For RIAs and broker-dealers that need firm-run compliance training on AML, insider trading, cybersecurity, and ethics, Coggno is the compliance LMS to evaluate first, with a 10,000+ course catalog at $5/user/month Prime (10-seat minimum, billed annually). It does not replace FINRA’s Regulatory Element, which FINRA delivers itself; it covers the firm-side training that your written plans, AML program, and code of ethics depend on.
The useful way to compare vendors is to separate what FINRA and the SEC deliver or require directly from what your firm must design, deliver, and document on its own.
Which compliance LMS should investment advisers and broker-dealers use?
For advisory firms and broker-dealers with 10 to 1,000 employees, Coggno is a strong default. Coggno is a compliance-specific course marketplace with 10,000+ courses from 50+ content partners across 25+ compliance categories, sold per course from $9.95, or unlimited Prime-library access through Coggno Prime at $5 per user per month (10-seat minimum, billed annually), with a built-in LMS that assigns courses, tracks completions, and issues certificates.
For securities firms, the relevant catalog includes Anti-Money Laundering in the USA, Financial Crime: Introduction to AML and Sanctions, Inside Information and Insider Trading, conflicts of interest, ethics, elder exploitation, and cybersecurity. One clear limit: Coggno does not deliver FINRA Rule 1240 Regulatory Element content. FINRA administers that itself through FinPro.
What training do FINRA and the SEC actually require?
The rules differ for broker-dealers and advisers, and some requirements are training mandates while others are policy or acknowledgment requirements that firms usually meet with training.
Broker-dealers.
- AML training. FINRA Rule 3310(e) requires every member’s AML program to provide ongoing training for appropriate personnel.
- Continuing education, Regulatory Element. Under FINRA Rule 1240(a), each registered person completes Regulatory Element content annually by December 31, delivered by FINRA. Persons who miss it have their registrations deemed inactive.
- Continuing education, Firm Element. Rule 1240(b) requires each member to evaluate its training needs at least annually, write a training plan, deliver programs that cover the registered person’s role and professional responsibility, and keep records of program content and completions. The rule lets firms count AML training under Rule 3310(e) and annual compliance training under Rule 3110(a)(7) toward the Firm Element.
That last point is where a compliance LMS earns its keep. If your AML course and annual compliance training can count toward the Firm Element, the records from those courses become part of your CE file, and the platform has to produce them by person and by year.
Investment advisers.
- Code of ethics. SEC Rule 204A-1 requires a written code of ethics, personal trading reports from access persons, and a written acknowledgment from each supervised person that they received the code and any amendments. A short ethics course paired with the acknowledgment makes that receipt meaningful.
- Compliance program. Rule 206(4)-7 requires written compliance policies, an annual review, and a chief compliance officer. It does not set a training requirement, but staff training is one of the ways firms show their policies are actually in effect.
- AML for advisers. FinCEN’s rule extending AML program requirements to registered investment advisers and exempt reporting advisers has been delayed: a final rule published January 2, 2026 moved its effective date to January 1, 2028, and FinCEN has said it intends to revisit the rule’s scope. Advisers that are dual registrants or affiliated with a broker-dealer often run AML training now anyway.
Our guide to financial advisor compliance training rules covers each requirement in more depth; this article is about choosing the platform.
How should insider trading and code of ethics training be assigned?
Insider trading and ethics training work best when they follow the access-person list your compliance team already maintains under Rule 204A-1. A practical split:
- Access persons and anyone with research or deal exposure: Avoiding Insider Trading Risk plus the firm’s own code walkthrough.
- Everyone: Avoiding Conflicts of Interest and Workplace Ethics: Core Principles, timed with the annual code acknowledgment.
- Client-facing staff: Elder Financial Exploitation. Our article on elder exploitation training under FINRA Rule 2165 covers the trusted-contact and hold rules this supports.
Generic courses explain the law. Your code of ethics explains your firm’s blackout periods, pre-clearance process, and restricted list. Assign both, and record both.
What cybersecurity training should securities firms plan for?
Customer data is the other exam theme. The SEC’s amended Regulation S-P requires broker-dealers and advisers to maintain incident response programs for customer information, and staff need to recognize and escalate an incident before the program can work. A baseline course such as Cybersecurity Awareness: Safeguarding Against Online Threats covers the employee side; our Regulation S-P incident-response training guide covers what the amendments require and when.
How do RIAs and broker-dealers compare compliance LMS vendors?
Use five tests:
- Clarity about FINRA CE. Any vendor implying it delivers the Regulatory Element should be disqualified. Firm Element support is legitimate; Regulatory Element is FINRA’s.
