With the introduction of FINRA’s annual Regulatory Element CE requirement at the beginning of this year, there’s a piece of good news that comes with it: yes, your Regulatory Element credit can be applied towards completing IAR CE! That’s right, investment advisers have the option to apply completed Regulatory Element CE towards six credits of Products and Practice. There are two ways this can be done; read along to figure out how it works.

Option #1: Through the Individual Representative

Using FinPro, representatives themselves can apply completed Regulatory Element CE to their IAR CE. While in the system, reps should navigate to the ‘Continuing Ed’ tab and click on the ‘Apply Regulatory Element’ link, listed under the IAR Continuing Education section. From there, individuals will be prompted to pay $18 ($3/credit) using their own payment information. Once submitted, completed Regulatory Element credits will be automatically sent to FINRA for approval. Individuals will receive a confirmation email once the credit is processed.

Option #2: Through the Firm 

In addition to individual representatives, firms also have the option to pay the $18 fee for all eligible representatives to receive IAR CE credit should they see fit. Using FINRA Gateway, firms should navigate to the ‘Admin’ section and click ‘Firm Settings’ (entitlement access is necessary for this step). Scroll to the bottom of the page and under the ‘IAR CE Reg Element/Product and Practices (PP) Fee’ section, toggle on the ‘Opt-In’ option. Opting in will automatically apply Regulatory Element to every eligible representative.

If a firm does not opt in, each eligible individual would be responsible to choose between the following options to satisfy the six credits of Products and Practice CE:

  • use FinPro to pay the fee themselves to apply the Regulatory Element to this part of their IAR CE requirement (as outlined above), or
  • take six credits of Products and Practice CE with a course provider, like Quest CE. Quest CE will submit all course completions on the individuals behalf. To view our online catalog, click here. To set-up a firm account where you can load and assign training to specific users, contact us here.

Things to Consider

Firms should be aware of the following before deciding to use this feature:

  • This functionality is not available to investment adviser-only firms.
  • This is an all-or-none functionality. There is no ability to select to pay for only certain individuals. If the firm does not want to pay the $18 fee for all in-scope individuals, the firm should not opt in.
  • The IAR CE Products and Practice requirement may be imposed due to an IAR registration that an individual holds with your firm, an affiliate firm, an unaffiliated firm, and even if the individual was previously IAR-registered in a state with the IAR CE requirement.
  • Individuals who completed Regulatory Element at another firm prior to becoming registered with the firm opting in must pay through FinPro if they wish to apply the credits.

NOTE: Firms are advised to thoroughly read through the description before opting in.

For a detailed walkthrough of the process, click here.