with digital estate planning platforms. In the second article, Chris Stanley explains the fiduciary duty of investment advisors in relation to the best execution of client securities transactions. In this article, SEC expectations, guidance from the 2018 Risk Alert, and directed brokerage arrangements are discussed.

1. Evaluate the role of digital estate planning platforms in addressing client needs while mitigating legal and ethical concerns around the unauthorized practice of law.
2. Discuss the benefits and limitations of using digital estate planning platforms compared to traditional legal services attorneys provide.
3. Explain an investment adviser’s fiduciary duty and the concept of best execution in client securities transactions.
4. Describe the key factors involved in the SEC’s expectations for an adviser to seek best execution of client securities transactions.
5. Explain the key compliance issues identified in the 2018 SEC Risk Alert regarding best execution by investment advisers.

CFP/IWI: Intermediate
NASBA: Basic

• CFP: Estate Planning, General Principles of Financial Planning
• NASBA: Specialized Knowledge (Personal Financial Planning)
• NASAA: Fiduciary obligations and ethical practices

Broker-Dealer (B/D): A financial entity engaged in executing securities trades in their own account as a dealer, and in executing securities trades on behalf of customers as a broker.   

Estate Planning: The process of organizing and preparing for the management and distribution of a person’s assets after their death.  

Medicaid: Jointly sponsored Federal and state government program that offers health coverage to a broad range of individuals, including low-income families and persons with disabilities.  

Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC): a regulatory agency in the United States, established by the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, responsible for enforcing federal securities laws and regulating the securities industry to protect investors, maintain fair, orderly, and efficient markets, and facilitate capital formation.

Springing Power of Attorney: This type of POA only comes into action, i.e. it springs into action, at the event of incapacitation.

All self-study courses will be available at least through December 31, 2025.
Live courses are only available for the scheduled date.
All of our courses are reviewed on a yearly basis and renewed or discontinued every December.

• Estate Planning
• General Planning
• Nerd's Eye View

In this continuing education session, learners will review 2 Nerd’s Eye View articles: Business Buy-Sell Agreements In The Wake of Connelly V. IRS: Ensuring Clients’ Business Succession Plans Don’t Create Future Estate Tax Issues and Gifting Without The Headache: Tax-Efficient Strategies To Stay Under Gift Reporting Limits. In the first article, advisors will review the mechanics of buy-sell agreements, including the pros and cons of cross-purchase versus entity-purchase agreements, and then delve into the impacts of the Supreme Court’s decisions in Connelly V. IRS. In the second article, David Haughton, JD, CPWA® provides an overview of gifting, including what gifts result in taxation or the necessity of gift tax reporting. Strategies to structure gifts to not use the lifetime gift and estate tax exemption or the annual exclusion are also discussed.

1. Describe the mechanics, benefits, and drawbacks of cross-purchase and entity-purchase buy-sell agreements.
2. Explain how the Supreme Court’s decision in Connelly v. Internal Revenue Service changed the mechanics of entity-purchase buy-sell agreements.
3. Evaluate options for clients to implement buy-sell agreements for succession planning considering the implications of the Connelly v. Internal Revenue Service decision.
4. Recognize when gifting results in taxation or gift tax reporting, considering the lifetime gift and estate tax exemption and annual gift tax exclusion.
5. Analyze strategies for structuring gifts that do not use the lifetime exemption or annual exclusion.

CFP/IWI: Intermediate
NASBA: Basic

• CFP: Estate Planning, General Principles of Financial Planning
• NASBA: Specialized Knowledge (Personal Financial Planning)
• NASAA: New and emerging issues or products for the IAR to navigat

529 Plan: A state-agency-sponsored tax-advantaged account established for education savings intended to be used for college expenses (tuition, books, and other qualified expenses), K-12 tuition, certain apprenticeship costs, and some student loan repayments. 

Annual Gift Tax Exclusion: A provision in US tax law that allows individuals to give up to a specific amount of money or property to another person each year without incurring Federal gift tax or affecting their lifetime gift and estate tax exemption.

Buy-Sell Agreement: A contract that gives one party the right or obligation to buy another party’s share of ownership in a business when a triggering event, such as death, incapacity, or retirement, occurs.

Cross-Purchase Agreement: A type of buy-sell agreement where the buy-sell transactions are between each individual owner.

Crummey Powers: Named after the famous court case, this strategy turns the premium payments into a “current” gift eligible for the IRC Section 2503 annual gift tax exclusion.  

Entity-Purchase Agreement: A type of buy-sell agreement where the business conducts the buy-sell transactions rather than the individual owners.

Lifetime and Estate Tax Exemption: The total amount of assets that an individual can transfer to others, either through gifts during their lifetime or as part of their estate after death, without incurring Federal gift or estate taxes.

All self-study courses will be available at least through December 31, 2025.
Live courses are only available for the scheduled date.
All of our courses are reviewed on a yearly basis and renewed or discontinued every December.

• General Planning
• Nerd's Eye View
• Retirement Planning
• Taxes

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. 

1. Explain the current status of the Social Security System.
2. Discuss potential policy options to make the Social Security System more sustainable, along with the benefits and drawbacks of each option.
3. Summarize the concept of Alternative Minimum Tax (AMT) and how it was impacted by the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA).
4. Build a strategy to help clients plan for changes to AMT after the 2026 TCJA sunset.
5. Identify examples of conflicts of interest that would prevent an advisory firm from claiming to provide conflict-free advice and understand the regulatory implications of advertising offering “conflict-free” advice.

CFP/IWI: Intermediate
NASBA: Basic

• CFP: Retirement Savings and Income Planning
• NASBA: Specialized Knowledge (Personal Financial Planning)
• NASAA: New and emerging issues or products for the IAR to navigate

Form ADV: A set of foundational registration documents that must be submitted by any investment adviser seeking to become registered with the SEC or the states.  

Registered Investment Adviser (RIA): A firm or individual registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission or state authorities and working in the investment advice business.   

SEC Marketing Rule: An SEC regulation adopted in 2020 (and requiring compliance by November 4, 2022) that introduced new rules and revised existing rules for SEC-registered investment advisers, most notably allowing the use of third-party testimonials and endorsements.  

Social Security: A government benefit that helps older Americans, workers who become disabled, and families in which a spouse or parent dies, often meant as a supplemental source of income to replace a percentage of a worker’s pre-retirement income based on the worker’s lifetime earnings.  

Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI): Benefit program administered by the Social Security Administration that provides benefits to disabled or blind persons who have a qualifying work history (either their own, or through a qualifying family member).  

State And Local Tax (SALT) Deduction Cap: A temporary limit of $10,000 set by the 2017 Tax Cuts & Jobs Act, which applies to the amount of state and local tax (SALT) an individual taxpayer can claim as an itemized deduction on their Federal income tax return.  

Tax Cuts And Jobs Act (TCJA) of 2017: Signed into law in December of 2017 by President Donald Trump, this was the largest re-write of the Federal Tax Code in more than 30 years, closing the loophole on Roth recharacterizations by eliminating the ability to recharacterize Roth IRA conversions made in 2018 or later.  

All self-study courses will be available at least through December 31, 2025.
Live courses are only available for the scheduled date.
All of our courses are reviewed on a yearly basis and renewed or discontinued every December.

• Estate Planning
• General Planning
• Nerd's Eye View

In this session, we review 2 blog articles: New RMD Rules For Spousal Beneficiaries Of Retirement Accounts With SECURE 2.0’s “Spousal Election” Option and Values, Purpose, Action: A 3-Part Approach To Establish A “Statement Of Financial Purpose” And Unlock Deeper, More Meaningful Planning Conversations With Clients.  

In the first article, Ben Henry-Moreland details the impact of SECURE Act 2.0 on spousal beneficiaries of retirement accounts, illustrating how advisors can analyze which options are best for the client based on factors such as the age of the surviving spouse, the RMD calculation method, and the successor beneficiaries. In the second article, we switch gears with advisor authors Jeremy Walter and Andy Baxley, who provide a framework for helping clients align their financial plans with their most fundamental core values. Throughout the article, Jeremy and Andy provide examples of how to incorporate the Values, Purpose, and Action framework into planning conversations with clients and how to help clients create a list of values and Statement of Financial Purpose.  

1. Understand the importance of integrating values-driven approaches in financial planning to enhance client fulfillment and satisfaction.
2. Explain the Values, Purpose, and Action framework and its components for creating a comprehensive financial plan.
3. Identify strategies financial advisors can use to guide clients in prioritizing values, setting meaningful goals, and drafting a Statement of Financial Purpose.
4. Identify the Required Minimum Distribution (RMD) calculation methods available for surviving spouses of inherited retirement accounts.
5. Compare the spousal rollover and spousal election options regarding their impact on RMDs and beneficiary treatment.

CFP/IWI: Intermediate
NASBA: Basic

• CFP: Estate Planning
• NASBA: Specialized Knowledge (Personal Financial Planning)
• NASAA: New and emerging issues or products for the IAR to navigate

5-Year Rule: The rule for non-designated beneficiaries that says all assets in the inherited retirement account must be distributed by the end of the fifth calendar year after the year of death when death occurs before the decedent’s required beginning date.  

Joint Life And Last Survivor Expectancy Table: Table used to calculate Required Minimum Distributions by married couples who have large age differences; specifically, when the owner of the IRA must name a spouse who is more than 10 years their junior as their sole beneficiary for the entire year.  

Non-Eligible Designated Beneficiary: Due to the changes brought about by the SECURE Act these individuals are not able to stretch retirement account distributions and must comply with the 10-year rule.  

Required Minimum Distribution (RMD): Distribution required by the IRS to be taken from most types of pre-tax retirement accounts upon reaching a specified age.   

SECURE Act 2.0:  Part of the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2023 signed into law by President Joe Biden on December 23, 2022, SECURE Act 2.0 made sweeping changes to various retirement savings rules, including (but not limited to) pushing back RMDs to age 73 in 2023 (with a provision to push them back again to age 75 in 2033), elimination of RMDs from Roth accounts in employer retirement plans, allowing transfers from 529 accounts to Roth IRAs.  

See-Through Trust: A trust that can qualify as a Designated Beneficiary to an inherited retirement account, subject to the SECURE Act’s new 10-Year Rule. These trusts must be valid under state law, irrevocable upon the retirement account owner’s death, contain identifiable beneficiaries, and submitted to the IRA custodian or plan administrator by Oct. 31 of the year following the year of death (or in the alternate, a certified list of trust beneficiaries can be provided by the same date).  

Single Life Table: Table used by beneficiaries to calculate the (“stretch”) RMDs from their inherited retirement accounts.  

Successor Beneficiary: The beneficiary of an inherited account owned by a primary beneficiary. For example, Tim passes and leaves his retirement account to his wife (primary beneficiary). Soon after, his wife also passes and leaves the retirement account to a child (successor beneficiary).  

Uniform Life Table: A life expectancy table generally used to determine the life expectancy factor for calculating RMDs during an account owner’s lifetime.  

All self-study courses will be available at least through December 31, 2025.
Live courses are only available for the scheduled date.
All of our courses are reviewed on a yearly basis and renewed or discontinued every December.

• Ethics
• Nerd's Eye View

In this session, learners will review two Nerd’s Eye View blog articles: Hiring Your First Employee: What You Need To Know To Cover Your Compliance Obligations, When Are Advisors (Financially) Liable For Negligent Investment Advice? (And Who Pays For It), and The SEC Playbook For Newly-Registered Advisers: Preparing For The SEC Examination And Complying With The Information Request Letter. In the first article, Jacqueline Hummel walks advisors through the critical considerations and compliance obligations when hiring their first employee. Topics such as whether to hire an independent contractor or employee, registration requirements for investment advisors, and determining how new hires will be supervised are discussed. In the second article, Ben Henry-Moreland reviews the legal precedence for advisor liability when providing advice to clients and discusses the implications on firms and individual advisors for negligence. In the third article, Chris Stanley provides a detailed overview of the process of going through an SEC Examination and highlights best practices for preparation for newly registered investment advisers.

1. Describe critical considerations when firm owners hire their first employee for a new business, including workload assessment, compliance requirements, and registration needs.
2. Explain the legal framework and principles surrounding the professional liability of financial advisors.
3. Recognize the implications of professional liability of individual advisors and advisory firms and the importance of firm culture in minimizing liability risks.
4. Identify the steps typically involved in the initiation of an SEC examination for newly registered advisers.
5. Prepare for the information requests and procedures associated with the SEC’s Information Request Letter during an examination.

CFP/IWI: Intermediate
NASBA: Basic

• CFP: Professional Conduct and Regulation
• NASBA: Ethics
• NASAA: Fiduciary obligations and ethical practices

• 1.0 CFP hours
• 1.5 NASBA hours
• 1.0 IWI General Financial Planning hours
• 0.0 IWI Taxes and Regulations hours
• 0.0 IWI Ethics hours
• 1.0 IAR EPR Hours
• 0.0 IAR PP Hours

Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC): a regulatory agency in the United States established by the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. The SEC is responsible for enforcing Federal securities laws and regulating the securities industry to protect investors, maintain fair, orderly, and efficient markets, and facilitate capital formation. 

Form U4: Document used to establish an individual’s registration with applicable states as an Investment Adviser Representative (IAR) of a registered investment adviser. 

Form ADV: A set of foundational registration documents that must be submitted by any investment adviser seeking to become registered with the SEC or the states. 

