You might think that free IAR CE is a simple concept to explain to CFP, CIMA, and CPA financial planning and investment management professionals. It's not.

When A Fabulous Offer Is True

Fabulous offers of free IAR CE are almost always gimmicks. That's not the case in this situation, but fabulists have considerably complicated the job of communicating the facts in a world in which Google defines what’s true. What can we say? "Dear Google: Advisors4Advisors is genuinely offering free IAR CE." If only it were so simple!  

Here’s Where Free IAR CE Get Complicated

Our offer of free IAR CE is a super-value for CFP, CPA, and CIMA practitioners who are investment adviser reps (IARs) managing less than $100 million and located in one of 22 states that have adopted the IAR CE Model Rule written by the North American Securities Administrators Association (NASAA) and released in November 2020. This is a little complicated. However, if you are a CFP, CPA, and CIMA practitioner and buy CFP CE, CIMA CE, or CPA CPE, you get free IAR CE—including all submission fees to CFP Board, NASBA, IWI, and NASAA. Here what's advisors must know about free IAR CE.   

Breaking The Pricing Rules On CFP CE

We're breaking all the rules of pricing CFP CE, CIMA CE and CPA CPE by offering free IAR CE. In fact, this may be the first-ever BOGO CE/CPE offer targeted to CFP, CIMA, and CPA financial advice professionals.      

BOGO CFP CE Is Not A Thing—Yet

Buy-one, get-one free (BOGO) deals for CFP CE or CPA CPE are not just uncommon among CE and CPE providers, they were unheard of at the time of this post. We could not find any deals for “BOGO CFP CE” or “BOGO CPA CPE” on the Web, according to a Google search. No CE sponsor is buying Google ads for the terms “BOGO CFP CE” or “BOGO CPA CPE.” It's a new thing. 

You Have No Choice

A Google search makes it easy to find IAR CE programs for as little as $100 for 12 credits. The bundles typically come with six credits meeting NASAA’s IAR CE ethics requirements, and six additional classes meeting practice and product requirements. A bundle of 12 classes for $100 sounds like a great value but it literally leaves you with no choice. In contrast, Advisors4Advisors gives you at least 24 new choices from which to choose your 12 free IAR CE classes.  

Free IAR CE Must Cover Breaking News  

IAR CE cannot be covered properly in classes on evergreen topics. For example, a class about conflicts of interest may be interesting, but is this topic what you need to know right now? With the tariff war raging, economic fundamentals are paramount. GDP forecasts for 2025 slashed, extreme stock price volatility, and plunging consumer sentiment command your attention, if you really are trying to serve your clients’ best interest.        

 A Diverse Group of Thought Leader Instructors  

IAR CE also cannot be created without contributions from a diverse group of thought leaders. Advisors4Advisors' free IAR CE programs include:      

• Fritz Meyer’s monthly classes updating advisors on economic fundamentals driving investment strategy. This can be crucial knowledge at a time of heightened uncertainty about the dollar-based financial world order that’s been in place since the end of World War II. 
• Dr. Frank Murtha’s quarterly financial counseling classes updating practitioners about how to respond to clients who have suffered paper portfolio losses and want to sell in fearful times or who want to abandon an investment plan.    
• Professor Craig Israelsen’s quarterly portfolio design course teaches professional investors about management of low-expense diversified investments. An instructor on Advisors4Advisors since 2009, retirement portfolio survivability has been a focus of his course for over a decade and is especially timely knowledge in 2025.          

High-Quality Free IAR CE

If you merely want to check the boxes to fulfill the 12-hour IAR CE requirement, the $100 offer is right for you. But if you want to treat every required continuing education credit as an opportunity to learn and improve, buying access to a library of 24 classes from which you must choose 12 every 12 months, elevates your learning experience. 

BOGO Means Free IAR CE  

CFP, CIMA, and CPA financial planning practitioners – including CPA/PFS designees, receive credit for live classes or for replays of live classes on-demand. Since 2009, Advisors4Advisors has offered professional education credit via webinars. We initially offered CFP, CIMA, and CPA professional education credit for free and then began charging a quarterly membership fee. In January 2025, Advisors4Advisors added free IAR CE to its quarterly membership plan at no additional cost to existing and new members.      

Triple Dipping On Continuing Professional Education   

For practitioners with three or more professional credentials in financial planning and investment management, the free IAR CE program enables a learning experience so potent it sounds illicit: You can triple-dip or even quadruple-dip! To be clear, completing a single class means you are eligible for receive:

CFP Board submission for credit and CFP certificate of completion

CIMA submission for credit to IWI and CIMA certificate of completion

CPA certificate of completion for you to submit to your state Board of Accountancy

IAR CE submission for credit to NASAA’s IARD, maintained by FINRA on FinPro  

For the rare individual who is a CPA financial planner, CFP, and CIMA practitioner, and an IAR in a state that adopted NASAA’s Model CE Rule, this is quadruple-dipping! You receive credit for four credentials by completing a single class!  

How To Insert Your Credentials 

You start by inputting your credentials and unique IDs into our financial advisor continuing education (FACE) platform. Use this convention: CREDENTIAL: UNIQUE NUMBER. So, it looks like this:   

CRD: 1234567  

CFP:  1234567

CPA:  1234567

CIMA:1234567

Don’t Use One CFP CE Provider 

Is relying on a single source of continuing education in your clients’ best interest? No. You always want a couple of independent authoritative opinions on tax, financial, and investment planning strategies. Diversifying across CE/ CPE providers is prudent.

Don’t Pay Twice For CFP CE And IAR CE 

If you are a CFP, you receive free IAR CE credit. Don’t fall prey to deals on IAR CE that do not also provide CFP CE.  It’s literally a waste of your time!  Every hour of CFP CE gives you one- hour of free IAR CE on Advisors4Advisors. And, as mentioned above, the lack of choice on most IAR CE programs is blows the opportunity to turn education into a meaningful activity instead of just checking the box.

Don’t Pay Twice For CPA CPE And IAR CE

CPAs are notoriously frugal and will love this. Every CPA CPE credit also earns you a credit  of IAR CE. You’re killing two birds with one stone. In a tasteless display of how to use AI to generate graphics, we reluctantly share this image.