SEC Marketing Rule Compliance & Review
Careful legal review of pitch decks, websites, performance presentations, testimonials, endorsements, and related marketing materials for RIAs and private fund advisers.
COMMUNICATIONS COMPLIANCE
Marketing Within Regulatory Guardrails
The SEC’s Marketing Rule changed how investment advisers approach advertising, testimonials, endorsements, and performance presentations. It also remains an area of active examination focus. Problems can arise from unsupported claims, incomplete disclosures, poorly presented performance, or arrangements with promoters and referral sources that are not documented correctly.
At Ishimbayev Law Firm, we help Chief Compliance Officers, marketing teams, and fund managers review advertising and investor-facing materials with both the rule and the underlying anti-fraud standards in mind. The goal is not to strip the message of substance. It is to help present the firm and its track record in a way that is clearer, better supported, and less likely to create avoidable regulatory issues.
Services
Our Marketing Rule Services Include:
Pitch Deck & Website Review:
Reviewing core marketing materials, tear sheets, websites, landing pages, and similar content for promissory language, cherry-picking, unsupported statements, and disclosure gaps.
Performance Advertising Review:
Reviewing gross and net performance presentations, extracted performance, hypothetical performance, related performance, and other performance-related materials in light of the Marketing Rule and related SEC guidance.
Testimonials & Endorsements:
Advising on testimonials, endorsements, referral arrangements, promoter agreements, placement agent materials, and the disclosures and diligence steps that may be needed in connection with them.
Social Media & Interactive Communications:
Helping advisers set practical guardrails for LinkedIn, X, podcasts, webinars, and other interactive communications that can create advertising issues if left unreviewed.
Our Approach
Our Approach to Advertising Review
Material Review & Risk Assessment:
We review proposed advertising materials against the text of the rule, SEC FAQs, staff guidance, examination observations, and relevant enforcement themes.
Redlining & Revision:
We identify problem areas, suggest more supportable language, and help draft the disclosures, explanations, and qualifiers that may be needed for a more balanced presentation.
Process Integration:
We help align the review process with the firm’s compliance manual, approval workflow, and substantiation and recordkeeping practices so the marketing review process is easier to administer over time.
why choose us
Why Partner with Ishimbayev Law Firm?
Commercially Minded Review
Good compliance review should not turn every marketing discussion into a dead end. We work with clients to protect the core message while reducing avoidable legal risk.
Performance Presentation Nuance
Performance advertising is often where the hardest judgment calls arise. We help clients think through methodology, assumptions, comparability, fee treatment, and the disclosures needed to support the presentation.
Endorsement and Referral Structuring
Testimonials, endorsements, and third-party solicitation arrangements can raise both disclosure and documentation issues. We help clients structure those relationships more carefully on the front end.
Responsive Review Process
Marketing often moves quickly. We aim to give practical comments that can be turned around efficiently, without losing sight of the legal standards that matter.
FAQ
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I show "Gross Performance" without showing "Net Performance"?
In general, no. Under the SEC’s Marketing Rule, an advertisement that presents gross performance must also present net performance, subject to the conditions of the rule and related SEC guidance.
Are testimonials and endorsements now permitted for RIAs?
Yes, but only subject to the conditions of the Marketing Rule. Those conditions may include required disclosures, oversight of the arrangement, and attention to compensation and conflicts of interest.
Does the SEC Marketing Rule apply to Exempt Reporting Advisers (ERAs)?
The analysis can be more nuanced for ERAs than for SEC-registered advisers. Even where a particular rule does not apply in the same way, ERAs remain subject to anti-fraud standards and should review marketing and offering materials carefully, especially where performance claims, testimonials, or general solicitation are involved.
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