In her new role, Sala will report directly to the Vice President of Finance and is responsible for establishing accounting policies and procedures, all accounts payable and accounts receivable, creating invoices for Quest CE’s customer base, and understanding the company’s business model in order to report on company financials and projected financials.

Prior to joining Quest CE this past April, Sala completed her education by obtaining an associates degree in arts and science from the University of Wisconsin Waukesha, and a bachelor’s degree in business with an emphasis in finance at the University of Wisconsin Milwaukee. After college, Sala dove into the financial industry with a position at Northern Trust as a Divisional Assistant. Here she nurtured her skill for finance and accounting, and perfected her sharp(or should I say keen) eye for numbers.

Sala is a well-rounded individual who likes to spend her free time in the outdoors, camping around Wisconsin. She also loves to spend time with her family, and participate in her recreation softball league. Quest CE feels that Sala will succeed in her position with her dedication to expanding her knowledge of the business, and fundamental familiarity of the financial services industry.

Quest CE is dedicated to attracting and retaining the best talent. For career opportunities at Quest CE, please Click Here (or visit http://www.questce.com/company/careers).

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About Quest CE

For over twenty-five years, Quest CE has been the premier provider of Compliance Education to the financial services industry. In addition to offering Providership Administration and insurance continuing education (CE) for professionals holding insurance licenses and professional designations like the CFP, CPA, CLE, CIMA and CLU/ChFC designations, Quest CE also provides a complete spectrum of FINRA compliance training solutions including annually required Firm Element Training for registered representatives, on-demand Annual Compliance Meetings, Annual Compliance Questionnaires, Needs Analysis Surveys, Outside Business Activity Tracking, Gifts and Entertainment Tracking and Political Contributions Tracking.

Serving more than 400 leading insurance carriers, broker-dealers, banks, and other financial institutions, Quest CE is committed to providing advanced custom solutions at cost effective rates, while providing a level of service that greatly surpasses their competitors. Quest CE is the single source solution for organizations seeking training and compliance needs.

“The broader economic downturn continues to affect trading volumes and industry revenues, which in turn has led to a decrease in FINRA’s revenues and resulted in a significant loss for fiscal year 2011,” said Chief executive Richard Ketchum in his email to member firms.

Because of this, Mr. Ketchum wrote that FINRA is deciding which adjustments will be made to alter user-based fees that have stayed at the same amount for over five years.

The fee hikes would help “ensure that we are sufficiently capitalized to meet our regulatory responsibilities,” he said in the message.

Although there was mention of a significant loss, both Mr. Ketchum and FINRA spokeswoman Nancy Condon said that the total amount of loss will have to be determined when FINRA files its audit results.

The fee increases will include advertising reviews, new member applications, and corporate findings. Also, there will be a 25% increase in the trading activity fee as part of the fee increase proposal, as well as an increase registration and disclosure fees. “Overall, the proposed hikes range from around 5% to 50%.”

Click here to read the complete InvestmentNews article: Finra aims to hike fees due to ‘significant loss’

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About Quest CE

For over twenty-five years Quest CE has been the premier provider of Compliance Education to the financial services industry. In addition to offering Providership Administration and insurance continuing education (CE) for professionals holding insurance licenses and professional designations like the CFP, CPA, CLE, CIMA and CLU/ChFC designations, Quest CE also provides a complete spectrum of FINRA compliance training solutions including annually required Firm Element Training for registered representatives, on-demand Annual Compliance Meetings, Annual Compliance Questionnaires, Needs Analysis Surveys, Outside Business Activity Tracking, Gifts and Entertainment Tracking and Political Contributions Tracking.

Serving more than 400 leading insurance carriers, broker-dealers, banks, and other financial institutions, Quest CE is committed to providing advanced custom solutions at cost effective rates, while providing a level of service that greatly surpasses their competitors. Quest CE is the single source solution for organizations seeking training and compliance needs.

When Quest CE surveyed producers on CE classes, seventy-seven percent indicated they will make time to attend carrier provided CE event. Sixty-seven percent of producers viewed carriers that offer CE classes in their branches to be more industry knowledgeable compared to carriers who did not. Based upon these statistics, it is important for carriers to not only offer CE courses, but tailor them to the needs of representatives. Here is Part 2 of Quest CE’s Special Edition: Delivering a Successful CE Presentation to Increase Attendance.

Be sensitive to the calendar and the clock

Quest CE’s research revealed that producers’ preferences to when they want to attend CE courses can have a significant effect on CE attendance and success. Remember the most important aspect of time and date sensitivity is for a carrier to establish CE training reputable for starting and finishing on time, on the expected date.

