The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) are agencies primarily overseeing financial communications, and their rules set the gold standard for ethical, transparent marketing.
For Chief Marketing Officers (CMOs) steering marketing campaigns that hinge on influencers, testimonials, or performance claims, understanding these rules can make the difference between building credibility and inviting scrutiny.
Besides, the smartest marketers capitalize on compliance to turn transparency into a competitive advantage.
Let’s elaborate.
Pro tip: Want to delve deeper into advertising rules and regulations? Learn more about FTC guidelines
TL;DR
- SEC and FINRA set strict standards for advertising, disclosures, endorsements and performance claims across the financial industry, and their principles apply to modern marketing across industries.
- SEC’s Marketing Rule expands the definition of advertising and requires clear disclosures, accurate performance data, substantiation and thorough record-keeping.
- FINRA Rule 2210 requires communications to be fair, balanced and free of misleading claims across all channels including influencer posts, social media and emails.
- CMOs must treat disclosures, data accuracy and claim validation as core parts of the creative process, especially in influencer campaigns, performance marketing, AI-generated content and investor-related communication.
- Three pillars guide compliance: transparency, fairness and substantiation.
- Marketing teams should use disclosure templates, internal validation checklists, cross-functional approvals, automated monitoring tools and archiving systems.
- Compliance frameworks from finance serve as reliable models for ethical marketing and help brands strengthen trust, reduce risk and improve credibility.
What Is SEC?
SEC is an independent federal agency responsible for protecting investors, maintaining fair and efficient markets, and facilitating capital formation.
Established in 1934 in response to the stock market crash and the Great Depression, SEC’s mission is to ensure transparency and accountability in the securities industry. They also deal with investor protection, orderly markets, and capital formation.
As such, it requires public companies, brokers, and investment advisers to disclose accurate information so investors can make informed decisions.
In the marketing context, the SEC enforces rules regarding marketing materials from investment advisers.
They set a precedent that all industries can learn from, which is to back every claim with evidence.
What Is the New SEC Marketing Rule?
In 2021, the SEC introduced a major overhaul to its 1961 advertising rules under the Investment Advisers Act. The updated Investment Adviser Marketing Rule (Rule 206(4)-1) modernizes decades-old guidelines to reflect social media, digital advertising, and third-party endorsements.
The intent was to modernize outdated rules and address digital-era formats. So, the rule now defines “advertising” more broadly, covering everything from websites and testimonials to influencer partnerships and video content.
Key Highlights of the SEC’s Marketing Rule
- Testimonials and endorsements are allowed, but must include clear disclosures of compensation, conflicts of interest, and whether the endorser is a client.
- Performance data can be used, but must present results fairly, avoiding cherry-picked numbers or misleading timeframes.
- Third-party ratings are permissible if marketers disclose how ratings were obtained and ensure no bias or manipulation occurred.
- Books, records, and compliance oversight firms must maintain documentation that proves their marketing claims are accurate.
What Is FINRA?
FINRA is a nonprofit self-regulatory organization that oversees broker-dealers and registered securities firms in the United States. Operating under the supervision of the SEC, FINRA’s mission is to safeguard market integrity and protect investors.
As such, it regulates broker-dealers to promote honest and transparent conduct.
FINRA:
- Enforces ethical standards.
- FINRA registers and regulates broker-dealers.
- FINRA licenses individual representatives (Series exams).
- Monitors how investment products are marketed and sold.
- Requires that communications in the financial world (from TV ads to TikTok clips) are objectively fair, but does not guarantee fairness.
For marketers, FINRA’s framework offers a blueprint for crafting persuasive yet ethical content that builds long-term trust rather than short-term hype.
FINRA’s Advertising Regulation and Rule 2210
FINRA’s Advertising Regulation framework dictates what’s permissible when promoting financial products and services.
Firms must file certain retail communications with FINRA’s Advertising Regulation Department, and then FINRA’s teams review them to ensure materials are “fair, balanced, and not misleading.” This includes websites, emails, social media posts, podcasts, and influencer collaborations.
Side note: Companies subject to FINRA rules may need to use different terms in their advertising compared to what insurance marketing uses.
Meanwhile, FINRA Rule 2210 outlines the standards governing all broker-dealer communications. It breaks communications into three categories:
- Retail communications: Anything distributed to more than 25 retail investors within 30 days (e.g., social media, ads, influencer posts).
- Correspondence: Individual or smaller-group messages (like email sequences).
- Institutional communications: Directed only at institutional investors.
Under this rule, companies must also provide a sound basis for evaluating products or services. That means:
- No exaggerated claims (like the famous “guaranteed returns”).
- Balanced presentation of risks and rewards.
- Supervisory approval before publishing retail communications.
- Clear disclosure of material relationships or incentives in connection with recommendations or performance claims.
Birch Gold Group offers a good example from that standpoint:
Why Do SEC and FINRA Ad Rules Matter?
The SEC and FINRA rules may seem limited to finance, but their implications go further. A lot of CMOs conduct influencer-driven, data-centric, and AI-powered campaigns, which means parallels to financial compliance show up across nearly every marketing vertical.
1. Influencer and Partner Marketing
86% of consumers make at least one purchase per year inspired by an influencer.
However, while influencers have become one of the most persuasive distribution channels for brands, they also pose real compliance risks.
That’s why regulators have been explicit about disclosure obligations.
The FTC’s guidance states that “if there is a material connection between an endorser and an advertiser, that connection should be clearly and conspicuously disclosed.”
That’s the same ethos that the SEC’s Marketing Rule brings to financial endorsements: paid relationships and material connections must not be hidden. Practically speaking, if an influencer promotes your product, the nature of that relationship must be visible to your audience.