Investment Advisers Act Of 1940 (“the Advisers Act”): A law that places certain requirements and restrictions on investment advisers pertaining to registration, compensation, and creation of advisory agreements. 

Assets Under Management (AUM): The dollar amount of client assets managed by a financial advisory firm. Firms using an AUM fee structure generally calculate client fees based on a percentage of the client’s AUM.

Regulatory Assets Under Management (RAUM): Defined by the SEC as “securities portfolios for which [advisers] provide continuous and regular supervisory or management services.” For most states, an RAUM over $100 million requires registration at the SEC level.

All self-study courses will be available at least through December 31, 2025.
Live courses are only available for the scheduled date.
All of our courses are reviewed on a yearly basis and renewed or discontinued every December.

• Nerd's Eye View
• Retirement Planning

In this session, learners will review two estate planning articles from the Nerd’s Eye View blog by David Haughton, JD, CPWA: Creating Incentive Trusts To Foster Beneficiary Legacies Without Spoiling The Kids and Making Estate Planning More Tax Efficient And Equitable For Beneficiaries By NOT Just Splitting The Assets Evenly. Both articles examine how inherited assets may impact beneficiaries and how clients, with the assistance of their advisors, can be proactive by planning for the realities of future inheritances. In the first article, Haughton walks through the common ways decedents transfer assets to beneficiaries and explains how incentive trusts can be used to incentivize (or disincentivize) behaviors in accordance with their values, such as personal responsibility, entrepreneurship, and philanthropy. In the second article, Haughton discusses how clients commonly leave their beneficiaries equal amounts of each asset to be distributed as a way to split assets tax-efficiently and equitably. But Haughton suggests an alternative asset-by-asset approach that can be more effective, which considers the beneficiary’s unique financial circumstances and that may result in a more equitable split of assets. This article explains the approach, its advantages and disadvantages, and when it may be a useful strategy for clients to adopt.

1. Discuss the various methods of distributing an estate and their potential effect on beneficiaries’ behavior and financial management.
2. Identify different strategies to incentivize and disincentivize beneficiaries within an estate plan.
3. Explain how different asset types (non-qualified, qualified, and quasi-qualified) affect the tax implications for beneficiaries in estate planning.
4. Analyze how an asset-by-asset approach to estate planning can influence the overall tax efficiency and equitable distribution of an estate compared to a ‘one big pot’ approach.
5. Assess how beneficiaries’ income levels and tax statuses may be affected by the distribution and tax liabilities of inherited assets and determine when an asset-by-asset approach might be beneficial.

CFP/IWI: Intermediate
NASBA: Basic

• CFP: Estate Planning
• NASBA: Specialized Knowledge
• NASAA: New and emerging issues or products for the IAR to navigate

• 1.0 CFP hours
• 1.5 NASBA hours
• 1.0 IWI General Financial Planning hours
• 0.0 IWI Taxes and Regulations hours
• 0.0 IWI Ethics hours
• 0.0 IAR EPR Hours
• 1.0 IAR PP Hours

Estate Planning: The process of organizing and preparing for the management and distribution of a person’s assets after their death.  

Individual Retirement Account (IRA): Retirement accounts that have tax benefits such as tax-free growth and/or the ability to defer taxation to a later date (hopefully when one’s individual tax rate is lower).

Non-Qualified Deferred Annuities: A form of annuity which does not receive a tax deduction upon contribution and growth is taxed upon distribution, but which does receive tax deferral in the interim.

Step-Up In Basis: The readjustment of an asset’s value when the asset has appreciated between the time it was purchased, and the time it is received by a beneficiary.

Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA): A Federal law designed to protect an individual’s assets by setting standards for employee retirement and health benefit plans. 

Discretionary Trust: Trusts that often require that all, or a substantial portion of retirement account distributions remain in the trust and not distributed out to the trust beneficiaries. 

All self-study courses will be available at least through December 31, 2025.
Live courses are only available for the scheduled date.
All of our courses are reviewed on a yearly basis and renewed or discontinued every December.

• General Planning
• Nerd's Eye View

In this session, learners will review two Nerd’s Eye View blog articles: Navigating The FTC’s Ban On (Most) Non-Competes: The New World Of Partnerships And Non-Solicits and Why “Deferred Sales Trusts” Can Be A Risky Way To Defer Taxes On A Business Sale.

In the first article, authors Michael Kitces and Adam Van Deusen from Kitces.com explain the impacts and implications of the Federal Trade Commission ban on non-competes, detailing the scope of the ban, exceptions, and anticipated impact on financial advisory firms. They further provide alternative methods for advisors to protect their interests without enforceable non-compete agreements.

In the second article, Ben Henry-Moreland discusses the benefits and downsides associated with installment sales for business owners. He then explains the Deferred Sales Trust (DST) strategy, highlighting the purported benefits, risks, and legal concerns associated with this business sale strategy.

1. Describe the rationale behind using non-compete agreements and their implications for employers and employees.
2. Explain the Federal Trade Commission’s (FTC) rule on banning non-compete agreements, including its scope, exceptions, and anticipated impact.
3. Analyze alternative methods firms might use to protect their interests in the absence of enforceable non-compete agreements.
4. Summarize the concept and mechanics of installment sales, including the tax benefits and potential downsides.
5. Evaluate the Deferred Sales Trust (DST) strategy, its purported benefits, risks, and legal standing.

• CFP/IWI: Intermediate  
• NASBA: Basic  

• CFP: Professional Conduct and Regulation
• NASBA: Specialized Knowledge
• NASAA: New and emerging issues or products for the IAR to navigate

• 1.0 CFP hours
• 1.5 NASBA hours
• 1.0 IWI General Financial Planning hours
• 0.0 IWI Taxes and Regulations hours
• 1.0 IWI Ethics hours
• 0.0 IAR EPR Hours
• 1.0 IAR PP Hours

Federal Trade Commission (FTC): An independent agency of the United States government established whose primary mission is to enforce antitrust laws and promote consumer protection.

Non-Compete Agreement: An agreement that prohibits an employee from working for a competing company, at least for a certain period of time.  

Non-Disclosure Agreement (NDA): A contract to legally enforce confidentiality between two or more parties to prevent sensitive information from being shared with others.

Non-Solicit Agreement: An agreement that places restrictions on a departing employee with respect to communicating with (and soliciting) the firm’s clients.

Installment Sale: Any sale of property in which the payments from the buyer to the seller are spread out over more than one calendar year

All self-study courses will be available at least through December 31, 2025.
Live courses are only available for the scheduled date.
All of our courses are reviewed on a yearly basis and renewed or discontinued every December.

• Ethics
• Nerd's Eye View

In this continuing education session, we review two blog articles: How To Register And Remain Registered With The SEC As An Internet Investment Adviser and DoL’s Retirement Security Rule & PTE 2020-02 Amendment: What Advisers Need to Know Now About Giving Rollover Advice After Sept 23, 2024. In the first article, Chris Stanley explains the history of the Internet Adviser Exemption as a pathway to SEC registration and reviews the 2024 amendments to the rule. In the second article, Jacqueline Hummel reviews upcoming changes to the fiduciary standards for advisors providing investment advice to retirement investors under the final version of the Department of Labor’s Retirement Security Rule.

1. Explain the history and evolution of the Internet Adviser Exemption.
2. Identify and explain the criteria for SEC registration.
3. Analyze the impact of the 2024 amendment of the Internet Adviser Exemption.
4. Describe the significance and key provisions of the Department of Labor’s Retirement Security Rule (the “Final Rule”).
5. Compare and contrast legislation related to advisor fiduciary standards.

• CFP/IWI: Intermediate  
• NASBA: Basic  

• CFP: Professional Conduct and Regulation
• NASBA: Behavioral Ethics
• NASAA: Fiduciary obligations and ethical practices

• 1.0 CFP hours
• 1.5 NASBA hours
• 1.0 IWI General Financial Planning hours
• 0.0 IWI Taxes and Regulations hours
• 1.0 IWI Ethics hours
• 1.0 IAR EPR Hours
• 0.0 IAR PP Hours

Compliance: Establishing, maintaining, and enforcing policies and procedures reasonably designed to achieve compliance with regulatory laws, such as Regulation Best Interest.

Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA): A Federal law designed to protect an individual’s assets by setting standards for employee retirement and health benefit plans.

Form ADV: A set of foundational registration documents that must be submitted by any investment adviser seeking to become registered with the SEC or the states. 

Form CRS: Customer/Client Relationship Summary document that explains the nature of services, relationship, fees, costs, standard of conduct, and conflicts  

Registered Investment Adviser (RIA): A firm or individual registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission or state authorities and working in the investment advice business.

Robo-Advisor: a digital platform or software program that provides automated, algorithm-driven financial planning services with minimal human intervention.

Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC): a regulatory agency in the United States, established by the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, responsible for enforcing federal securities laws and regulating the securities industry to protect investors, maintain fair, orderly, and efficient markets, and facilitate capital formation.

U.S. Department of Labor (DoL): a Federal government agency responsible for promoting and ensuring the welfare of job seekers, wage earners, and retirees in the United States.

All self-study courses will be available at least through December 31, 2025.
Live courses are only available for the scheduled date.
All of our courses are reviewed on a yearly basis and renewed or discontinued every December.

• Nerd's Eye View

In this continuing education session, we will review 3 articles on client communication in financial planning client engagements. In the first article, “3 Question Types To Go From (Just) Retained To Highly Engaged And Happier Clients,” Meghaan Lurtz, PhD, FBS details research on client engagement and opportunities for advisors to engage clients proactively. In the second article, “Reframing Risk In Retirement As “Over- And Under-Spending” To Better Communicate Decisions To Clients, And Finding “Best Guess” Spending Level,” Justin Fitzpatrick, PhD, CFP, CFA explains how the success/failure framing of Monte Carlo analysis can cause clients to focus on the possibility of failure and how to consider reframing retirement income discussion into a framing of overspending or underspending. Fitzpatrick further discusses how advisors can help clients determine a balanced spending level. In the third article of this series, “5 Questions Using Risk Assessment Data That Help Advisors Understand Clients’ True Concerns About Risk,” Meghaan Lurtz walks advisors through transforming the collection of risk tolerance data from clients into risk conversations to help advisors more precisely understand how clients are impacted by risk and how to best serve them.

1. Describe the relationship between client retention rates and engagement rates.
2. Identify the signs of client engagement.
3. Reframe client conversations about retirement income risk to help guide clients through future plan adjustments.
4. Explain the different types of risk measurement tools.
5. Utilize questions about risk assessment data to engage clients in conversations about risk.

• CFP/IWI: Intermediate  
• NASBA: Basic  

• CFP: Psychology of Financial Planning
• NASBA: Specialized Knowledge (Personal Financial Planning)
• NASAA: New and emerging issues or products for the IAR to navigate

• 1.0 CFP hours
• 1.5 NASBA hours
• 1.0 IWI General Financial Planning hours
• 0.0 IWI Taxes and Regulations hours
• 0.0 IWI Ethics hours
• 0.0 IAR EPR Hours
• 1.0 IAR PP Hours

Econometric: A type of risk measure that focuses on probabilities and trade-offs. 

Guardrails Strategy: A retirement spending approach developed by Guyton and Klinger, this strategy considers upper and lower portfolio limits (i.e., the “guardrails”), that serve as pre-determined thresholds for determining when to increase or decrease future spending. 

Monte Carlo Analysis: A type of probability-based analysis often used in retirement planning, which at a basic level calculates multiple iterations of a client’s projected income and spending over a specified time period while randomizing investment returns, with an output representing the percentage of iterations in which the client did (or did not) deplete their assets over the time period. 

Psychometric Risk: A style of risk measurement generally used by psychologists, it uses psychological scales that assess one’s broad willingness to take financial (or other) risks. 

Status Quo Bias: A cognitive effect whereby individuals prefer to stay in their current situation when faced with the possibility of change. 

All self-study courses will be available at least through December 31, 2025.
Live courses are only available for the scheduled date.
All of our courses are reviewed on a yearly basis and renewed or discontinued every December.

• Nerd's Eye View

This quiz will include a review of the following articles: Is Private Debt Worth Considering As An (Alternative) Asset Class In Client Portfolios?, Creating A (Just In Case) Game Plan For Clients Facing Layoffs and How Sequence-Of-Inflation Risk Impacts Retirees Beyond Just Sequences Of Returns

1. Understand the considerations underlying whether an investment in a private debt fund might be appropriate for a given client.
2. Assess a client’s preparedness for a potential job layoff.
3. Describe how advisors can help clients prepare for a potential job layoff.
4. Understand how an advisor can support a client who is laid off from their job.
5. Discuss the impact of sequence-of-inflation risk on retirement planning and the characteristics that make a plan more susceptible to such risk.

• CFP/IWI: Intermediate  
• NASBA: Basic  

• CFP: General Principles of Financial Planning
• NASBA: Specialized Knowledge (Personal Financial Planning)
• NASAA: New and emerging issues or products for the IAR to navigate

• 1.0 CFP hours
• 1.5 NASBA hours
• 1.0 IWI General Financial Planning hours
• 0.0 IWI Taxes and Regulations hours
• 0.0 IWI Ethics hours
• 0.0 IAR EPR Hours
• 1.0 IAR PP Hours

Flexible Spending Account (FSA): A type of savings account offered as an employer benefit that allows individuals to save for certain out-of-pocket medical expenses. Taxes are not paid on withdrawals but, unlike Health Savings Accounts (HSAs), balances cannot be carried over year-to-year or after terminating from employment.