Consider the following points when scheduling both the times and dates of your event:

• Producers prefer morning CE training
• Tuesdays and Thursdays are preferred training days
• If possible, avoid holding Friday training sessions

The importance of the RSVP: Invite, Invite, Invite

Key strategies to increasing attendance at your CE events include inviting producers early and often, reminding producers who have not responded to the reasons they should, and sending reminders to confirmed students to keep the event on the top of their mind. It is very important that carriers generate excitement to their invitees.

Quest CE has found multiple outreach methods and recommends a thoughtful combination to using them to your company’s advantage. Nothing is more powerful than picking up the telephone to personally invite producers to your CE training. This can be handled by the external wholesaler, the internal wholesaler, or a knowledgeable sales professional. Another method is using either traditional or technological invitations, whichever is most appropriate considering situational factors, to provide a personal outreach message along with your invite.

Try the Quest CE recommended Approach:

1)      Send an electronic RSVP invitation to producers clearly identifying the CE training topic along with the specific time and date.  A great RSVP technique is to utilize an electronic RSVP system that is easy to use and saves the CE event in the recipients Microsoft Outlook calendar. 

2)      Have your Internal Wholesaler contact producers inviting them personally following up an email to not only further extend the invitation, but also answer any questions

3)      Send an electronic email reminder one week prior to events to reach out to those who may have forgotten to register and wanted to or had not known before

4)      Send information on future seminars to those who were previously invited or attended one of your CE training courses

 Establish a reputation for delivering first-rate CE events

The key to increased attendance is establishing a reputation for putting together CE events that are held to the highest standards. One of the most powerful advertising techniques is word of mouth. If producers think your CE training events are thoughtfully organized, informative, and a benefit to their business, they will share this information with others in their company, as well as their industry.  Producers will also be more likely to attend future training events if they feel they spent their time wisely, generating reoccurring CE attendees.

 Follow-up and thank attendees for their time

Producers attend many meetings with their time constrained schedules and they appreciate when a carrier goes that extra mile. Send attendees additional information pertaining to the CE training topics referenced by the wholesaler during the CE event. This is an excellent opportunity to share information, as well as including a thank you to further build your company’s rapport with CE training attendees.

Companies tend to overlook the follow up process, but Quest CE stresses the importance of reaching out after events, because attendees will notice the extra effort and your company will stand out from other carriers offering CE events.

For more information about delivering successful continuing education offerings visit www.questce.com

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About Quest CE

For over twenty-five years, Quest CE has been the premier provider of Compliance Education to the financial services industry. In addition to offering Providership Administration and insurance continuing education (CE) for professionals holding insurance licenses and professional designations like the CFP, CPA, CLE, CIMA and CLU/ChFC designations, Quest CE also provides a complete spectrum of FINRA compliance training solutions including annually required Firm Element Training for registered representatives, on-demand Annual Compliance Meetings, Annual Compliance Questionnaires, Needs Analysis Surveys, Outside Business Activity Tracking, Gifts and Entertainment Tracking and Political Contributions Tracking.

Serving more than 400 leading insurance carriers, broker-dealers, banks, and other financial institutions, Quest CE is committed to providing advanced custom solutions at cost effective rates, while providing a level of service that greatly surpasses their competitors. Quest CE is the single source solution for organizations seeking training and compliance needs

In his new position as Sales Executive, Schoemann will be responsible for the sales and promotion of Quest CE’s industry-leading social media compliance and archiving system, Codex. He will also be responsible for maintaining a high-level of customer service that will allow Quest CE to uphold its reputation as the lead value-add education and customer service provider to the financial services industry.

Before joining Quest CE, on April 23, 2012, Schoemann began his sales path by attending Lakeland College, and the Police Academy located in Fond du Lac, Wisconsin. From there, Schoemann began his work as a U.S. Cellular retail consultant where he displayed his aptitude for learning and his ability to understand industry standards. Because of his disciplined work ethic and advanced retention capabilities, Schoemann was promoted to the role of corporate subject matter expert. Schoemann continued his career as a dedicated company adviser where he developed and solidified the tactical knowledge to make a sale, while maintaining exceptional customer service standards.  

A Wisconsin native, Schoemann enjoys spending his time watching and playing America’s favorite past time. He also enjoys taking time to travel, as well as explore new restaurants around the Wisconsin area. Quest CE believes that Schoemann’s dedication to customer service and quick learning curve will make him a valuable addition to the growing Quest CE team.

