The Maryland Division of Securities is proposing to require all investment adviser representatives (“IARs”) registered in Maryland to complete continuing education (“CE”).
Under the proposal, an investment adviser representative in Maryland will be required to complete annually 12 continuing education hours which have been approved by the North American Securities Administrators Association (NASAA) or its designee. Six of the continuing education credits will need to cover an investment adviser representative’s ethical and regulatory obligation, and the other six continuing education credits must address an investment adviser representative’s continuing skills and knowledge regarding financial products, investment features, and practices in the investment advisory industry. The proposed rule change has a tentative effective date of January 1, 2022 and will apply to IARs in Maryland who are affiliated with both state-registered and federal covered investment adviser firms.
In addition to this new IAR CE requirement, the Maryland Division of Securities is proposing to eliminate the exemption from registering as an investment adviser representative for persons providing investment advice on behalf of a sole-proprietorship and consequently this person will be required to license as an investment adviser representative and meet the proposed IAR CE requirements.
For additional information and details regarding this rule proposal, please refer to the Investment Adviser Representative Continuing Education Rule Compliance Guide issued by the Maryland Division of Securities. For more information on IAR CE requirements under the NASAA program and adoption by various state securities regulators, visit our IAR CE FAQ.
IAR CE Provider
RIA Compliance Consultants, Inc. has been approved as an investment adviser representative continuing education (“IAR CE”) provider by Prometric on behalf of the NASAA. We intend to offer (once approved by Prometric) courses covering both components of IAR CE: Products and Practices and Ethics and Professional Responsibility. In addition to offering IAR CE to individual IARs, investment adviser firms and Chief Compliance Officers will be able to use our continuing education platform to assign IAR CE courses and monitor IAR CE progress for the firm’s representatives. If you’d like to learn more about how we can assist you, please IAR CE Services webpage.
Contact Us
If your investment adviser firm is an existing client of RIA Compliance Consultants and has questions about investment adviser continuing education, we encourage you to speak with your compliance consultant. Or, if you are not an existing client of RIA Compliance Consultants, utilize our online calendar to set up an introductory call with our Business Development Team.
Related Resources
Investment Adviser Representative Continuing Education
RIA Compliance Consultants Approved as IAR CE Provider – October 29, 2021
Mississippi Adopts IAR Continuing Education Rule – July 29, 2021
NASAA Publishes Handbook for Prospective IAR CE Content Providers – May 14, 2021
IAR CE – Tracking Spreadsheets – March 22, 2021
NASAA Investment Adviser Representatives Continuing Education Model Rule Moves Closer to Implementation – January 26, 2021
NASAA Seeks Input on Investment Adviser Representative Continuing Education Program – September 5, 2020
NASAA Proposed Investment Adviser Representative Continuing Education Rule – May 11, 2020
NASAA Disclosure
NASAA does not endorse any particular provider of CE courses. The content of any course offered by RIA Compliance Consultants, Inc. and any views expressed therein are our own and do not necessarily reflect the views of NASAA or any of its member jurisdictions.
General Disclosure
The information contained in this blog post is general in nature intended for educational purposes only and is not intended to be a comprehensive analysis of this topic. It is not intended to constitute compliance consulting advice or apply to any particular investment adviser firm’s specific situation. For more information, please see our Disclosures webpage.
Posted by Bryan Hill
Labels: IAR Licensing, Investment Adviser Rep Continuing Education, Maryland Investment Adviser
Tagged: Continuing Education, Investment Adviser Rep Continuing Education