Home Equity Line Of Credit (HELOC): A revolving line of credit that offers homeowners access to a loan backed by equity in their home. Typically there is a set period – often 10 years – during which funds can be borrowed, and only interest on borrowed funds needs to be repaid during this period. After the ‘draw’ period ends, the loan is paid back, similar to a traditional mortgage, over another set period (which might be 10, 15, or even 20 years).

Monte Carlo Analysis: A type of probability-based analysis often used in retirement planning, which at a basic level calculates multiple iterations of a client’s projected income and spending over a specified time period while randomizing investment returns, with an output representing the percentage of iterations in which the client did (or did not) deplete their assets over the time period.

Private Debt Fund: A managed pool of assets that lends money to companies, frequently small and middle market firms, potentially offering a higher rate of return than funds that invest in debt traded on the public market.

Private Debt Fund General Partner: Responsible for managing the private debt fund, with responsibilities that include: selecting attractive credit opportunities, negotiating lending contracts, managing their execution, actively monitoring investments, renegotiating lending agreements in case of covenant breaches, and managing the execution of credit workouts and the realization of secondary market transactions.

Sequence-Of-Inflation Risk: The risk presented by inflation volatility over time, as even if high short-term inflation rates average out into lower long-term averages, a retiree could still be in significant trouble if the sequence of those returns is unfavorable (e.g., high inflation rates occurring at the beginning of retirement may require larger drawdowns that compromise the portfolio’s subsequent potential for future growth).

Sequence-Of-Return Risk: The risk presented by return volatility over time, as even if short-term volatility averages out into favorable long-term returns, a retiree could still be in significant trouble if the sequence of those returns is unfavorable (e.g., if bad returns occur at the beginning of retirement).

All self-study courses will be available at least through December 31, 2025.
Live courses are only available for the scheduled date.
All of our courses are reviewed on a yearly basis and renewed or discontinued every December.

• Nerd's Eye View

This quiz will include a review of the following articles: Implementing Retirement Income Guardrails To Facilitate (The Right) Spending Raises And Spending Cuts, Providing Mortgage Advice In A Higher Interest-Rate Environment: Opportunities For Advisors To Add Value, and How Different Monte Carlo Models Perform In The Real World: Assessing Quality Of Predictiveness In Retirement Income Forecasting Models

1. Describe how advisors can best implement a ‘guardrail’ retirement income strategy and discuss the strategy with clients.
2. Learn ways advisors can add value for their clients in a higher interest-rate environment.
3. Understand how probabilistic forecasts correspond with real-world outcomes
4. Explain why traditional Monte Carlo analyses might not be the best probabilistic forecasting model to use in retirement planning.
5. Describe 4 different approaches for Capital Market Assumption (CMA) creation

• CFP/IWI: Intermediate  
• NASBA: Basic  

• CFP: Retirement Planning
• NASBA: Specialized Knowledge (Personal Financial Planning)
• NASAA: New and emerging issues or products for the IAR to navigate

• 1.0 CFP hours
• 1.5 NASBA hours
• 1.0 IWI General Financial Planning hours
• 0.0 IWI Taxes and Regulations hours
• 0.0 IWI Ethics hours
• 0.0 IAR EPR Hours
• 1.0 IAR PP Hours

Brier Score: A score function calculated to assess the accuracy of a predictive model, based on the mean squared error of the predictions of the model. A lower score indicates more accurate predictability.

Guardrails Strategy: A retirement spending approach developed by Guyton and Klinger, this strategy considers upper and lower portfolio limits (i.e., the “guardrails”), that serve as pre-determined thresholds for determining when to increase or decrease future spending.

Home Equity Line Of Credit (HELOC): A revolving line of credit that offers homeowners access to a loan backed by equity in their home. Typically there is a set period – often 10 years – during which funds can be borrowed, and only interest on borrowed funds needs to be repaid during this period. After the ‘draw’ period ends, the loan is paid back, similar to a traditional mortgage, over another set period (which might be 10, 15, or even 20 years).

Intra-Family Loan: A type of loan where the loan recipient receives the loan from a family member rather than a commercial institution. Such a loan can provide the lender with interest income and the recipient with a lower interest rate than they might otherwise receive, but the loan must be set up in accordance with IRS regulations to avoid running afoul of gift tax rules.

Monte Carlo Analysis: A type of probability-based analysis often used in retirement planning, which at a basic level calculates multiple iterations of a client’s projected income and spending over a specified time period while randomizing investment returns, with an output representing the percentage of iterations in which the client did (or did not) deplete their assets over the time period.

Regime-Based Monte Carlo Simulation: Adjusting the return and standard deviation assumptions in a Monte Carlo analysis to emulate particular market conditions for certain periods of time; for example, adjusting the first ten years of an expected timeline to reflect expectations based on current valuations.

All self-study courses will be available at least through December 31, 2025.
Live courses are only available for the scheduled date.
All of our courses are reviewed on a yearly basis and renewed or discontinued every December.

• Nerd's Eye View

This quiz reviews two blog articles: Net Unrealized Appreciation Tax Strategies and Why Tax-Loss Harvesting During Down Markets Isn’t Always A Good Idea.

1. Describe the rules that must be followed for a Net Unrealized Appreciation transaction to potentially reduce an individual’s tax liability. 
2. Understand the circumstances where a taxpayer could most benefit from a Net Unrealized Appreciation. 
3. Explain how tax-loss harvesting can create future tax liabilities by lowering the portfolio’s cost basis
4. Describe situations where tax-loss harvesting may not be beneficial for a client
5. Analyze the tax-deferral benefit of tax-loss harvesting

• CFP/IWI: Intermediate  
• NASBA: Basic  

• CFP: Tax Planning
• NASBA: Specialized Knowledge (Personal Financial Planning)
• NASAA: New and emerging issues or products for the IAR to navigate

• 1.0 CFP hours
• 1.5 NASBA hours
• 1.0 IWI General Financial Planning hours
• 1.0 IWI Taxes and Regulations hours
• 0.0 IWI Ethics hours
• 0.0 IAR EPR Hours
• 1.0 IAR PP Hours

Capital Gains: The profit on the sale of an asset (stock, real estate, art) that has increased over time.

Capital Loss: The value below the cost basis someone receives after the sale of an asset.

Lump-Sum Distribution: Withdrawal of the entire balance owned by an individual who is a plan participant of their employer’s qualified retirement plan. The distribution must take place within a single tax year, and generally takes place only after the participant leaves the company, reaches age 59 ½, becomes permanently and totally disabled, or dies.

Net Investment Income Tax (NIIT): A 3.8% tax on income received from an investment asset before taxes.

Net Unrealized Appreciation (NUA): Appreciation of the employer’s company stock held in an individual’s retirement plan sponsored by the employer.

Tax-Loss Harvesting: A strategy for generating tax savings that involves selling a security in a taxable account for a loss to create a tax deduction, then using the proceeds to buy a similar security to remain invested in the market.

All self-study courses will be available at least through December 31, 2025.
Live courses are only available for the scheduled date.
All of our courses are reviewed on a yearly basis and renewed or discontinued every December.

• Nerd's Eye View

This quiz will include a review of the following articles: Limits Of Tax Diversification And The Tax Alpha Of Roth Optimization and How S-Corp Owner Employees Can Accurately Track Home Office Deductions.

1. Explain how the timing of account contributions is important in Roth optimization.
2. Understand why splitting contributions between Roth and Traditional IRAs isn’t really a means of achieving tax diversification.
3. Identify the tax thresholds that impact Roth optimization strategies.
4. Understand eligibility guidelines for claiming the home office deduction.
5. Discuss the drawbacks and benefits of each of the 2 methods used to calculate the home office deduction.

• CFP/IWI: Intermediate  
• NASBA: Basic  

• CFP: Tax Planning
• NASBA: Specialized Knowledge (Personal Financial Planning)
• NASAA: New and emerging issues or products for the IAR to navigate

• 1.0 CFP hours
• 1.0 NASBA hours
• 1.0 IWI General Financial Planning hours
• 0.0 IWI Taxes and Regulations hours
• 0.0 IWI Ethics hours
• 0.0 IAR EPR Hours
• 1.0 IAR PP Hours

Tax Equivalency Principle: The principle that the value of tax-free growth in a Roth account is equivalent to the value of the upfront tax deduction taken for a contribution to a traditional retirement account, assuming that tax rates stay the same over time.  

Roth Optimization: Strategically allocating contributions between Roth and Traditional retirement accounts by factoring in the timing of one’s own tax circumstances 

Marginal Tax Rate: The tax rate that applies only to each additional dollar earned as income. 

Effective Tax Rate: The average tax, calculated by dividing total amount of tax by total income. 

Exclusive-Use Test: This test must be passed to claim the home office deduction, where the portion of the home that is deemed the home office must be used entirely for business purposes. 

Regular-Use Requirement: A requirement that must be met to claim the home office deduction, where the home office must be used on a regular basis. Simply using one’s home office on occasion would be insufficient to claim the deduction. 

Principal-Place-of-Business Requirement: A requirement that must be met to claim the home office deduction, where the home office must be the taxpayer’s principal place of business as determined by the amount of time spent at various business locations and the importance of tasks performed at each location. 

All self-study courses will be available at least through December 31, 2025.
Live courses are only available for the scheduled date.
All of our courses are reviewed on a yearly basis and renewed or discontinued every December.

• Nerd's Eye View

In this continuing education session, learners will review two blog articles: Why Pre-Commitment Strategies Can Work And 3 Steps To Implement Them With (The Right) Prospects and Maximizing The Step-Up In Basis By Gifting Assets Between Spouses. In the first article, Dr. Meghaan Lurtz, FBS explains the psychology behind pre-commitment strategies along with the potential pitfalls of using the pre-commitment strategy of providing a free financial plan to prospects. In the second article, Jeff Levine, CPA/PFS, CFP®, AIF, CWS®, MSA explains how maximizing the step-up in basis at death can be a powerful planning tool and details how advisors can help spouses to proactively plan for the step-up rules during life to maximize their benefit.

1. Discuss the behavioral biases that make pre-commitment strategies so effective.
2. Explain how to mitigate the potential downsides of implementing pre-commitment strategies.
3. Understand when assets in a decedent’s estate receive a step-up in basis.
4. Explain how step-up in basis rules differ in separate-property and community-property states.
5. Describe the pitfalls of transferring assets to Medicaid-eligible spouses.

• CFP/IWI: Intermediate  
• NASBA: Basic  

• CFP: General Principles of Financial Planning
• NASBA: Specialized Knowledge (Personal Financial Planning)
• NASAA: New and emerging issues or products for the IAR to navigate

• 1.0 CFP hours
• 1.5 NASBA hours
• 1.0 IWI General Financial Planning hours
• 0.0 IWI Taxes and Regulations hours
• 0.0 IWI Ethics hours
• 0.0 IAR EPR Hours
• 1.0 IAR PP Hours

Endowment Effect: Tendency to overestimate the value of things we own.

Loss Aversion: The desire to avoid loss, based on the premise that the pain of loss is more potent than the pleasure of gain.

Status Quo Bias: A cognitive effect whereby individuals prefer to stay in their current situation when faced with the possibility of change.

Step-Up In Basis: The readjustment of an asset’s value when the asset has appreciated between the time it was purchased and the time it is received by a beneficiary.

All self-study courses will be available at least through December 31, 2025.
Live courses are only available for the scheduled date.
All of our courses are reviewed on a yearly basis and renewed or discontinued every December.

• Nerd's Eye View

This quiz will include a review of the following articles: Factor Investing And Its (Behavioral) Persistence: Facts and Fiction About The Zoo Of Factors and Instant-Issue Term Life Insurance: What Are The Costs Of Low-Hassle Coverage, And When Are They Worth It?

1. Define what factor-based investing is and how to assess whether a particular factor may be worthy of consideration.
2. Understand some of the risk-based and behavioral theories offered for different factor styles.
3. Explain the screening process for traditional versus instant-issue insurance
4. Discuss the pros and cons of instant-issue term life insurance.
5. Evaluate whether instant-issue term insurance may be appropriate for a client.

• CFP/IWI: Intermediate  
• NASBA: Basic  

• CFP: Risk Management and Insurance Planning
• NASBA: Specialized Knowledge (Personal Financial Planning)
• NASAA: New and emerging issues or products for the IAR to navigate

• 1.0 CFP hours
• 1.5 NASBA hours
• 1.0 IWI General Financial Planning hours
• 0.0 IWI Taxes and Regulations hours
• 0.0 IWI Ethics hours
• 0.0 IAR EPR Hours
• 1.0 IAR PP Hours

Investment Factor: specific drivers that influence a security or portfolio’s return. Th two main types of factors include macroeconomic (e.g., economic growth, inflation, credit, etc.) or style (e.g., value, momentum, quality, size, carry).

Capital Asset Pricing Model (CAPM): A model that defined how risk can drive expected returns of a particular investment by examining risk and return through its exposure to market beta.

Beta: A measure of a security’s (or portfolio’s) volatility, or risk relative to the overall market.

Instant-Issue Term Insurance: Term life insurance policy that provides a (nearly) instantaneous decision to an applicant with no underwriting requirements.

