As of January 2026, the SEC Marketing Rule (206(4)-1) remains a top priority for regulators, with new guidance issued as recently as January 15, 2026, to clarify complex areas like performance and promoter eligibility. If you haven't refreshed your materials since 2025, you may be out of compliance with the latest SEC risk alerts and FAQs.
1. Website and Social Media: Platform Neutrality
The SEC views your publicly face online presence as advertising.
- Social media: Compliance is platform-neutral, whether on LinkedIn or a niche platform, all posts must follow anti-fraud principles. By 2026, organic content is increasingly viewed as a tool for credibility, meaning regulators will look for consistency between your social claims and your actual practices.
- Website Disclosures: Ensure disclosures are clear and prominent, not hidden in footnotes or behind deep links.
- General Prohibition: Avoid "cherry-picking" profitable trades or using misleading headlines that don't represent the full client experience. There are seven general prohibitions; that’s just one of them and these apply to all advertising.
2. Performance Advertising
Here are a few points related to advertising performance..
- Gross vs. Net: You must present net performance with equal prominence to any gross performance.
- Extracted Performance: Updated March 2025 guidance allows gross extracted performance (like individual positions) without net figures only under specific, documented conditions.
- Hypothetical Results: If your deck includes model portfolios or back tests, you must have documented policies to ensure these are only shown to appropriate audiences.
3. Testimonials and Endorsements
The SEC's December 2025 and January 2026 updates highlight common failures in this area.
- Three Key Disclosures: Every testimonial or endorsement must clearly state:
- If the person providing it is a client or non-client.
- If compensation (cash or non-cash) was provided.
- Any material conflicts of interest.
- A January 15, 2026, FAQ now allows firms to compensate "promoters" with certain Self-Regulatory Organization (SRO) orders, provided they disclose the order and link to it for 10 years.
- Written Agreements: Ensure you have written agreements with anyone receiving more than "de minimis" compensation ($1,000 within 12 months).
A Few Other Compliance Pointers
- Substantiation: Can you prove every "statement of fact" in your materials?
- Third-Party Ratings: Have you conducted due diligence on the survey/questionnaire used for any awards you display?
- Recordkeeping: Are you maintaining versions of all advertisements for 5 years?
- Disqualification: Have you re-screened your promoters to ensure none are "ineligible persons" due to enforcement actions?