Quest CE is dedicated to attracting and retaining the best talent. For career opportunities at Quest CE, please Click Here (or visit http://www.questce.com/company/careers).

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About Quest CE

For over twenty-five years, Quest CE has been the premier provider of Compliance Education to the financial services industry. In addition to offering Providership Administration and insurance continuing education (CE) for professionals holding insurance licenses and professional designations like the CFP, CPA, CLE, CIMA and CLU/ChFC designations, Quest CE also provides a complete spectrum of FINRA compliance training solutions including annually required Firm Element Training for registered representatives, on-demand Annual Compliance Meetings, Annual Compliance Questionnaires, Needs Analysis Surveys, Outside Business Activity Tracking, Gifts and Entertainment Tracking and Political Contributions Tracking.

Serving more than 400 leading insurance carriers, broker-dealers, banks, and other financial institutions, Quest CE is committed to providing advanced custom solutions at cost effective rates, while providing a level of service that greatly surpasses their competitors. Quest CE is the single source solution for organizations seeking training and compliance needs.

Since its debut, Firm Element Express has enabled compliance officers and program administrators to launch their programs in three easy steps. This efficient launch process allows representatives to begin their training immediately following program launch.  

To launch this service, firms create their company profile through Quest CE’s proprietary learning management system, Renaissance. Administrators will then select the number of representatives within their program, and select from Quest CE’s suite of training options including: Firm Element Training, Annual Compliance Meeting, Annual Compliance Questionnaires, Needs Analysis Surveys, or Anti-Money Laundering Training. Once the company profile is processed, administrators will land on the FE Express platform, which contains everything they need to begin setting up their firm’s program. From here a user can add their students and launch their program accordingly.

Firms using Firm Element Express can successfully house up to 500 students within their Firm Element Program, all while utilizing Quest CE’s comprehensive course selections and complete tracking capabilities. Firm Element Express is the perfect solution for firms who want to handle their own first-class Firm Element programs, without the costs or inconvenience associated with a managed service solutions.

Quest CE caters to the needs of smaller firms by providing cost-effective training options that include instantaneous administrative reporting features. Thus far, over 100 firms have utilized Firm Element Express, totaling over 2,000 successfully FINRA complaint representatives. Firms using this automated service range in size from one registered representative to over 100. One-by-one firms are discovering why Quest CE’s Firm Element Express solution is an easier, more efficient training solution then using FINRA directly. As a trusted compliance partner, Quest CE continues to allow firms, large or small, the ability to create the most cost-effective solutions to fit their firm needs.

Visit http://learn.questce.com/firmelement to launch your Firm Element program in less than 30 minutes. To view a demo, or for more information on Firm Element Express, contact Quest CE at 877.593.3366 to speak with a sales representative or email them at sales@questce.com

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About Quest CE

For over twenty-five years, Quest CE has been the premier provider of Compliance Education to the financial services industry. In addition to offering Providership Administration and insurance continuing education (CE) for professionals holding insurance licenses and professional designations like the CFP, CPA, CLE, CIMA and CLU/ChFC designations, Quest CE also provides a complete spectrum of FINRA compliance training solutions including annually required Firm Element Training for registered representatives, on-demand Annual Compliance Meetings, Annual Compliance Questionnaires, Needs Analysis Surveys, Outside Business Activity Tracking, Gifts and Entertainment Tracking and Political Contributions Tracking.

Serving more than 400 leading insurance carriers, broker-dealers, banks, and other financial institutions, Quest CE is committed to providing advanced custom solutions at cost effective rates, while providing a level of service that greatly surpasses their competitors. Quest CE is the single source solution for organizations seeking training and compliance needs.

“We continue to experience strong growth as we drive forward our efforts in social media compliance and our ever-growing suite of FINRA compliance training and tracking solutions.” said Alan Krenke, CEO and Owner of Quest CE. “Our momentum in social media compliance and archiving along with our arsenal of FINRA training requires us to continue to expand. We are excited as we begin our efforts in attracting talented professionals to our company.”

Quest CE hopes to expand their team members by hiring from in and around the Milwaukee region to support their experienced and projected growth, as well as their expanding product and service lines.

Quest CE is dedicated to attracting and retaining the best talent. For career opportunities at Quest CE visit http://www.questce.com/company/careers.

