The SEC Marketing Rule, Rule 206(4)-1 under the Investment Advisers Act, governs how registered investment advisers may advertise — including testimonials, endorsements, third-party ratings, and any presentation of performance.
Broader than most people assume. Communications offering advisory services to more than one person can qualify, which brings websites, social posts, recorded webinars, and much marketing material inside the rule.
A recorded appearance is durable evidence of whatever was said in it. That is worth remembering before saying something on camera that would not be written down.
Permitted, with conditions: disclosure of whether the person is a client, whether compensation was paid, and any material conflict of interest. Those disclosures must be clear and prominent rather than buried.
Treated as endorsements. Using one requires disclosing who produced it, the period it covers, and whether compensation was paid in connection with obtaining or using it.
This is why a rating displayed as a bare logo is a problem, and why the recognition page on this site describes criteria rather than showing badges.
Heavily prescribed. Net-of-fee figures must accompany gross, prescribed time periods apply, and cherry-picked results are prohibited. The simplest way to stay clear of it is not to present performance at all outside the materials designed for it.
No untrue statements, no unsubstantiated claims, no material omissions, nothing misleading by implication. Superlatives are difficult to defend because the substantiation must exist in the file before publication.
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