Section 130.881  Continuing Education Requirements for Investor Adviser Representatives

The following requirements are deemed necessary to establish an investment adviser representative's continuing qualifications to act as an IAR under Section 8 of the Act. (See 815 ILCS 5/8(D-5)(5) and (6).)

a)         Continuing Education. Every IAR registered under Section 8 of the Act must complete the following IAR continuing education requirements each reporting period:

1)         IAR Ethics and Professional Responsibility Requirement. An IAR must complete six credits of IAR ethics and professional responsibility content offered by an authorized provider, with at least three hours covering the topic of ethics; and

2)         IAR Products and Practice Requirement. An IAR must complete six credits of IAR products and practice content offered by an authorized provider.

b)         Compliance for Salesperson of FINRA-Registered Broker-Dealer. An IAR who is also a registered salesperson of a FINRA member broker-dealer, and who complies with FINRA's continuing education requirements, is considered to be in compliance with subsection (a)(2) above for each applicable reporting period, provided FINRA's continuing education content meets all the following baseline criteria:

1)         The continuing education content focuses on compliance, regulatory, ethical, and sales practices standards;

2)         The continuing education content is derived from state and federal investment advisory statutes, rules and regulations; securities industry rules and regulations; and accepted standards and practices in the financial services industry; and

3)         The continuing education content requires that its participants demonstrate proficiency in the subject matter of the educational materials.

c)         IAR Continuing Education Reporting. Every IAR is responsible for ensuring that the authorized provider reports to the IARD the IAR's completion of the applicable IAR continuing education requirements.

d)         No Carry-Forward. An IAR who completes credits of continuing education in excess of the amount required for the reporting period may not carry forward excess credits to a subsequent reporting period.

e)         Failure to Complete or Report. An IAR who fails to comply with this Section by the end of a reporting period will renew as "CE Inactive" at the close of the calendar year in this State until the IAR completes and reports all required IAR continuing education credits for all reporting periods as required by this Section. An IAR who is "CE Inactive" at the close of the next calendar year is not eligible for IAR registration, or renewal of an IAR registration.

f)         Granting Variances.  The Securities Director may grant variances from this Part in individual cases when the Securities Director finds that:

1)         The provision from which the variance is granted is not statutorily mandated;

2)         No party will be injured by the granting of the variance; and

3)         The rule from which the variance is granted would, in that particular case, be unreasonable or unnecessarily burdensome.

g)         Home State. An IAR registered or required to be registered in this State who is also registered as an IAR in the individual's home state is considered to be in compliance with this Section provided that both of the following are true:

1)         The IAR's home state has continuing education requirements that are at least as stringent as this Section; and

2)         the IAR is in compliance with the home state's IAR continuing education requirements.

h)         Unregistered Periods. An IAR who was previously registered under the Act and became unregistered must complete IAR continuing education for all reporting periods that occurred between the time that the IAR became unregistered and when the person became registered again under the Act, unless the IAR takes and passes the examinations specified in Section 130.832 for salespersons, or Section 130.843 for IARs.

(Source:  Added at 49 Ill. Reg. 4061, effective March 19, 2025)