TL;DR; The SEC’s 2026 Advertising Rule FAQs elevate the bar on judgment-based choices, making documentation, disclosures, and sturdy recordkeeping essential to passing exams and avoiding enforcement danger.
In January 2026, the SEC’s Division of Funding Administration issued two new FAQs addressing ongoing questions underneath the Funding Adviser Advertising Rule. They provide perception into how examiners and enforcement workers are more likely to consider adviser advertising practices, significantly the place judgment is concerned.
Taken collectively, the FAQs reinforce that advertising is regulated via a principles-based lens, not a guidelines. Advisers might have flexibility in how they current efficiency or use testimonials, however that flexibility solely comes with:
- Excessive expectations for documented reasoning
- Clear disclosures
- Supervisory controls that may stand up to after-the-fact evaluation
Why principles-based scrutiny now carries extra danger
The SEC is signaling that flexibility underneath the Advertising Rule will probably be evaluated after the very fact, via an examiner’s lens. This shifts danger from what companies say to what they’ll show. Compliance groups at the moment are accountable not only for approving advertising, however for preserving proof of how choices have been made, how disclosures have been delivered, and whether or not affordable care may be reconstructed years later. Companies that deal with advertising evaluation or recordkeeping as static danger being second-guessed with restricted defenses.
Mannequin charges vs. precise charges underneath the SEC Advertising Rule
The primary FAQ addresses whether or not advisers might current internet efficiency primarily based on precise charges when the charges anticipated for the meant viewers are increased. The SEC workers confirms that advisers will not be routinely prohibited from this apply. Nevertheless, permissibility relies on the particular information, circumstances, and disclosures.
For compliance groups, this elevates the significance of evaluating how efficiency is framed, who the meant viewers is, and whether or not price variations are clearly defined.
Compliance groups ought to:
- Assess audience-specific price assumptions by confirming that efficiency calculations mirror the charges the meant viewers is more likely to pay, somewhat than counting on historic or legacy price constructions
- Improve fee-related disclosures by contemplating side-by-side efficiency shows utilizing precise and mannequin charges, together with narrative explanations describing the affect of upper anticipated charges
- Doc advertising approval choices by clearly capturing why a particular price methodology was chosen and the way potential investor confusion was recognized and mitigated
- Retain approval and disclosure data by preserving ads alongside approval notes, disclosure language, and supervisory rationale to exhibit affordable care throughout exams
Testimonials and endorsements underneath the SEC Advertising Rule
The second FAQ supplies readability round testimonials and endorsements involving people topic to sure self-regulatory group last orders. The SEC workers confirms that these orders don’t routinely disqualify an individual from offering compensated testimonials if particular circumstances and disclosure necessities are met.
This steerage permits companies to maneuver away from blanket prohibitions, offered their compliance packages apply structured oversight and ongoing monitoring.
Compliance groups ought to:
- Refine testimonial and influencer due diligence to tell apart between disqualifying occasions that require exclusion and those who allow use with applicable disclosures underneath the Advertising Rule
- Strengthen onboarding and ongoing monitoring by monitoring self-regulatory group orders, confirming compliance with order phrases, and verifying cost of any fines or penalties
- Guarantee disclosure consistency throughout channels by coordinating advertising and compliance workflows so required disclosures and hyperlinks to underlying orders seem wherever testimonials are used
- Preserve long-term disclosure data by retaining auditable proof that disclosures have been delivered and accessible for the total ten-year interval required by the rule
SEC Advertising Rule recordkeeping: Why it issues greater than ever
Throughout each FAQs, SEC expectations assume that companies can seize, retain, and reproduce advertising content material because it was really used, together with the disclosures and inside approvals that supported it. This contains advertising distributed throughout e mail, web sites, social media, and third-party testimonial channels, in addition to the compliance evaluations and supervisory communications behind these choices. With out centralized communications seize and sturdy recordkeeping, companies could also be unable to exhibit affordable care throughout exams or enforcement inquiries.
How Smarsh helps SEC Advertising Rule compliance
Smarsh helps funding advisers operationalize the SEC’s principles-based Advertising Rule by guaranteeing advertising content material, disclosures, and supervisory evaluations are captured and retained as they have been really used. By centralizing communications throughout e mail, internet, social media, and third-party platforms, Smarsh permits compliance groups to protect context, doc decision-making, and exhibit affordable care throughout exams. This permits companies to maneuver sooner with confidence — with out sacrificing defensibility when regulatory scrutiny follows.
They affirm that advertising compliance is principles-based and judgment-driven, however solely defensible when companies can doc reasoning, disclosures, and supervision that withstands post-hoc regulatory evaluation.
No, however they make clear how SEC workers interprets and enforces present necessities, significantly round efficiency price shows, testimonials, and recordkeeping expectations.
As a result of examiners count on companies to breed advertising content material precisely as used, together with disclosures and inside approvals, to exhibit affordable care throughout exams or enforcement actions.
Sure, in some instances. The SEC confirms such people will not be routinely disqualified, offered required circumstances, disclosures, and ongoing monitoring obligations are met.
The shortcoming to substantiate judgment calls after the very fact, particularly when disclosures, approvals, or contextual data are incomplete or fragmented throughout techniques.
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As a Regulatory Advisor at Smarsh, Tiffany Magri screens, evaluates and consults on the monetary companies regulatory panorama. Tiffany has greater than 10 years of expertise facilitating compliance with legal guidelines and rules, insurance policies, and danger administration. Previous to becoming a member of Smarsh, Tiffany was a Senior Affiliate at Profit Road Companions and a Compliance Analyst at Broadstone and Manning & Napier Advisors.
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