SEC Marketing Rule: Rules and Guidance

Rule 206(4)-1, the Marketing Rule, governs every advertisement an investment adviser uses. It sets seven general prohibitions, such as untrue statements and claims the adviser cannot substantiate, and specific conditions for testimonials, endorsements, third-party ratings and performance.

Performance is where most findings arise: net performance shown with gross, the required time periods, and hypothetical performance shown to a general audience. Advisers must also keep a copy of each advertisement under Rule 204-2.

The documents below run from the rule and its adopting release to the staff's answers to frequently asked questions and the enforcement actions that show how the Commission reads it.

6 documents on marketing, ordered by legal weight

• Current · binding law

  Antifraud provision

  Advisers Act Section 206 · 15 U.S.C. 80b-6

• Current · binding law

  Marketing Rule

  Rule 206(4)-1 · 17 CFR 275.206(4)-1

• Current · Commission position

  Marketing Rule adopting release

  Release No. IA-5653 · 86 FR 13024

• Current · not a rule

  Marketing Rule FAQs

  Marketing Compliance FAQ

• Settled order · no admission, not precedent

  AI claims: Delphia and Global Predictions

  SEC Press Release 2024-36

• Settled order · no admission, not precedent

  Hypothetical performance sweep

  SEC Press Release 2023-173