Accelerated/Non-Med Insurance: Term life insurance policy that provides a faster decision (often around 2-4 weeks) and simpler underwriting requirements than traditional term life insurance policies.

Underwriting: A process that helps insurance companies determine the risk involved with insurance applicants through gathering information to develop a profile based on the applicant’s age, gender, health, medical history, and lifestyle factors that can impact a person’s health.

All self-study courses will be available at least through December 31, 2025.
Live courses are only available for the scheduled date.
All of our courses are reviewed on a yearly basis and renewed or discontinued every December.

• Nerd's Eye View

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

1. Describe the impact of discussing dreams and goals in discovery meetings.
2. Explain how focusing on current pain points can motivate clients more than discussing future dreams when it comes to taking action on their financial plans.
3. Apply 3 approaches to creating more meaningful conversations in prospect discovery meetings.
4. Understand the challenges clients may face in discovery meetings.
5. Recognize how the Transtheoretical Model of Change can apply to financial planning clients.

• CFP/IWI: Intermediate  
• NASBA: Basic  

• CFP: Psychology of Financial Planning
• NASBA: Specialized Knowledge (Personal Financial Planning)
• NASAA: New and emerging issues or products for the IAR to navigate

• 1.0 CFP hours
• 1.0 NASBA hours
• 1.0 IWI General Financial Planning hours
• 0.0 IWI Taxes and Regulations hours
• 0.0 IWI Ethics hours
• 0.0 IAR EPR Hours
• 1.0 IAR PP Hours

Action Stage Of Change: The stage when clients take the plan that they were putting together in the preparation stage and actually set it in motion.

Contemplation Stage Of Change: The second stage in the Transtheoretical Model of Change, where individuals are aware that they have an issue, know that their behaviors have consequences affecting the issue, and have developed an intention to make a change.

Discovery Meeting: A meeting with prospects where the advisor and prospect can learn about one another to facilitate deciding whether they will enjoy working together and envisioning the scope of work that will be done through the engagement.

Maintenance Stage Of Change: The final stage of change in the Transtheoretical Model of Change. Clients in this stage are turning new actions (implemented in the previous “Action” stage) into habits and, in doing so, need to build up financial self-efficacy.

Pre-Contemplation Stage Of Change: The first stage in the Transtheoretical Model of Change, where individuals often do not know or believe that they need to make a change.

Preparation Stage Of Change: The third stage in the Transtheoretical Model of Change, often denoted by the fact that the client, although not ready for action, is actually trying to take an idea from the Contemplation stage and map out how to get it done once they are finally ready for action.

Transtheoretical Model (TTM) Of Change: A theoretical model developed by James Prochaska, John Norcross, and Carlo DiClemente, which describes the process of change in six stages.

Termination Stage of Change: A stage commonly applied to a mental health therapy setting, when patients feel they no longer need guidance from their therapist to make the change they initially sought because it has become fully integrated into their lives.

All self-study courses will be available at least through December 31, 2025.
Live courses are only available for the scheduled date.
All of our courses are reviewed on a yearly basis and renewed or discontinued every December.

• Nerd's Eye View

This quiz reviews two blog articles: Navigating the Thrift Savings Plan: Planning Opportunities To Support Federal Employees, Military Servicemembers, And Veterans and The HSA ‘Deathbed Drawdown’: Making Tax-Efficient Distributions Of Large Balances (When There Isn’t Much Time). In the first article, Stacy Miller, CFP®, walks readers through the Thrift Savings Plan. This article details the background of the plan and why professional advice can be helpful to federal employees and military servicemembers, especially as military servicemembers transition back into civilian life. She concludes this article with actionable steps that advisors can take to support clients that are participants in the Thrift Savings Plan.

In the second article, Ben Henry-Moreland, Senior Financial Planning Nerd at Kitces.com reviews the benefits of Health Savings Accounts (HSAs) along with the pitfalls of having funds remaining in the accounts at the death of the owner. He further explains two strategies for managing HSA funds.

1. Describe the history of the Thrift Savings Plan and the current state of the plan.
2. Explain the main features of the Thrift Savings Plan.
3. Determine how to support clients that are participants in the Thrift Savings Plan.
4. Explain 2 standard approaches to managing HSAs.
5. Assess the benefits and potential drawbacks of superfunding Health Savings Accounts.

• CFP/IWI: Intermediate  
• NASBA: Basic  

• CFP: Retirement Planning
• NASBA: Specialized Knowledge (Personal Financial Planning)
• NASAA: New and emerging issues or products for the IAR to navigate

• 1.0 CFP hours
• 1.5 NASBA hours
• 1.0 IWI General Financial Planning hours
• 0.0 IWI Taxes and Regulations hours
• 0.0 IWI Ethics hours
• 0.0 IAR EPR Hours
• 1.0 IAR PP Hours

Blended Retirement System (BRS): The military retirement system that was developed out of an effort to create flexibility and mirror what retirement benefits are available to civilians.

Health Savings Account (HSA): A savings account that receives favorable tax treatment when distributions are used to pay for medical expenses. Contributions are tax-deductible, growth is tax-deferred, and withdrawals used to pay for (qualified) healthcare expenses are tax-free. In order to contribute, an individual must be covered by an HSA-eligible HDHP and have no other health coverage, may not be enrolled in Medicare, may not be claimed as a dependent on someone else’s tax return.

High-Deductible Health Plan (HDHP): A healthcare plan that has a higher deductible requirement than a traditional health insurance plan. In order to be an HSA-eligible HDHP, a plan must have a minimum annual deductible and a maximum annual out-out-pocket amount that meets the limits set by the IRS.

Thrift Savings Plan (TSP): The Federal employee and military member’s version of the 401(k) plan.

All self-study courses will be available at least through December 31, 2025.
Live courses are only available for the scheduled date.
All of our courses are reviewed on a yearly basis and renewed or discontinued every December.

• Nerd's Eye View

This quiz reviews two Nerd’s Eye View blog articles: Tax-Loss Harvesting Best Practices (And How To Scale It Across A Client Base) and Reconstructing Lost IRA Basis to Help Avoid Double Taxation. In the first article, participants will learn how to determine if tax-loss harvesting is appropriate for a client and review potential pitfalls when executing these transactions. In the second article, participants will turn their attention to lost IRA basis, covering how basis can be lost, how to effectively track basis, and how to recover basis if it is lost.

1. Analyze factors to consider when determining if tax-loss harvesting for a client would make sense.
2. Explain how tax harvesting can be used to defer or arbitrage taxes.
3. Describe tax regulations related to wash sales and how to avoid this type of transaction.
4. Identify the common ways in which IRA basis can be lost.
5. Identify strategies to help clients recover lost basis.

• CFP/IWI: Intermediate  
• NASBA: Basic  

• CFP: Tax Planning
• NASBA: Specialized Knowledge (Personal Financial Planning)
• NASAA: New and emerging issues or products for the IAR to navigate

• 1.0 CFP hours
• 1.5 NASBA hours
• 1.0 IWI General Financial Planning hours
• 0.0 IWI Taxes and Regulations hours
• 0.0 IWI Ethics hours
• 0.0 IAR EPR Hours
• 1.0 IAR PP Hours

Basis: The original cost paid for an investment, which can be different from the actual value of the investment at the time of sale.  

Capital Loss: The value below the cost basis someone receives after the sale of an asset. 

Non-Deductible IRA: Different from traditional IRAs, contributions are made with after-tax dollars and, therefore, offer no immediate tax benefit.

Tax-Loss Harvesting: A strategy that relies on the deliberate sale of securities resulting in a capital loss so that capital gains (or, to some extent, ordinary income) taxes can be reduced. 

Traditional IRA: An individual retirement account that allows individuals to contribute pre-tax dollars that grow tax-deferred until withdrawal. Withdrawals are then taxed at the individual’s income tax rate at the time of withdrawal. 

All self-study courses will be available at least through December 31, 2025.
Live courses are only available for the scheduled date.
All of our courses are reviewed on a yearly basis and renewed or discontinued every December.

• Nerd's Eye View

This quiz will include a review of the following articles: Performance Advertising Guidelines For Investment Advisers Under the SEC’s New Marketing Rule and IAR CE: Continuing Education Requirements For Investment Adviser Representatives And How Different States Adopt NASAA’s Model Rule

1. Explain the regulations regarding performance advertising in the SEC’s Marketing Rule.
2. Describe the types of communication that are defined as advertisements under the first ‘prong’ of the SEC’s Marketing Rule.
3. List the 7 performance advertising prohibitions under the SEC’s Marketing Rule.
4. Describe the new continuing education requirements for Investment Adviser Representatives.
5. Determine whether or not an IAR is required to complete continuing education.

• CFP/IWI: Intermediate  
• NASBA: Basic  

• CFP: General Principles of Financial Planning / Investment Planning / Retirement Planning
• NASBA: Specialized Knowledge (Personal Financial Planning)
• NASAA: New and emerging issues or products for the IAR to navigate

• 1.0 CFP hours
• 1.0 NASBA hours
• 1.0 IWI General Financial Planning hours
• 0.0 IWI Taxes and Regulations hours
• 0.0 IWI Ethics hours
• 1.0 IAR EPR Hours
• 0.0 IAR PP Hours

SEC Marketing Rule: An SEC regulation adopted in 2020 (and requiring compliance by November 4, 2022) that introduced new rules and revised existing rules for SEC-registered investment advisers, most notably allowing the use of third-party testimonials and endorsements.

Gross Performance: Investment returns that are reported without accounting for fees or expenses that would be paid by the client

Net Performance: Investment returns that are reported after accounting for fees and expenses paid by the client

Hypothetical Performance: Investment returns that are reported for a portfolio that does not actually exist in reality, but is instead calculated based on historical investment data, market assumptions, or other calculations, and is heavily scrutinized by the SEC for its potential to mislead investors.

Form U4: Document used to establish an individual’s registration with applicable states as an Investment Adviser Representative (IAR) of a registered investment adviser.

Registered Investment Advisor (RIA): A firm or individual registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission or state authorities and working in the investment advice business.

All self-study courses will be available at least through December 31, 2025.
Live courses are only available for the scheduled date.
All of our courses are reviewed on a yearly basis and renewed or discontinued every December.

• Nerd's Eye View

This quiz will include a review of the following articles: How Advisors Can Help (Not-So HNW) Clients Maximize Asset Protection By Assessing Strategies, Tools, And Education and Navigating The Double Consolidation Process To Help Parent PLUS Student Loan Borrowers Reduce Loan Burden

1. Explain options for asset protection for non-HNW clients.
2. Understand when the use of a trust or the formation of a corporate entity (e.g., an LLC) can make sense for an individual as an asset protection strategy.
3. Describe the protection that ERISA provides to qualified plan assets and how to determine the protection it provides to IRA accounts.
4. Recognize the financial planning opportunities for Parent PLUS student loan borrowers.
5. Describe how Parent PLUS loans can qualify for Income-Driven Repayment (IDR) plans through a double consolidation loan strategy.

• CFP/IWI: Intermediate  
• NASBA: Basic  

• CFP: General Principles of Financial Planning
• NASBA: Specialized Knowledge (Personal Financial Planning)
• NASAA: New and emerging issues or products for the IAR to navigate

• 1.0 CFP hours
• 1.5 NASBA hours
• 1.0 IWI General Financial Planning hours
• 0.0 IWI Taxes and Regulations hours
• 0.0 IWI Ethics hours
• 0.0 IAR EPR Hours
• 1.0 IAR PP Hours

Bankruptcy: A legal process that begins when a person or business who cannot pay outstanding debts files a case under the U.S. Bankruptcy Code in order to free themselves from the debt. As part of the process, their assets are evaluated and can be used to repay part of the outstanding debt.

Homestead Exemption: A provision offered by most states that serves to protect a personal residence from creditors after the owner dies or declares bankruptcy.

Limited Liability Company (LLC): A business structure that can be recognized by the IRS as a corporation, partnership, or a disregarded entity, depending on the nature of the structure and the election made by the owners of the structure. LLCs can protect owners from personal liability of business debt.

Spousal Lifetime Asset Trust (SLAT): A trust that can be used in lieu of a bypass trust, it is intended to benefit the spouse (and/or children) of the grantor. Funded by gift while the donor is still alive, SLATs provide the surviving spouse with access to principal and income of the trust.

Umbrella Insurance: Personal liability insurance that extends coverage generally provided by homeowners or auto insurance policies.

Uniform Fraudulent Transfers Act (UFTA):  A model act adopted by most states, which serves to define when a creditor can make a claim to fraudulently transferred assets.

Monte Carlo Analysis: A type of probability-based analysis often used in retirement planning, which at a basic level calculates multiple iterations of a client’s projected income and spending over a specified time period while randomizing investment returns, with an output representing the percentage of iterations in which the client did (or did not) deplete their assets over the time period.

Sequence-Of-Inflation Risk: The risk presented by inflation volatility over time, as even if high short-term inflation rates average out into lower long-term averages, a retiree could still be in significant trouble if the sequence of those returns is unfavorable (e.g., high inflation rates occurring at the beginning of retirement may require larger drawdowns that compromise the portfolio’s subsequent potential for future growth).

Sequence-Of-Return Risk: The risk presented by return volatility over time, as even if short-term volatility averages out into favorable long-term returns, a retiree could still be in significant trouble if the sequence of those returns is unfavorable (e.g., if bad returns occur at the beginning of retirement).

Direct Loans: Federal government loans provided through the William D. Ford Federal Direct Loan program.