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About Quest CE

For over twenty-five years, Quest CE has been the premier provider of Compliance Education to the financial services industry. In addition to offering Providership Administration and insurance continuing education (CE) for professionals holding insurance licenses and professional designations like the CFP, CPA, CLE, CIMA and CLU/ChFC designations, Quest CE also provides a complete spectrum of FINRA compliance training solutions including annually required Firm Element Training for registered representatives, on-demand Annual Compliance Meetings, Annual Compliance Questionnaires, Needs Analysis Surveys, Outside Business Activity Tracking, Gifts and Entertainment Tracking and Political Contributions Tracking.

Serving more than 400 leading insurance carriers, broker-dealers, banks, and other financial institutions, Quest CE is committed to providing advanced custom solutions at cost effective rates, while providing a level of service that greatly surpasses that of their competitors. Quest CE is the single source solution for organizations seeking training and compliance needs

“Expanding our headquarters is a reflection of our growth,” said Alan Krenke, CEO and Owner of Quest CE. “As we serve more clients and meet increasing consumer demands with our suite of compliance training and tracking solutions, naturally we need to add to our arsenal of dedicated employees. We’re proud to bring new jobs to Milwaukee and Southeast Wisconsin.” 

The new space was created to support current and projected growth capacity within multiple departments, including I.T., Sales, Marketing, and Customer Account Management Support. It will house and facilitate further growth and a state-of-the-art technological work environment for the Information Technology Team to assist with the further development of in-house solutions. Additionally, the expansion will feature new offices for the Sales, Marketing and Account Management teams to better serve client and prospect needs, while maintaining the highest level of customer service. Additionally, because Quest CE values its team members, the expansion includes a new, larger cafeteria featuring a complimentary snack, coffee, and beverage bar complete with flat screen TVs.

Quest CE believes this expansion will help them fulfill their mission of providing advanced custom solutions at cost effective rates, while providing a level of service that greatly surpasses that of their competitors. Their growth is continually displayed in their track record of customer satisfaction, and position as an industry leader, and they look forward to seeing what the future may hold.

Click here or visit www.questce.com for more information about Quest CE and its exciting plans for expansion.

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About Quest CE

For over twenty-five years, Quest CE has been the premier provider of Compliance Education to the financial services industry. In addition to offering Providership Administration and insurance continuing education (CE) for professionals holding insurance licenses and professional designations like the CFP, CPA, CLE, CIMA and CLU/ChFC designations, Quest CE also provides a complete spectrum of FINRA compliance training solutions including annually required Firm Element Training for registered representatives, on-demand Annual Compliance Meetings, Annual Compliance Questionnaires, Needs Analysis Surveys, Outside Business Activity Tracking, Gifts and Entertainment Tracking and Political Contributions Tracking.

Serving more than 400 leading insurance carriers, broker-dealers, banks, and other financial institutions, Quest CE is committed to providing advanced custom solutions at cost effective rates, while providing a level of service that greatly surpasses their competitors. Quest CE is the single source solution for organizations seeking training and compliance needs.

Firms must realize that regulatory agencies look for CE courses and training that keeps representatives on point in the financial services industry. FINRA requires formal training programs with the specific purpose “to keep covered registered persons up-to-date on job and product related subjects.” Quest CE understands this industry need, and therefore created our audit process.

Each year we require our courses undergo our trusted course audit process. The process begins when Quest’s CE industry experts and copyeditors review our courses from start to finish, scrutinizing content, grammar, and industry-relevance.  The courses are taken from the student perspective, allowing editors to gain a full picture view of the course and course exam, testing not only content, but also user ability and functionality. Once the courses are successfully reviewed, Quest CE’s in-house content specialists make the necessary updates to all courses, ensuring they do not change more than 10% of course content, to guarantee content matches CE outlines and representatives recieve their credit.

Quest CE believes in providing our clientele with the CE value they deserve, and our annual audits are only one of the ways we make that possible. Our courses are authored by industry experts utilizing dynamic imagery, interactivity, current and relevant course topics, and a manageable amount of content, guaranteeing you receive the greatest return on your CE training program.

With courses custom tailored to insurance and designation license holders, as well as an extensive course catalog of firm element and compliance training courses, Quest CE is the industry-leading provider of continuing education to the financial services industry. Click here to see why.

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About Quest CE

For over twenty-five years, Quest CE has been the premier provider of Compliance Education to the financial services industry. In addition to offering Providership Administration and insurance continuing education (CE) for professionals holding insurance licenses and professional designations like the CFP, CPA, CLE, CIMA and CLU/ChFC designations, Quest CE also provides a complete spectrum of FINRA compliance training solutions including annually required Firm Element Training for registered representatives, on-demand Annual Compliance Meetings, Annual Compliance Questionnaires, Needs Analysis Surveys, Outside Business Activity Tracking, Gifts and Entertainment Tracking and Political Contributions Tracking.