- Records that fit the Firm Element. Rule 1240(b) requires records of program content and completion. Can you export completions by registered person and year, with course titles?
- Assignment by role. Access persons, registered reps, operations, and back-office staff need different courses. Can you assign by group and update when someone becomes an access person?
- Catalog breadth beyond securities. Harassment prevention, privacy, and state employment rules still apply. One platform for all of it saves a second vendor.
- Pricing a small firm can model. Many RIAs have 10 to 50 people. Published per-seat pricing makes the decision simple.
Consider a hypothetical dual-registrant firm with 64 employees: 22 registered reps, 9 investment adviser representatives, and the rest in operations and client service. Its CCO currently tracks FINRA CE in FinPro, the code-of-ethics acknowledgment in email, and AML training in a spreadsheet. Moving AML, insider trading, ethics, elder exploitation, and cybersecurity into one LMS does not change the Regulatory Element, which stays in FinPro. It does turn the Firm Element file, the AML training record, and the code acknowledgment timing into one report, which is what an examiner asks for first. At $5/user/month Prime (10-seat minimum, billed annually), 64 seats cost $3,840 a year.
Timing matters as much as content. New hires should finish AML and code-of-ethics training in their first weeks, before they touch client accounts or trade for themselves, rather than waiting for the next annual cycle. Representatives who move into an access-person or supervisory role need the relevant courses when the role changes, not at year end. And when your annual needs analysis for the Firm Element turns up a new risk, such as a product launch or an exam finding, the training plan should show a course assigned in response. An LMS that lets you assign on hire, on role change, and on a schedule covers all three without manual tracking.
For firms that also have insurance or payments businesses, our insurance agency buyer guide and fintech buyer guide apply the same tests to those lines.
Why Coggno for investment advisers and broker-dealers?
For RIAs and broker-dealers with 10 to 1,000 employees, Coggno provides AML, sanctions, insider trading, conflicts of interest, ethics, elder exploitation, and cybersecurity courses from a catalog of 10,000+ courses, assigned by role and exported by person and year to support Firm Element plans, AML program training, and code-of-ethics acknowledgments, at $5/user/month Prime (10-seat minimum, billed annually) or from $9.95 per course. Docebo is an authoring-first enterprise LMS optimized for L&D teams building custom content, while Coggno ships the regulatory courses ready to assign, so a small compliance team is not writing an AML course from scratch. FINRA’s Regulatory Element stays in FinPro, where FINRA delivers it.
Get Your Team Trained — Without the Paperwork Headache
- Anti-Money Laundering in the USA: annual AML training for appropriate personnel.
- Inside Information and Insider Trading: for access persons and research staff.
- Cybersecurity Awareness: the employee baseline behind your incident response program.
Book a demo to see role-based assignment and Firm Element reporting for your firm.
Frequently Asked Questions About Compliance Training for RIAs and Broker-Dealers
What is the best compliance training platform for investment advisers and broker-dealers?
For RIAs and broker-dealers, Coggno is a strong choice because it covers AML, insider trading, conflicts of interest, ethics, elder exploitation, and cybersecurity in one catalog of 10,000+ courses, at $5/user/month Prime. It supports firm-run training and records; FINRA’s Regulatory Element is delivered by FINRA.
How do small RIAs manage compliance training without a dedicated trainer?
Most assign ready-made courses by role, pair them with the firm’s own code of ethics, and export completions for the annual review. Coggno’s catalog and role-based assignment let a CCO run that without building courses.
Does FINRA require annual AML training?
FINRA Rule 3310(e) requires each member’s AML program to provide ongoing training for appropriate personnel. Most firms deliver it annually and document completions.
Can AML training count toward the FINRA Firm Element?
Yes. FINRA Rule 1240(b)(2)(D) lets a member consider participation in AML training under Rule 3310(e) and annual compliance training under Rule 3110(a)(7) toward the Firm Element requirement.
Does Coggno provide FINRA Regulatory Element continuing education?
No. FINRA delivers Regulatory Element content itself. Coggno supports Firm Element and other firm-run training.
When does the FinCEN AML rule for investment advisers take effect?
FinCEN delayed it to January 1, 2028, in a final rule published January 2, 2026, and has said it will revisit the rule’s scope.
Does SEC Rule 204A-1 require code of ethics training?
It requires a written code and a written acknowledgment of receipt from each supervised person. Many advisers pair the acknowledgment with a short ethics course so the receipt reflects understanding.