Income-Driven Repayment: A repayment plan for Federal student loans where the monthly payment is based on a percentage of the borrower’s discretionary income rather than on the loan balance and interest rate.

Loan Consolidation: Allows a borrower to combine multiple Federal student loans into one loan. Consolidation does come with risk, particularly for those pursuing loan forgiveness on an Income-Driven Repayment plan, because it wipes out the loan history attached to the original loans.

Loan Forgiveness: The cancellation of a borrower’s obligation to repay some or all of the remaining amount owed on a loan.

Saving on A Valuable Education (SAVE) Plan: An Income-Driven Repayment plan introduced by the Biden Administration for Federal student loan borrowers serving to replace the REPAYE plan and reduce borrowers’ monthly student loan payments.

All self-study courses will be available at least through December 31, 2025.
Live courses are only available for the scheduled date.
All of our courses are reviewed on a yearly basis and renewed or discontinued every December.

• Nerd's Eye View

This quiz will include a review of the following articles: Why International Diversification Is Still The Prudent Strategy (While Keeping Behavioral Biases, Risks, And Results In A Healthy Perspective) and Changes To Student Loan Planning With The New SAVE Income-Driven Repayment (IDR) Plan

1. Understand how recency bias can impact an investor’s viewpoint on global diversification.
2. Discuss the general trend of market diversification across countries after a systemic financial crisis.
3. Explain the rationale for a disciplined approach to global diversification.
4. Evaluate how changes to student loan regulations impact student loan borrowers.
5. Describe the intricacies of the new SAVE Income-Driven Repayment (IDR) Plan.

• CFP/IWI: Intermediate  
• NASBA: Basic  

• CFP: Investment Planning
• NASBA: Specialized Knowledge (Personal Financial Planning)
• NASAA: New and emerging issues or products for the IAR to navigate

• 1.0 CFP hours
• 1.5 NASBA hours

• 1.0 CFP hours
• 1.5 NASBA hours
• 1.0 IWI General Financial Planning hours
• 0.0 IWI Taxes and Regulations hours
• 0.0 IWI Ethics hours
• 0.0 IAR EPR Hours
• 1.0 IAR PP Hours

Recency Bias: A behavioral bias that cause individuals to overweight the importance of recent events over those that occurred farther in the past.

Cyclically Adjusted Price-To-Earnings (CAPE) Ratio: Valuation measure that calculates the share price of an asset (generally broad equity indices) divided by the average inflation-adjusted earnings over a given period, usually 10 to 20 years. The Shiller P/E Ratio is a 10-year CAPE ratio.

Investment Factor: Specific drivers that influence a security or portfolio’s return. The two main types of factors are macroeconomic (e.g., economic growth, inflation, credit, etc.) and style (e.g., value, momentum, quality, size, carry).

Loan Consolidation: Allows a borrower to combine multiple federal education loans into one loan. Consolidation does come with risk, particularly for those pursuing loan forgiveness on an Income Driven Repayment plan, because it wipes out the loan history attached to the original loans.

Loan Forgiveness: The cancellation of a borrower’s obligation to repay some or all of the remaining amount owed on a loan.

Income-Driven Repayment: A repayment plan for Federal student loans where the monthly payment is based on a percentage of the borrower’s discretionary income rather than on the loan balance and interest rate.

Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF): Government program offering forgiveness of outstanding student loan balances for borrowers who dedicate 120 months (10 years) to a full-time job in public service (i.e., a nonprofit or government job).

Saving on A Valuable Education (SAVE) Plan: An Income-Driven Repayment plan introduced by the Biden Administration for Federal student loan borrowers serving to replace the REPAYE plan and reduce borrowers’ monthly student loan payments.

Negative Amortization: An increase in principal loan balance due to failure to pay sufficient interest to cover the loan. Balances amortize higher as excess unpaid interest accrues and compounds.

All self-study courses will be available at least through December 31, 2025.
Live courses are only available for the scheduled date.
All of our courses are reviewed on a yearly basis and renewed or discontinued every December.

• Nerd's Eye View

In this continuing education session, the learner will read 4 articles from the Nerd’s Eye View blog: The Problem Of High U.S. Equity Valuations And How Advisors Can Factor In Current Evaluations Risks, Why Moving To A Lower-Tax State Doesn’t Always Result In Lower State Taxes On Deferred Income, How Communicating Guardrails Withdrawal Strategies Can Improve Client Experience And Decrease Stress, and Why Guyton-Klinger Guardrails Are Too Risky For Most Retirees (And How Risk-Based Guardrails Can Help).

Each of the 4 articles will discuss important aspects of retirement planning through the lens of investing and tax planning. In The Problem Of High U.S. Equity Valuations And How Advisors Can Factor In Current Evaluations Risks, Larry Swedroe, Head of Financial and Economic Research for Buckingham Strategic Wealth, explains how advisors can create more reasonable return assumptions for long-term financial planning. Swedroe explains the factors that have led to the high average equity returns from the last decade, why these high U.S. equity returns are not likely to continue into the future, and how to account for these high U.S. equity valuations in investment portfolios.

In Why Moving To A Lower-Tax State Doesn’t Always Result In Lower State Taxes On Deferred Income, Ben Henry-Moreland explains state taxation for deferred compensation and how to factor in state tax laws when relocating to minimize taxation on future retirement income.

Derek Tharp is featured in 2 articles this month: How Communicating Guardrails Withdrawal Strategies Can Improve Client Experience And Decrease Stress and Why Guyton-Klinger Guardrails Are Too Risky For Most Retirees (co-authored by Justin Fitzpatrick). He explains the importance of explaining withdrawal guardrails to clients to reduce stress and provide clarity on how to cope with economic downturns in retirement. In the second article on retirement guardrails, the authors explain the strengths and weaknesses of the Guyton-Klinger guardrail method and explain how risk-based guardrails can be used to better manage retirement income risk.

1. Summarize the factors that have led to the high valuations for U.S. equities.
2. Develop a plan to address the issue of high U.S. equities valuations in a client’s investment portfolio.
3. Determine how a client’s deferred income would be taxed at the state level.
4. Articulate why it is important to communicate withdrawal guardrails to clients.
5. Explain how Guyton-Klinger withdrawal guardrails work along with their strengths and weaknesses.
6. Compare Guyton-Klinger withdrawal guardrails with the risk-based retirement guardrails.

• CFP/IWI: Intermediate  
• NASBA: Basic  

• CFP: Retirement Savings and Income Planning
• NASBA: Specialized Knowledge (Personal Financial Planning)
• NASAA: New and emerging issues or products for the IAR to navigate

Capital Gains: The profit on the sale of an asset (stock, real estate, art) that has increased over time.

Equity Compensation: Non-cash payment for services that provides ownership in a company. It is commonly offered to executives and key employees in addition to their pay and includes different forms of company stock.

Guardrails Strategy: A retirement spending approach developed by Guyton and Klinger, this strategy considers upper and lower portfolio limits (i.e., the “guardrails”), that serve as pre-determined thresholds for determining when to increase or decrease future spending.

Monte Carlo Analysis: A type of probability-based analysis often used in retirement planning, which at a basic level calculates multiple iterations of a client’s projected income and spending over a specified time period while randomizing investment returns, with an output representing the percentage of iterations in which the client did (or did not) deplete their assets over the time period.

Recency Bias: A behavioral bias that causes individuals to overweight the importance of recent events over those that occurred farther in the past.

Restricted Stock Options: Also referred to as share grants or performance shares, provide employees with shares of the company, but are subject to vesting criteria.

Risk-Based Guardrails: A holistic approach to adjusting client income based on a range of factors, including longevity expectations, expected future cash flows, expected future (real) income changes, and other factors.

Stock Options: These give employees the right (not the obligation) to buy company shares at a fixed price (known as the exercise or grant price).

• 1.5 CFP hours
• 1.5 NASBA hours
• 1.5 IWI General Financial Planning hours
• 0.0 IWI Taxes and Regulations hours
• 0.0 IWI Ethics hours
• 0.0 IAR EPR Hours
• 1.5 IAR PP Hours

All self-study courses will be available at least through December 31, 2025.
Live courses are only available for the scheduled date.
All of our courses are reviewed on a yearly basis and renewed or discontinued every December.

• Nerd's Eye View

This month, we review 2 blog articles. The first article, A Proposed Salesperson’s Exemption To The DoL’s Retirement Security Rule?, the XY Planning Network Public Comment letter submitted to the Department of Labor regarding its proposed Retirement Security Rule, is shared with Nerd’s Eye View readers. The ethical concerns of consumers not understanding if they are working with an advisor or a salesperson are discussed along with the regulatory history separating advice and sales. In FinCEN’s New 2024 Requirement For State-Registered RIAs (And Other Small Businesses) To Report Beneficial Ownership Information (BOI), new reporting requirements proposed by the Corporate Transparency Act (CTA) are summarized, covering exemption businesses, reporting deadlines, necessary information, and penalties for non-compliance.

1. Describe the evolution of regulation and fiduciary obligations of financial advisors and financial services salespeople.
2. Explain how consumer perceptions can be impacted by the titles of advisors and salespeople.
3. State the elements of the proposed “Salesperson Exemption” to the Department of Labor’s proposed Retirement Security Rule.
4. Summarize the proposed small business reporting requirements of the Corporate Transparency Act.
5. Understand the proposed penalties for willfully reporting inaccurate Beneficial Ownership Information (BOI).

• CFP/IWI: Intermediate  
• NASBA: Basic  

• CFP: Professional Conduct and Regulation
• NASBA: Specialized Knowledge (Personal Financial Planning)
• NASAA: New and emerging issues or products for the IAR to navigate

Investment Advisers Act Of 1940 (“the Advisers Act”): law that places certain requirements and restrictions on investment advisers pertaining to registration, compensation, and creation of advisory agreements.

Retirement Security Rule (RIN 1210-AC02): A Department of Labor proposal to update regulation that defines “fiduciary” under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act.  

Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN): a bureau of the United States Department of the Treasury that collects and analyzes financial data and transactions with the mission of protecting the financial system from illicit use and money laundering.

• 1.0 CFP hours
• 1.5 NASBA hours
• 1.0 IWI General Financial Planning hours
• 0.0 IWI Taxes and Regulations hours
• 1.0 IWI Ethics hours
• 1.0 IAR EPR Hours
• 0.0 IAR PP Hours

All self-study courses will be available at least through December 31, 2025.
Live courses are only available for the scheduled date.
All of our courses are reviewed on a yearly basis and renewed or discontinued every December.

• Nerd's Eye View

This continuing education session focuses on client interaction and psychology when engaging in the financial planning process through the review of three articles: Fact, Situation, Feeling – Using The Iceberg Follow-Up Model To Connect With And Motivate Clients, Using Reflection Questions To Help Prospects Find Clarity And Focus On A Shared Planning Vision, Flip ‘Plan Presentation’ Into ‘Plan Engagement’ Meetings To Generate More Focus And Reflective Questions From Clients. Two articles will focus on the benefit of asking focused questions. The first article will detail how to implement a strategy to ask better follow-up questions to build deeper relationships with clients, and the second explains how to utilize reflection questions with clients to help them narrow their goals for a financial planning engagement and find the motivation to stick with their plan. The final article in this series highlights trends in how advisors present financial plans to clients and explains the concept of a flipped classroom with an illustration of how a ‘flipped’ classroom teaching style could be used in client presentations.

1. Explain the benefits of utilizing follow-up questions in the financial planning process.
2. Utilize the Iceberg Method of follow-up questions to deepen client relationships.
3. Describe a ‘flipped classroom’ approach and how it can be applied to a financial planning meeting. 
4. Recognize the benefits of utilizing reflection questions in prospect meetings.
5. Employ reflection questions in discovery meetings with prospects.

• CFP/IWI: Intermediate  
• NASBA: Basic  

• CFP: Psychology of Financial Planning
• NASBA: Specialized Knowledge (Personal Financial Planning)
• NASAA: New and emerging issues or products for the IAR to navigate

Close-Ended Questions: Questions that can often be answered with just a single word, such as “Fine”, “Great”, or “Okay”.

Discovery Meeting: A meeting with prospects where the advisor and prospect can learn about one another to facilitate deciding whether they will enjoy working together and envisioning the scope of work that will be done through the engagement.

‘Flipped’ Meeting: When information is presented in advance rather than during the meeting itself.

Follow-Up Question:  A question that is used with the sole purpose of understanding the speaker better.

Open-Ended Questions: Questions that cannot be answered with a single word, and that are useful for encouraging careful thought and reflection.

Reflection: Repeating back to a client (or friend, family member, office mate) something they just said.

Social Constructionism: A theory that suggests reality can be developed collaboratively.

• 1.0 CFP hours
• 1.5 NASBA hours
• 1.0 IWI General Financial Planning hours
• 0.0 IWI Taxes and Regulations hours
• 0.0 IWI Ethics hours
• 0.0 IAR EPR Hours
• 1.0 IAR PP Hours

All self-study courses will be available at least through December 31, 2025.
Live courses are only available for the scheduled date.
All of our courses are reviewed on a yearly basis and renewed or discontinued every December.

