General Questions
Who needs to earn IAR CE?
Every investment adviser representative (IAR) registered with a jurisdiction that has adopted the model rule is subject to its CE requirements. The program applies to all registered IARs of both state-registered and federal covered investment advisers in that jurisdiction.
Please reference the State with IAR CE Requirements map below.
A common misconception is that the requirement is triggered by where the IA firm is registered or notice filed. However, the requirement is applied based on where the IAR is registered regardless of where the IAR is domiciled, or the firm is registered or notice filed.
How many hours are required?
IARs are required to earn 12 CE credits each calendar year to maintain their IAR registration. The 12 credits must include 6 credits of Products and Practices and 6 credits of Ethics and Professional Responsibility.
Please note, the credits must be split this way. If an IAR takes 8 credits of Products and Practice and 4 credits of Ethics and Professional Responsibility, they will not satisfy that year’s requirements even though they attained 12 total credits.
What’s the difference between IAR P&P and IAR Ethics?
The Products and Practice component is designed to ensure ongoing knowledge and competency related to investment products, strategies, standards, and compliance practices relevant to the investment advisory industry. An IAR must satisfy six credits annually of this component.
The Ethics and Professional Responsibility component is designed to ensure ongoing knowledge and competency related to an IAR’s duties and obligations to his or her clients including, but not limited to, issues related to the fiduciary duty owed to each client. An IAR must satisfy six credits annually of this component.
What is the Kitces.com IAR add-on fee?
The fee is $36 per calendar year. This is an automatic renewal fee. The fee covers the reporting costs so we can report credits directly to FINRA.
Reporting
When does Kitces.com report IAR CE completions?
IAR CE will be reported each Wednesday, during our weekly reporting cycle. Please be advised if Wednesday is a holiday, reporting will take place on Thursday.
Credits can take up to three days to reflect within your FinPro account.
Can I self-report IAR CE to FINRA?
No. FINRA does not allow self-reporting.
I recently purchased the IAR add-on, how do I get previous hours reported?
If you’ve recently purchased the IAR add-on, please be sure to add your individual CRD# to your account and reach out to [email protected] to have your IAR CE retroactively reported.
How do I know if my hours have been reported?
Please login to your FinPro account to ensure your earned CE is reflected in your account. You can create a FinPro account here: https://www.finra.org/registration-exams-ce/finpro
For any discrepancies, please reach out to [email protected] for further assistance.
Why are my hours not reflected in FinPro?
Does your name match your FinPro account? Check BrokerCheck and be sure to match exactly to avoid delays or errors: https://brokercheck.finra.org/
Is your individual CRD# listed in your account? Please do not list your firm CRD# as this will cause reporting errors.
Have you purchased the IAR add-on? The add-on is required with a Premier membership to report IAR CE to FINRA.
Have you met the 12 hour requirement? Once an IAR meets their 6 hours requirement in each category, no additional credits can be reported.
Earning
How many IAR CE credits have I earned to date?
You can check your CE Quiz history located in your Member’s section. Select CE Quizzes> Quiz History and CE Certificates
Login to your FinPro account to see your earned hours.
Where do I find IAR CE in the member’s section?
Login to your Kitces Premier account, select CE Quizzes>IAR CE Quizzes from the left navigation menu on your Member Home page. A banner at the top of the list will indicate which category the program satisfies, IAR Ethics or IAR P&P.
Is there a program that will satisfy all 12 hours of IAR CE?
IAR Ethics CE Day , and Kitces MasterClasses offer 6 hours of IAR P&P including the Tax, Retirement, and Roth courses.
My status in FinPro states “Inactive”. What do I do?
If your status indicates Inactive, you will need to meet your 12-hour requirement for the inactive year before earning your 12 hours for the current year.
Have additional questions. Reach out to [email protected] for assistance.