Serving more than 400 leading insurance carriers, broker-dealers, banks, and other financial institutions, Quest CE is committed to providing advanced custom solutions at cost effective rates, while providing a level of service that greatly surpasses their competitors. Quest CE is the single source solution for organizations seeking training and compliance needs.

Following the outcome of the recent study, the CFP Board encouraged the SEC to promote disclosures to be authored in plain English, avoiding jargon that would make them harder to understand for investors.

The CFP Board Chief Executive Officer Kevin Keller said “The additional disclosure requirements we recommend, many of which are currently embraced by CFP professionals under our Code of Professional Conduct, will help investors make key financial decisions including what type of advisor is best suited for them. Additional disclosures alone are not enough to protect investors and build confidence in our capital markets. That is why we will continue to urge the SEC to adopt a uniform fiduciary standard of care applicable to all who provide personalized investment advice to investors.”

Also in the letter to the SEC, the CFP Board recommended requiring disclosures in the four focused areas of: conflicts of interests, fees and costs, background of the financial intermediary, and the scope of representation. They also suggested that these disclosures should be made before the “engagement of a financial intermediary” including financial advisers, planners, and broker-dealers.

Keller said that a CFP Board survey displayed that over two-thirds of all Americans believe that they are “solely responsible for their own financial security,” but another 67% also felt that the government plays a large role in protecting investors. “This indicates to us that enhanced investor protections and better information is needed for the individual investor,” said Keller.

Click here to read CFP Board’s recommendation letter to the SEC

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About Quest CE

For over twenty-five years, Quest CE has been the premier provider of Compliance Education to the financial services industry. In addition to offering Providership Administration and insurance continuing education (CE) for professionals holding insurance licenses and professional designations like the CFP, CPA, CLE, CIMA and CLU/ChFC designations, Quest CE also provides a complete spectrum of FINRA compliance training solutions including annually required Firm Element Training for registered representatives, on-demand Annual Compliance Meetings, Annual Compliance Questionnaires, Needs Analysis Surveys, Outside Business Activity Tracking, Gifts and Entertainment Tracking and Political Contributions Tracking.

Serving more than 400 leading insurance carriers, broker-dealers, banks, and other financial institutions, Quest CE is committed to providing advanced custom solutions at cost effective rates, while providing a level of service that greatly surpasses their competitors. Quest CE is the single source solution for organizations seeking training and compliance needs.

Di Florio made a point to let chief compliance officers know that the SEC has its focus on three areas when looking into advisory firms: fiduciary responsibility in the retail sale of complex structured products, due diligence practices, and custody arrangements that may signal fraud.

As the SEC is taking over review responsibility of both private and hedge fund advisers, after the advisers are successfully registered, the OCIE will conduct examinations and look specifically at the three areas mentioned above. Once the exam is complete, the OCIE will provide guidance into areas of improvements to “alert advisers into” challenges they are seeing, and provide guidance to help firms strengthen their compliance said di Florio.

The registration necessary for hedge and private fund advisers has created a stir internally and externally of the SEC.  SEC Commissioner Daniel Gallagher told CCOs “I believe that there will be cases moving forward when an individual adviser or a particular class of advisers ought to be granted some measure of relief from the full panoply of requirements that come with registration under the Advisers Act,” Gallagher said.

He also expressed concern for the rising cost of registration for private fund advisers clearly stating, “The rationale of having them register is questionable,” “adding that expansion of registration for private fund advisors “will not protect investors.””

Click here to read the complete AdvisorOne article: SEC Adds 130 Examiners for ‘Priority’ Areas: Exam Chief di Florio

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About Quest CE

For over twenty-five years, Quest CE has been the premier provider of Compliance Education to the financial services industry. In addition to offering Providership Administration and insurance continuing education (CE) for professionals holding insurance licenses and professional designations like the CFP, CPA, CLE, CIMA and CLU/ChFC designations, Quest CE also provides a complete spectrum of FINRA compliance training solutions including annually required Firm Element Training for registered representatives, on-demand Annual Compliance Meetings, Annual Compliance Questionnaires, Needs Analysis Surveys, Outside Business Activity Tracking, Gifts and Entertainment Tracking and Political Contributions Tracking.

Serving more than 400 leading insurance carriers, broker-dealers, banks, and other financial institutions, Quest CE is committed to providing advanced custom solutions at cost effective rates, while providing a level of service that greatly surpasses their competitors. Quest CE is the single source solution for organizations seeking training and compliance needs.