• Nerd's Eye View

In this continuing education session, the learner will read three articles from the Nerd’s Eye View blog: “Using ‘Magic Wand’ Questions To Help Clients Articulate Financial Needs And Goals (That They Otherwise Struggle To Express)”, “Drafting A Power Of Attorney (POA) Using A Comprehensive ‘Kitchen Sink’ Approach To Avoid Common Pitfalls”, and “Using A Testamentary Charitable Remainder Unitrust (T-CRUT) To Give Twice To Both Loved Ones And Charitable Organizations”.

In “Using ‘Magic Wand’ Questions To Help Clients Articulate Financial Needs And Goals (That They Otherwise Struggle To Express)”, Dr. Meghaan Lurtz discusses how to use “magic wand” questions to ease client tensions while exploring their financial goals, concerns, and dreams. How this strategy can be used to facilitate financial discussions with couple clients is also discussed.

In “Drafting A Power Of Attorney (POA) Using A Comprehensive ‘Kitchen Sink’ Approach To Avoid Common Pitfalls”, David Hauhgton, JD, CPWA, explains the common power of attorney features that could lead to rejection by financial institutions and how they can be addressed through conscientious drafting or with actions post-rejection.

In “Using A Testamentary Charitable Remainder Unitrust (T-CRUT) To Give Twice To Both Loved Ones And Charitable Organizations,” Kathleen M. Rehl, PhD, CFP, CEFT emeritus, explains how Testamentary Charitable Remainder Unitrusts function and shares her experience in establishing one. She concludes this article with a review of the pros and cons of implementing a T-CRUT and the types of clients these trusts may be a good fit for.

1. Utilize magic wand questions to help clients articulate their needs and goals in a positive environment.
2. Explain the function of the types of powers of attorney and their specific use purposes.
3. Evaluate whether a client’s power of attorney could be subject to rejection by financial institutions.
4. Describe how a Testamentary Charitable Remainder Unitrust (T-CRUT) functions.
5. Explain the pros and cons of utilizing a Testamentary Charitable Remainder Unitrust (T-CRUT) in an estate plan and who they are suitable for.

• CFP/IWI: Intermediate  
• NASBA: Basic  

• CFP: Estate Planning
• NASBA: Specialized Knowledge (Personal Financial Planning)
• NASAA: New and emerging issues or products for the IAR to navigate

Durable Power of Attorney: This type of POA becomes effective as soon as it is signed and continues to be effective even after or through the principal becoming incapacitated. 

Power Of Attorney (POA): A legal document that grants an individual (or group of persons, or even an organization) the right (i.e., the power) to act on another person’s behalf.  

Springing Power of Attorney: This type of POA only comes into action (i.e., it springs into action) in the event of incapacitation.  

Testamentary Charitable Remainder Trust (T-CRUT): A charitable remainder trust that is created after the death of the grantor. After the T-CRUT is funded, the trust then distributes a fixed percentage of trust income, equal to at least 5% but no more than 50% of the actual value of the trust, to beneficiaries for either a specified number of years not to exceed 20 or the life of the beneficiary. After this period, at least 10% of the original contribution to the trust must be transferred to a charity as the remainder beneficiary.

• 1.5 CFP hours
• 2.0 NASBA hours
• 1.5 IWI General Financial Planning hours
• 0.0 IWI Taxes and Regulations hours
• 0.0 IWI Ethics hours
• 0.0 IAR EPR Hours
• 1.5 IAR PP Hours

All self-study courses will be available at least through December 31, 2025.
Live courses are only available for the scheduled date.
All of our courses are reviewed on a yearly basis and renewed or discontinued every December.

• Nerd's Eye View

This month, we review December blog articles. This quiz includes the following articles: When Does A Financial Coach Need To Register As An Investment Adviser? The “ABCS” Test To Determine Status and AI-Generated Financial Advice And The Fiduciary Catch-22.

1. Restate the history of the investment adviser registration.
2. Explain the intricacies of the ABCS Test for determining the necessity for investment adviser registration.
3. Assess whether financial coaching services would require registration as an investment adviser.
4. Describe how a financial advisor’s fiduciary duties apply to technology use.
5. Comprehend the risks of using AI in their advisory practice and how to remain compliant when using AI tools.

• CFP: Professional Conduct and Regulation
• NASBA: Specialized Knowledge (Personal Financial Planning)\
• IAR: New and emerging issues or products for the IAR to navigate

• 1.0 CFP hours
• 1.5 NASBA hours
• 1.0 IWI General Financial Planning hours
• 0.0 IWI Taxes and Regulations hours
• 0.0 IWI Ethics hours
• 0.0 IAR EPR Hours
• 1.0 IAR PP Hours

All self-study courses will be available at least through December 31, 2025.
Live courses are only available for the scheduled date.
All of our courses are reviewed on a yearly basis and renewed or discontinued every December.

• Nerd's Eye View

This month, we review December blog articles. This quiz includes the following articles: Preserving HSA Eligibility And Maximizing Contributions After Age 65 and Implementation Questions To Properly Prioritize And Address To-Dos For Consistent Follow-Through.

1. Explain the benefits of utilizing and building savings in an HSA.
2. State the requirements for an individual to contribute to an HSA and the associated contribution limits.
3. Describe strategies to preserve HSA eligibility after age 65.
4. Analyze roadblocks that a client may be facing when implementing a financial plan.
5. Understand how to utilize questions to help clients follow through on the implementation of their financial plan.

• CFP: General Principles of Financial Planning
• NASBA: Specialized Knowledge (Personal Financial Planning)
• IAR: Specialized Knowledge (Personal Financial Planning)

• 1.0 CFP hours
• 1.5 NASBA hours
• 1.0 IWI General Financial Planning hours
• 0.0 IWI Taxes and Regulations hours
• 0.0 IWI Ethics hours
• 0.0 IAR EPR Hours
• 1.0 IAR PP Hours

All self-study courses will be available at least through December 31, 2025.
Live courses are only available for the scheduled date.
All of our courses are reviewed on a yearly basis and renewed or discontinued every December.

• Ethics
• Nerd's Eye View

This month we review October blog articles. This quiz includes the following articles: A Guide To Conducting And Documenting An Annual Compliance Review Under New SEC Amendment and Crafting An Annual Compliance Calendar For A (Solo) RIA: Staying On Top Of Compliance Tasks While Serving Clients.

1. Understand why an amendment was made to the SEC Compliance Rule to clarify the requirement for advisers to maintain documentation of compliance reviews.
2. Describe the key elements that advisers need to evaluate when conducting an annual compliance review.
3. Discuss how annual compliance review documentation helps the SEC better understand a particular adviser’s compliance program.
4. Describe the basic compliance requirements for which a solo RIA is responsible.
5. Develop a plan to construct a “compliance calendar” to assist in the process of annual RIA compliance tasks.

• CFP: Psychology of Financial Planning
• NASBA: Regulatory Ethics

• 1.0 CFP hours
• 1.5 NASBA hours
• 1.0 IWI General Financial Planning hours
• 0.0 IWI Taxes and Regulations hours
• 1.0 IWI Ethics hours
• 1.0 IAR EPR Hours
• 0.0 IAR PP Hours

All self-study courses will be available at least through December 31, 2025.
Live courses are only available for the scheduled date.
All of our courses are reviewed on a yearly basis and renewed or discontinued every December.

• Ethics
• Nerd's Eye View

This month we review October blog articles. This quiz includes the following articles: Switching Between State And SEC Registration: Evaluating Options (And Requirements) For RIAs Nearing $100 Million RAUM  and Extracting Actionable Takeaways From The SEC’s Staff Bulletin Regarding An RIA’s Standard Of Care.

1. Understand the different requirements for registering with the SEC and at the state level, and when advisers need to switch between state and SEC registration.
2. Determine when an RIA should register with the SEC.
3. Understand when it is necessary for an RIA to de-register from the SEC.
4. Explain 3 of the primary actions an RIA can take to fulfill their Fiduciary duty of care.
5. Identify the components that should be considered in a client’s investment profile.

• CFP: Psychology of Financial Planning
• NASBA: Regulatory Ethics

• 1.0 CFP hours
• 1.5 NASBA hours
• 1.0 IWI General Financial Planning hours
• 0.0 IWI Taxes and Regulations hours
• 1.0 IWI Ethics hours
• 1.0 IAR EPR Hours
• 0.0 IAR PP Hours

All self-study courses will be available at least through December 31, 2025.
Live courses are only available for the scheduled date.
All of our courses are reviewed on a yearly basis and renewed or discontinued every December.

• Nerd's Eye View

This month we review the August blog articles. This quiz includes the following articles: Motivational Interviewing Techniques To Help Clients Talk Themselves Into Implementing Advice and Crafting More Equitable Advisor Non-Solicit Agreements With The ACRES Agreement

1. Evaluate how the 4 guiding principles of motivational interviewing support the general steps involved in the process.
2. Describe the stages of change and where ambivalence most commonly occurs during those stages.
3. Discuss the role of desire and fear in motivation.
4. Understand the role of the Broker Protocol in the historical use of employment agreements by financial services companies.
5. Differentiate the differences between non-compete and non-solicit agreements and how each have played a role in the financial advice industry.

• CFP and IWI: General Principles of Financial Planning
• NASBA: Specialized Knowledge (Personal Financial Planning)
• NASAA Topic Area(s): New and emerging issues or products for the IAR to navigate

• 1.0 CFP hours
• 1.5 NASBA hours
• 1.0 IWI General Financial Planning hours
• 0.0 IWI Taxes and Regulations hours
• 0.0 IWI Ethics hours
• 0.0 IAR EPR Hours
• 1.0 IAR PP Hours

All self-study courses will be available at least through December 31, 2025.
Live courses are only available for the scheduled date.
All of our courses are reviewed on a yearly basis and renewed or discontinued every December.

• Ethics
• Nerd's Eye View

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.

1. Understand the purpose of Form U4 and what it discloses.
2. Describe common mistakes made when filing Form U4 and some best practices to avoid those mistakes.
3. Understand the challenges an RIA facse when preparing Form U4.
4. Describe the 5 components that constitute the minimum requirements related to Codes of Ethics that must be maintained by all SEC-registered investment advisers.
5. Develop a compliant code of ethics.

• CFP: General Principles of Financial Planning
• IWI: Ethics
• NASBA: Specialized Knowledge (Personal Financial Planning)
• NASAA: Ethics

• 1.0 CFP hours
• 1.0 NASBA hours
• 1.0 IWI General Financial Planning hours
• 0.0 IWI Taxes and Regulations hours
• 1.0 IWI Ethics hours
• 1.0 IAR EPR Hours
• 0.0 IAR PP Hours

All self-study courses will be available at least through December 31, 2025.
Live courses are only available for the scheduled date.
All of our courses are reviewed on a yearly basis and renewed or discontinued every December.

• Ethics
• Nerd's Eye View

This quiz includes the following articles: Paid Solicitation Under The SEC Marketing Rule: Using Third-Parties For Lead Generation And Prospecting; Form ADV Part 1: Common Missteps And Best Practices For RIAs.

1. Understand the differences between solicitors, promoters, and providers, as defined by the SEC.
2. Distinguish between ADV Part 1 and ADV Part 2A.
3. Distinguish when testimonials and endorsements are considered advertisements.
4. Recognize common issues faced when completing Form ADV Part 1.
5. Identify the difference between the four ADV forms.

• CFP: General Principles of Financial Planning
• IWI: Ethics
• NASBA: Specialized Knowledge (Personal Financial Planning)
• NASAA: Ethics

• 1.0 CFP hours
• 1.0 NASBA hours
• 1.0 IWI General Financial Planning hours
• 0.0 IWI Taxes and Regulations hours
• 1.0 IWI Ethics hours
• 1.0 IAR EPR Hours
• 0.0 IAR PP Hours

All self-study courses will be available at least through December 31, 2025.
Live courses are only available for the scheduled date.
All of our courses are reviewed on a yearly basis and renewed or discontinued every December.

• Nerd's Eye View

This month we review May blog articles. This quiz includes the following articles: Foster More Productive Client Meetings By Mitigating Interruptions Based On (Conversational) ‘Intensity Level’, Instead Of Asking “Why”, Try “What Else” To Get Clients To Open Up About Goals, and 5 Screening Questions To Assess Client Readiness And Appropriateness (And Why It’s Especially Useful For Some Firms)

1. Describe different individual conversational intensity levels.
2. Discuss how individuals with different conversational intensity levels are impacted by interruptions.
3. Explain the caveats of asking clients the question, “Why?” as a way to get explore their financial backgrounds.
4. Understand when a screening call process can be most beneficial for a financial planning firm.
5. Discuss how screening call questions can be used to identify relationships that will be a good fit for an advisor’s firm.

• CFP: General Principles of Financial Planning
• NASBA: Specialized Knowledge (Personal Financial Planning)

• 1.0 CFP hours
• 1.5 NASBA hours
• 1.0 IWI General Financial Planning hours
• 0.0 IWI Taxes and Regulations hours
• 0.0 IWI Ethics hours
• 0.0 IAR EPR Hours
• 1.0 IAR PP Hours

All self-study courses will be available at least through December 31, 2025.
Live courses are only available for the scheduled date.
All of our courses are reviewed on a yearly basis and renewed or discontinued every December.

• Nerd's Eye View

IAR CE applied for, but reporting may be delayed.

This month we review May blog articles. This quiz includes the following articles: Investing For Nonimmigrant Visa Holders: Understanding Visa Types, Investment Challenges, And Tax Implications and Pass-Through Entity Taxes: Mechanics, Considerations, And Planning Opportunities For Navigating SALT Cap Workarounds.

