Investment advisers · Compliance
SEC Marketing Rule website review for RIAs
What such a review covers, which rule it is read against, and what you get at the end of it.
An SEC Marketing Rule website review is a structured read of your public website against Rule 206(4)-1 under the Investment Advisers Act of 1940 (17 CFR 275.206(4)-1). It works through the seven general prohibitions in paragraph (a), then the rule’s treatment of testimonials, endorsements and third-party ratings, and records what it finds on each page with the paragraph of the rule attached. It is a review of public pages only, it reaches no conclusion about whether your firm has violated anything, and its output is a written report for your compliance counsel.
Educational information, not legal advice.
What the review looks at
The rule text below was read from the official source, and each item names the paragraph it comes from.
The seven general prohibitions
Rule 206(4)-1(a) sets out seven. They run from untrue statements of material fact, through statements the adviser has no reasonable basis for believing it can substantiate on demand, to presenting benefits without fair and balanced treatment of material risks, and end with "otherwise be materially misleading".
Rule 206(4)-1(a)(1)-(a)(7)
Testimonials and endorsements
The SEC describes the conditions as clear and prominent disclosure of whether the person giving it is a client and whether they are compensated, written agreements with compensated promoters, and disqualification of certain bad actors. A review reads your pages for whether that disclosure is present and prominent.
Rule 206(4)-1
Third-party ratings
The rule permits a rating where the adviser provides disclosures and satisfies criteria about how the rating was prepared. A review records which ratings your site displays and what accompanies them.
Rule 206(4)-1
Performance and specific advice
Paragraph (a)(5) addresses references to specific investment advice that is not presented in a manner that is fair and balanced, and (a)(6) addresses including or excluding performance results, or presenting performance time periods, in a manner that is not fair and balanced.
Rule 206(4)-1(a)(5)-(a)(6)
What this is not
This is not legal advice and it is not a compliance opinion. We do not conclude that an adviser has violated a rule. We describe what is on the public page and which paragraph of the rule speaks to it, and the judgement stays with your counsel.
Educational information, not legal advice.
Questions advisers ask about a Marketing Rule review
- What is an SEC Marketing Rule website review?
- It is a structured read of an adviser’s public website against the criteria in Rule 206(4)-1 under the Investment Advisers Act of 1940. Each thing we note carries the paragraph of the rule it relates to, so your compliance counsel can act on it or set it aside on the merits. It is a review of public pages, not an audit and not an examination.
- Which rule is the SEC Marketing Rule?
- Rule 206(4)-1 under the Investment Advisers Act of 1940, codified at 17 CFR 275.206(4)-1. The SEC describes it as consolidating the former advertising rule, adopted in 1961, and the former cash solicitation rule, Rule 206(4)-3, adopted in 1979. The SEC states a compliance date of November 4, 2022.
- Does a review tell me whether my firm is in violation?
- No, and it is worth being plain about that. We identify things on your public website that a regulator could ask about, and we hand them to the people whose job it is to decide what they mean. Whether something is a violation is a judgement for your counsel, not for us and not for software.
- Do you need access to our systems?
- No. We read the pages your prospects read. There is no login, no agent on your network, and nothing asked of your IT team.
- How are testimonials and endorsements treated?
- The SEC describes the conditions as clear and prominent disclosure of whether the person giving the testimonial or endorsement is a client and whether they are compensated, together with written agreements for compensated promoters and disqualification provisions for certain bad actors. A review looks at whether that disclosure appears where the testimonial appears, rather than only in a page footer.
- What do we receive at the end?
- A written report your compliance counsel and marketing team can work from directly. Each item is graded High, Medium or Low, names the page and element it was found on, and carries its citation. A person reads the findings before they reach you.
In short: a Marketing Rule website review reads your public pages against Rule 206(4)-1, names the paragraph behind each observation, and hands the result to your counsel as a written report. It does not decide whether you are in violation.
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