1. Describe the types of nonimmigrant worker visas and the prerequisites to obtain them.
2. Discuss the investment challenges faced by foreign nonimmigrant workers in the U.S.
3. Understand what the Federal SALT deduction cap and how it impacts individual taxpayers.
4. Explain how the Pass-Through Entity Tax is being used by some states to alleviate the impact of the Federal SALT deduction cap on certain business owners.
5. Describe some of the scenarios where electing the PTET can benefit an individual taxpayer.

• CFP: General Principles of Financial Planning
• NASBA: Specialized Knowledge (Personal Financial Planning)

• 1.0 CFP hours
• 1.5 NASBA hours
• 1.0 IWI General Financial Planning hours
• 0.0 IWI Taxes and Regulations hours
• 0.0 IWI Ethics hours
• 0.0 IAR EPR Hours
• 1.0 IAR PP Hours

All self-study courses will be available at least through December 31, 2025.
Live courses are only available for the scheduled date.
All of our courses are reviewed on a yearly basis and renewed or discontinued every December.

• Nerd's Eye View

This quiz includes the following articles: (1) Equity Compensation Planning as a Niche: Market Opportunities and Differentiated Value and (2) Investing a Roth IRA in Early Stage Growth Companies without Violating Prohibited Transaction Rules

LO#1: Understand how to conduct valuation and investment risk analysis for clients with equity compensation

LO#2: Learn how to conduct tax strategy modeling for clients with equity compensation and the documents needed for this analysis

LO#3: Understand the Prohibited Transaction limitations for IRAs owning small businesses

LO#4: Learn how a client can legally move shares of an existing business into a Roth IRA

LO#5: Understand how an individual receiving compensation from a company owned by their IRA can create a Prohibited Transaction

• CFP/IWI: Intermediate  
• NASBA: Basic  

• CFP: General Principles of Financial Planning
• NASBA: Specialized Knowledge (Personal Financial Planning)

• 1.0 CFP hours
• 2.0 NASBA hours
• 1.0 IWI General Financial Planning hours
• 0.0 IWI Taxes and Regulations hours
• 0.0 IWI Ethics hours
• 0.0 IAR EPR Hours
• 1.0 IAR PP Hours

Equity Compensation: This is non-cash payment for services that provides ownership in a company. It is commonly offered to executives and key employees in addition to their pay and includes different forms of company stock.

Employee Stock Options: These give recipients the right (not the obligation) to buy company shares at a fixed price (known as the exercise or grant price).

Restricted Stock Options: Also referred to as share grants or performance shares, provide employees with shares of the company, but are subject to vesting criteria.

Stock Plan Service (SPS) Providers: Companies that provide both software and services to administer large corporate equity award programs

Prohibited Transaction Rules: IRS rules restricting an individual from using their IRA to engage in various types of transactions with certain “Disqualified Persons”.

Disqualified Person: The IRS prohibits an IRA from purchasing property from a Disqualified Person, which can include the IRA owner; the IRA owner’s spouse, ancestors, lineal descendants, and any spouse of a lineal descendant; or an officer or director (or person with similar responsibilities), 10% or more shareholder, or other individual who earns 10% or more of the wages, of a company that is owned 50% or more by the IRA owner and other disqualified persons (combined); or a business that is 50% or more owned by a Disqualified Person.

Prohibited Personal Compensation: When an individual’s IRA exercises control over a business, the IRA owner is no longer able to receive compensation personally from that business.

All self-study courses will be available at least through December 31, 2025.
Live courses are only available for the scheduled date.
All of our courses are reviewed on a yearly basis and renewed or discontinued every December.

• Nerd's Eye View

This quiz reviews the following two blog articles: Why High Equity Valuations And Low Bond Yields Won’t (Necessarily) Break The 4% Rule and Maximizing The Step-Up In Basis By Gifting Assets Between Spouses.

1. Explain what the 4% Rule means and how it is meant to be implemented.
2. Discuss why Morningstar’s recent research report recommends updating the traditionally referenced safe withdrawal rate of 4%.
3. Understand how current market conditions are used to predict future safe withdrawal rates.
4. Understand when assets in a decedent’s estate receive a step-up in basis.
5. Explain how step-up in basis rules differ in separate property and community property states.

• CFP/IWI: Intermediate  
• NASBA: Basic  

• CFP: General Principles of Financial Planning
• NASBA: Specialized Knowledge (Personal Financial Planning)

• 1.0 CFP hours
• 2.0 NASBA hours
• 1.0 IWI General Financial Planning hours
• 0.0 IWI Taxes and Regulations hours
• 0.0 IWI Ethics hours
• 0.0 IAR EPR Hours
• 1.0 IAR PP Hours

Safe Withdrawal Rate: The highest initial withdrawal rate, followed by withdrawals of the same dollar amount every year in subsequent years, that will never result in the retiree fully drawing down their portfolio over the specified time horizon, even in the worst possible market conditions.

Cyclically Adjusted Price-To Earnings (CAPE) or P/E 10 Ratio: A ratio used to value equities based on the real price to earnings data over 10 years.

Robert Shiller: 2013 Nobel Laureate and Yale University behavioral finance economist who compiled various historical stock market data sets and confidence indexes, and is known for his research on stock prices, asserting that the market is inefficient.

Monte Carlo Analysis: A method of assessing the probability of certain outcomes and success levels by analyzing a large number of separate trials, generally based on historical market returns.

Step-Up In Basis: The readjustment of an asset’s value when the asset has appreciated between the time it was purchased, and the time it is received by a beneficiary.

Community Property: Property acquired by two spouses during marriage and considered to be divided 50/50 between each spouse.

Separate Property: Property acquired (and owned) by only one spouse during marriage, typically as a gift (including inheritances) or brought into the marriage (acquired by one spouse prior to marriage).

All self-study courses will be available at least through December 31, 2025.
Live courses are only available for the scheduled date.
All of our courses are reviewed on a yearly basis and renewed or discontinued every December.

• Nerd's Eye View

This quiz includes the following articles: Maximizing Split-Interest Charitable Deductions With New Pooled Income Funds Over CRTs, and Can A Charitable Remainder UniTrust (CRUT) Truly Replace The Benefits Of The “Stretch” IRA?

LO #1: Understand the differences and benefits of Pooled Income Funds, New Pooled Income Funds, and Charitable Remainder Trusts.
LO #2: Identify important considerations that help clients to determine the benefits and drawbacks of PIFs, NPIFs, and CRTs, and to choose which vehicle is best for their situation.
LO #3: Examine how the SECURE Act changed the stretch IRA and the impact of the 10-Year Rule.
LO #4:  Examine the process of establishing a CRT and understand the factors to consider when designing the CRT payout.
LO #5: Understand what client factors planners should consider when suggesting the CRT.

• CFP/IWI: Intermediate  
• NASBA: Basic  

• CFP: General Principles of Financial Planning
• NASBA: Specialized Knowledge (Personal Financial Planning)

• 1.5 CFP hours
• 2.0 NASBA hours
• 1.0 IWI General Financial Planning hours
• 0.0 IWI Taxes and Regulations hours
• 0.0 IWI Ethics hours
• 0.0 IAR EPR Hours
• 1.0 IAR PP Hours

5-Year Rule for Inherited Retirement Accounts: The rule applying to non-designated beneficiaries where all assets must be out of an IRA by Dec. 31^st of the fifth year following the year of the original IRA-owner’s death.

10-Year Rule for Inherited Retirement Accounts: The new rule created by the SECURE Act that requires IRA beneficiaries to withdraw the entire balance of the IRA by December 31 of the year containing the 10^th anniversary of the owner’s death.

Charitable Remainder Trust (CRT): A tax-exempt irrevocable trust designed to reduce taxable income by first providing income to beneficiaries for a certain period of time, with the remainder left to a qualified charity. Two main types of CRTs are Charitable Remainder Unitrusts (CRUTs), which distribute a fixed percentage of the trusts’ balance to beneficiaries, and Charitable Remainder Annuity Trusts (CRATs), which distribute a fixed dollar amount to beneficiaries.

Charitable Remainder Unitrust (CRUT) Breakeven Point: The amount of time it would take for wealth created via distributions from a CRUT to catch up to wealth created via leaving the same amount of money to beneficiaries directly.

Donor Advised Fund (DAF): A private fund administered by a third party that accommodates tax-deductible donations that grow tax-free and that are designed to benefit qualified charitable organizations.

New Pooled Income Fund (NPIF): A type of Pooled Income Fund (PIF) that has been in existence for less than 3 taxable years preceding the year of contribution.

Pooled Income Fund (PIF): A type of charitable trust introduced as part of the 1969 Tax Reform Act. It is created and maintained by a public charity (who serves as the remainder beneficiary) and pools assets contributed by multiple donors. It pays lifetime income to individual income beneficiaries designated by the donor.

Qualified Charitable Distributions (QCDs): Non-taxable distributions made from an IRA given to a qualified charity by a donor who is at least 70½ years old.

Setting Every Community Up For Retirement Enhancement (SECURE) Act: Signed into law by President Donald Trump on December 20, 2019, this piece of legislation will have the largest direct impact on retirement accounts since the passage of the Pension Protection Act in 2006.

All self-study courses will be available at least through December 31, 2025.
Live courses are only available for the scheduled date.
All of our courses are reviewed on a yearly basis and renewed or discontinued every December.

• Nerd's Eye View

This quiz highlights a series of articles surrounding questions and other critical communication skills that advisors will want to consider in order to deepen and enrich client relationships through the financial planning process.

1. Describe how the three meeting skills of preparing, managing, and listening are essential to create a positive client meeting experience.
2. Be familiar with resources for newer advisors to help them practice honing their meeting skills.
3. Discuss how advisors can use ‘true’ follow-up questions to demonstrate responsiveness to clients.
4. Describe four types of direct indexing and when using each type of strategy makes the most sense.
5. Explain how asking prospects “Why now?” can help advisors demonstrate the value of behavioral coaching.

• CFP/IWI: Intermediate  
• NASBA: Basic  

• CFP: General Principles of Financial Planning
• NASBA: Specialized Knowledge (Personal Financial Planning)

• 1.0 CFP hours
• 2.0 NASBA hours
• 1.0 IWI General Financial Planning hours
• 0.0 IWI Taxes and Regulations hours
• 0.0 IWI Ethics hours
• 0.0 IAR EPR Hours
• 1.0 IAR PP Hours

Follow-Up Question:  A question that is used with the sole purpose of understanding the speaker better.  

Behavioral Coaching: In the context of financial planning, the process of helping clients make rational financial decisions and follow through on their priorities. 

Passive Listening: Nonverbal form of communication involving attention to body language and eye contact.  

Active listening: Listening that involves distilling information received from the speaker and reiterating the message back, to acknowledge the message was received and to assure the speaker that it was understood correctly. 

All self-study courses will be available at least through December 31, 2025.
Live courses are only available for the scheduled date.
All of our courses are reviewed on a yearly basis and renewed or discontinued every December.

• Nerd's Eye View

This quiz includes the following articles: Adjusting Monte Carlo Success Thresholds By Tolerance For Spending Volatility, Getting Comfortable Delaying Social Security With Six-Month ‘Reversible’ Delays, and Analyzing Net Unrealized Appreciation (NUA) Opportunities For Privately Held Company Employee Stock Ownership Plans (ESOPs)

LO #1: Understand the rules for retroactively claiming Social Security Benefits.

LO #2: Discuss how advisors can use 6-month ‘delay nudges’ to help clients make good decisions around claiming their Social Security benefits.

LO #3: Understand how (and when) employees of private companies can take advantage of NUA, and when alternate strategies should be considered when using NUA is not the best option for the individual.

LO #4: Understand the limitations of using a default probability-of-success target for all client plans.

LO #5: Identify how dynamic probability of success targets can be chosen for client plans.

• CFP/IWI: Intermediate  
• NASBA: Basic  

• CFP: General Principles of Financial Planning
• NASBA: Specialized Knowledge (Personal Financial Planning)

• 1.0 CFP hours
• 2.0 NASBA hours
• 1.0 IWI General Financial Planning hours
• 0.0 IWI Taxes and Regulations hours
• 0.0 IWI Ethics hours
• 0.0 IAR EPR Hours
• 1.0 IAR PP Hours

Average Indexed Monthly Earnings (AIME): Metric used to calculate an individual’s Social Security benefit, calculated by taking the average of the 35 highest-earning years, indexed for wage inflation.

Full Retirement Age (FRA): The age at which an individual is entitled to 100% of their Social Security benefits, and generally ranges between age 66 and age 67, depending on the individual’s date of birth.

Lump-Sum Distribution: Withdrawal of the entire balance owned by an individual who is a plan participant of their employer’s qualified retirement plan. The distribution must take place within a single tax year, and generally takes place only after the participant leaves the company, reaches age 59 ½, becomes permanently and totally disabled, or dies.

Monte Carlo Analysis: A method of assessing the probability of certain outcomes and success levels by analyzing a large number of separate trials, generally based on historical market returns.

Net Unrealized Appreciation (NUA): Appreciation of the employer’s company stock held in an individual’s retirement plan sponsored by the employer

NUA Triggering Event: One of three conditions that must be met in order for a NUA transaction to take place.

Risk tolerance: How much risk a client is willing to tolerate.

Sequence of Return Risk: a phenomenon which reveals that even if long-term returns average out in the long run, it doesn’t necessarily mean the portfolio can sustain ongoing withdrawals with volatile returns in the meantime.

All self-study courses will be available at least through December 31, 2025.
Live courses are only available for the scheduled date.
All of our courses are reviewed on a yearly basis and renewed or discontinued every December.

• Nerd's Eye View

This quiz covers questions and strategies advisors can employ with clients experiencing crisis. Crisis can include things like losing a spouse or market event, or even just being anxious around an expected financial change.

1. Identify the use of purpose of narrative therapy.
2. Understand how ‘audience questions’ can help clients respond to stressful financial situations.
3. Discuss some of the communication challenges for advisors working with newly widowed clients.
4. Describe strategies advisors can use to stay connected with newly widowed clients.
5. Identify questions to ask and meeting processes for newly widowed clients.

• CFP/IWI: Intermediate  
• NASBA: Basic  

• CFP: General Principles of Financial Planning
• NASBA: Specialized Knowledge (Personal Financial Planning)

• 1.0 CFP hours
• 2.0 NASBA hours
• 1.0 IWI General Financial Planning hours
• 0.0 IWI Taxes and Regulations hours
• 0.0 IWI Ethics hours
• 0.0 IAR EPR Hours
• 1.0 IAR PP Hours

Narrative Therapy: A process that focuses on finding and using words to create or modify the stories an individual tells themselves to help change the way they may see a certain issue.  

Audience Question: A type of question used to generate new perspectives and potentially new ideas for solving a problem; for example, asking an individual how they would recommend that a friend solve the problem at hand. 

End-Of-History Illusion: The expectation that a person will undergo relatively little change in the future. 

All self-study courses will be available at least through December 31, 2025.
Live courses are only available for the scheduled date.
All of our courses are reviewed on a yearly basis and renewed or discontinued every December.

• Nerd's Eye View

This month we review the November blog articles. This quiz includes the following articles: Maximizing Health Savings Accounts (HSAs) Tax Benefits With Adult Children Under Age 26, Establishing Solo 401(k) Plans For Self-Employed Workers: Options, Contribution Limits, Deadlines, And More!, and Tax Advice Restrictions For Financial Advisors: How To Offer Tax Planning And Remain In Compliance

1. Explain the requirements for an adult child to establish a Health Savings Account (HSA).
2. Discuss the features of High-Deductible Health Plan (HDHP) coverage and Planned Provider Organization (PPO) plans, and when it makes sense for an individual or family to choose one over the other.
3. Describe the features and benefits of implementing a Solo 401(k) plan for self-employed workers.
4. Distinguish between tax advice and tax planning.
5. Explain how financial advisors who are not designated tax professionals can best offer tax planning recommendations for clients.

• CFP/IWI: Intermediate  
• NASBA: Basic  

• CFP: General Principles of Financial Planning
• NASBA: Specialized Knowledge (Personal Financial Planning)
• NASAA: New & emerging issues and/or products for the IAR to navigate

• 2.0 CFP hours
• 2.0 NASBA hours
• 2.0 IWI General Financial Planning hours
• 2.0 IWI Taxes and Regulations hours
• 0.0 IWI Ethics hours
• 0.0 IAR EPR Hours
• 2.0 IAR PP Hours

Health Savings Account (HSA): A savings account that receives favorable tax treatment when distributions are used to pay for medical expenses. Contributions are tax-deductible, growth is tax-deferred, and withdrawals used to pay for (qualified) healthcare expenses are tax-free. In order to contribute, an individual must be covered by an HSA-eligible HDHP and have no other health coverage, may not be enrolled in Medicare, may not be claimed as a dependent on someone else’s tax return.

High-Deductible Health Plan (HDHP): A healthcare plan that has a higher deductible requirement than a traditional health insurance plan. In order to be an HSA-eligible HDHP, a plan must have a minimum annual deductible and a maximum annual out-out-pocket amount that meets the limits set by the IRS.

Medicare: The Federal health insurance program for individuals 65 and older. In some cases, younger individuals with disabilities also qualify.

Solo 401(k) Plan: Retirement plan similar to a traditional 401(k) plan but restricted to self-employed business owners with no employees other than themselves (with the exception of the business owner’s spouse as the only other employee). The business owner may make contributions as an employee (with an annual limit of the smaller of 100% of compensation or up to $20,500 in 2022), and as an employer (up to 25% of their compensation).

Form 5500-EZ: IRS Form titled “Annual Return of A One-Participant (Owners/Partners and Their Spouses) Retirement Plan or A Foreign Plan” that must be submitted annually by certain retirement plan owners, including single-participant plans.

Tax Advice: making a recommendation of a plan of action on a tax strategy. This is in contrast to tax planning, which does not involve making a recommendation.

Tax Planning: the consideration, analysis, and/or projection of tax strategies without taking the step of making a recommendation. This is in contrast to tax advice, which does involve making a recommendation.

Tax Avoidance: the provision of tax-related recommendations that are designed to (legally) minimize the amount of taxes paid by an individual.

All self-study courses will be available at least through December 31, 2025.
Live courses are only available for the scheduled date.
All of our courses are reviewed on a yearly basis and renewed or discontinued every December.

• Ethics
• Nerd's Eye View

This quiz includes the following articles: How To Register Your RIA: State Vs SEC Registration And When Notice Filing Is Required and Upfront And Ongoing RIA Compliance Obligations Of State Vs SEC-Registered Investment Advisers

This course covers the obligations of IARs for registering their RIA and their ongoing compliance obligations once registered, including allowed marketing activities, rules for advisory agreements, and fee disclosures.

1. Distinguish between the definitions of “Investment Adviser” as provided by the Federal Investment Advisers Act of 1940, and the model securities act for state registration (Uniform Securities Act of 2002).
2. Discuss the exemptions that allow an RIA to register under the SEC.
3. Explain when a state-registered adviser may need to notice file in a state.
4. Discuss the main differences between the requirements for investment advisors to apply for Federal versus state registration.
5. Describe the main parts of Form ADV and other documents that investment advisers must complete and submit to the SEC (for Federally registered advisers) and to their respective states (for state-registered advisers).

-IWI: Intermediate

-NASBA: Basic

• CFP: General Principles of Financial Planning
• NASAA: Quality and accuracy of communications with clients and prospects
• NASBA: Specialized Knowledge (Personal Financial Planning)

• 1.0 CFP hours
• 1.5 NASBA hours
• 1.0 IWI General Financial Planning hours
• 0.0 IWI Taxes and Regulations hours
• 1.0 IWI Ethics hours
• 1.0 IAR EPR Hours
• 0.0 IAR PP Hours

Form ADV: Foundational registration documents that must be submitted by any investment adviser seeking to become registered with the SEC or the states.

Form U4: Document used to establish an individual’s registration with applicable states as an Investment Adviser Representative (IAR) of a registered investment adviser.

Investment Adviser: As defined by the Advisers Act, “any person who, for compensation, engages in the business of advising others, either directly or through publications or writings, as to the value of securities or as to the advisability of investing in, purchasing, or selling securities, or who, for compensation and as part of a regular business, issues or promulgates analyses or reports concerning securities”. The investment adviser generally refers to the firm (entity).

Investment Advisers Act of 1940 (“the Advisers Act”): Federal law that places certain requirements and restrictions on investment advisers pertaining to registration, compensation, and creation of advisory agreements.

Notice Filing: Requirement imposed on certain SEC-registered investment advisers to provide applicable state securities authorities copies of documents that are filed with the SEC, along with any applicable fees.

Supervised Person: As defined by the Advisers Act, any partner, officer, director (or other person occupying a similar status or performing similar functions), or employee of an investment adviser, or other person who provides investment advice on behalf of the investment adviser and is subject to the supervision and control of the investment adviser.

Uniform Securities Act of 2002 (“the 2002 Act”): model securities act created by the Uniform Law Commission, which many states use to model their own securities acts to place certain requirements and restrictions on investment advisers doing business in their state, pertaining to registration, compensation, and creation of advisory agreements.

All self-study courses will be available at least through December 31, 2025.
Live courses are only available for the scheduled date.
All of our courses are reviewed on a yearly basis and renewed or discontinued every December.

• Ethics
• Nerd's Eye View

This program is not applicable to CFP Ethics requirements. Completion will award general CE hours for CFP.

This quiz includes articles from August 2021 and November 2021: Navigating Minimum Net Capital And Surety Bond Requirements For State-Registered RIAs and How Financial Advisor Titles Shape Consumer Perceptions. The course’s content addresses ethics and professional responsibility as it pertains to an advisor’s responsibility to remain financially solvent in accordance with state regulations and to accurately portray their services and duties to their clients in their titles and disclosures.

-LO #1: Discuss the requirements for many state-registered investment advisers to ensure a minimum level of assets available in the event of a legal claim from the RIA’s clients.

-LO #2: Understand the difference between minimum net capital and surety bond requirements.

-LO #3: Learn about what empirical research demonstrates about the effects of advisor titles and disclosures on consumers’ perception of the roles and obligations of financial professionals

-LO #4: Discusses how various regulatory approaches to advisor titles might improve consumer clarity

-LO #5: Understand several proposed Federal and state regulations of financial advisor titles.

• CFP: General Principles of Financial Planning
• IWI: Ethics
• NASBA: Regulatory Ethics
• NASAA: Ethics, Professional Responsibility

• 1.0 CFP hours
• 1.0 NASBA hours
• 1.0 IWI General Financial Planning hours
• 0.0 IWI Taxes and Regulations hours
• 1.0 IWI Ethics hours
• 1.0 IAR EPR Hours
• 0.0 IAR PP Hours

6/7/2022

• CFP/IWI: Intermediate  
• NASBA: Basic 

N/A

All self-study courses will be available at least through December 31, 2025.
Live courses are only available for the scheduled date.
All of our courses are reviewed on a yearly basis and renewed or discontinued every December.

N/A

• Ethics
• Nerd's Eye View

This program is not applicable to CFP Ethics requirements. Completion will award general CE hours for CFP.

This quiz includes the following article from June of 2019: Advisor’s Guide To The SEC’s Final Regulation Best Interest And Form CRS. The course’s content addresses ethics and professional responsibility as it pertains to an advisor’s responsibility to avoid or disclose conflicts of interest and remain compliant with SEC regulations (and those of any states that choose to adopt the Federal regulations).

-LO #1: Learn the obligations for broker-dealers to act in the best interests of their client when making investment recommendations under the SEC’s Regulation Best Interest rule.

-LO #2: Understand the requirements for the new Form CRS that broker-dealers and SEC-registered RIAs are required to provide to potential clients.

-LO#3: Explain the clarification of RIAs’ fiduciary duty to clients that was released alongside the Regulation Best Interest rule.

-LO#4: Understand the SEC’s re-interpretation of the “solely incidental advice” exemption for broker-dealers to provide advice without needing to register as an investment adviser.

-LO#5: Explain an advisor’s responsibility to avoid or disclose conflicts of interest and remain compliant with SEC regulations.

• CFP/IMCA: Intermediate  
• NASBA: Basic  

• CFP: General Principles of Financial Planning
• NASBA: Specialized Knowledge (Personal Financial Planning)
• NASAA: New & emerging issues and/or products for the IAR to navigate.

• 1.0 CFP hours
• 1.0 NASBA hours
• 1.0 IMCA General Financial Planning hours
• 0.0 IMCA Taxes and Regulations hours
• 1.0 IMCA Ethics hours
• 1.0 IAR EPR Hours
• 0.0 IAR PP Hours

All self-study courses will be available at least through December 31, 2025.
Live courses are only available for the scheduled date.
All of our courses are reviewed on a yearly basis and renewed or discontinued every December.

• Ethics
• Nerd's Eye View

This program is not applicable to CFP Ethics requirements. Completion will award general CE hours for CFP.

This program reviews the article Advertising With Testimonials And Endorsements Under The New SEC Marketing Rule. The article covers the the SEC’s new marketing rule and its implications for financial advisors, including what is defined as an “advertisement” under the rule, the enumerated prohibitions on RIA advertising, the new regulations applicable to testimonials and endorsements under the new rule, and the rule’s provisions regarding advertisement of third-party ratings. The session addresses ethics as pertains to remaining compliant with Federal and state securities laws and avoiding false or misleading statements in communications and advertising.

LO #1: Understand the new rules for advisor marketing.

LO #2: Examine the implications of the new marketing rules for advisors who want to use endorsements or advertising.

LO #3: Understand the vocabulary associated with the new advertising rules.

LO #4: Understand the seven general violations to avoid with RIA advertising compliance under the new rules.

LO #5: Learn the required disclosures for an RIA promoter providing a testimonial or endorsement.

• CFP/IMCA: Intermediate  
• NASBA: Basic  

• CFP: General Principles of Financial Planning
• NASBA: Specialized Knowledge (Personal Financial Planning)
• NASAA: New & emerging issues and/or products for the IAR to navigate.

• 1.0 CFP hours
• 1.0 NASBA hours
• 1.0 IMCA General Financial Planning hours
• 0.0 IMCA Taxes and Regulations hours
• 1.0 IMCA Ethics hours
• 1.0 IAR EPR Hours
• 0.0 IAR PP Hours

All self-study courses will be available at least through December 31, 2025.
Live courses are only available for the scheduled date.
All of our courses are reviewed on a yearly basis and renewed or discontinued every December.

• Client Trust & Communication
• General Planning
• Investments