2. Performance Marketing
Performance marketing depends heavily on claims and results, which is why regulators place strict requirements on how performance data can be presented.
For example, you need to include certain look-back periods and a clear description of the calculation method rather than cherry-picked snapshots.
As such, both the SEC and FINRA require advertisers to:
- Substantiate performance results.
- Use standardized, compliant time periods (for example, performance periods ending no earlier than the most recent calendar year-end).
That’s why ‘best-case’ metrics presented without context can raise compliance issues.
For CMOs, this means avoiding superficial metrics and focusing on substantiated outcomes that reflect true performance.
3. AI and Automated Ads
Many companies report measurable lifts in marketing and sales efficiency from AI adoption, according to McKinsey.
What matters from a regulatory perspective is how the AI is used, though.
AI-driven performance claims are likely to face heightened scrutiny unless they’re fully substantiated.
After all, the SEC’s updates and enforcement activity emphasize that marketing claims must be verifiable and supported by records; that expectation logically extends to AI outputs (i.e., firms must demonstrate how a claimed result was generated).
In practice, if AI contributes to an ad or influencer post, you need to retain the data, models, or testing that support any performance claims. Of course, make sure disclosures are visible when AI affects endorsement or outcome statements.
4. Employer Branding and Investor Relations
Public companies now use the same digital channels for consumer marketing and investor communication, which raises the stakes: selective disclosure and misleading statements carry strict regulatory consequences.
FINRA’s communications rules require that public-facing materials be “fair, balanced, and not misleading,” as we explained above.
That’s why FINRA reiterates that communications may not bury material information in footnotes or omit material facts.
When marketing crosses into financial claims (e.g., posts about quarterly performance, product-driven revenue impact), the same transparency rules apply.
The Edelman/brand trust research continues to show that credibility is a core commercial asset. Consumers and investors reward brands that communicate transparently.
Hence, aligning marketing practices with SEC and FINRA expectations strengthens brand credibility and reduces long-term reputational risk..
The Core Rules Every CMO Should Follow
For CMOs, understanding the spirit behind the SEC and FINRA rules is more important than memorizing legal jargon. At their core, both frameworks revolve around three pillars:
- Transparency: Always disclose material facts and relationships.
- Fairness: Present data, risks, and rewards in balance.
- Substantiation: Back every claim with evidence.
Again, these principles aren’t exclusive to the financial sector. They’re becoming universal expectations for ethical, high-performing marketing. Here’s what they mean in practice, and how you can turn compliance into a brand advantage.
1. Transparency: Disclose, Don’t Disguise
Transparency is the foundation of both the SEC Marketing Rule and FINRA Rule 2210. Every advertisement, whether it’s a TikTok influencer post or a whitepaper, should clearly state whether the endorser is compensated, any material connections or conflicts of interest, and how performance or ratings were calculated.
The SEC explicitly states that advertisements must include clear and prominent disclosures regarding testimonials and endorsements. For CMOs, this means disclosure should be visible, understandable, and unavoidable, not buried in a 10-point footer.
For instance, take influencer partnerships.
If your brand partners with a financial influencer who promotes your app’s new “AI investment assistant,” under the SEC’s principles, you’d need to disclose:
- That the influencer was paid for the endorsement
- Whether they are a client
- Any limitations or risks associated with the product
For example, when Cash App partnered with numerous influencers to share details about an exclusive offer to Drake’s World Tour, they all disclosed their partnership status, like so:
Remember: The same level of honesty should apply in non-financial sectors, whether you’re promoting skincare, SaaS, or sustainability services.
2. Fairness: No Cherry-Picking Data
The SEC’s performance advertising clause prohibits advisers from selectively showing results that paint an overly positive picture. FINRA enforces similar expectations. Any claims about success rates, ROI, or performance must include context and avoid misleading impressions.
For CMOs, this means avoiding the “best-case-only” testimonials, including timeframes and conditions behind success claims, and clarifying whether results are typical or exceptional.
A good example of this is performance claims in ads. If your campaign says, “Our customers doubled their ROI in 30 days,” you must also clarify:
- The sample size and time frame
- Whether this outcome reflects an average or a specific subset
- Factors that could affect performance
Otherwise, your ad risks being deemed misleading.
3. Substantiation: Prove Your Claims
The SEC requires firms to maintain records that substantiate their marketing claims or prove that every performance metric, testimonial, or rating is accurate and verifiable.
For CMOs and marketing teams, substantiation means having your data ready, including analytics, survey results, screenshots, or customer research that back up your claims.
If you say “our campaign improved retention by 40%,” you should be able to show the analytics dashboard or A/B test data, the control group comparison, and the campaign period and audience segment.
This principle aligns closely with modern content marketing best practices, where data-driven storytelling wins.
Common Marketing Scenarios Where SEC/FINRA Rules Apply
Even if your company isn’t a registered financial adviser or broker-dealer, these rules can inform your ad ethics. Here’s how they translate to real-world campaigns:
How CMOs Can Build a SEC and FINRA Compliance-First Framework
Regulatory compliance is a system. Here’s a framework CMOs can use to operationalize SEC- and FINRA-inspired marketing principles.
1. Train Your Team on Disclosure Standards
Marketers, content creators, and social media managers should all know when and how to disclose paid partnerships, data sources, and performance results. For instance, they must use templates and visual examples for clarity, and include compliance training in onboarding.
2. Create an Internal “Claim Validation” Checklist
Before publishing, every marketing claim should pass through a validation layer. You can ask questions like:
- Is the claim factual and supported by data?
- Are all relationships disclosed?
- Is the presentation balanced (not misleading)?
- Is there documentation available for verification?
We advise you to use tools like Notion, Asana, or ClickUp to track ad approvals and store compliance documents.
3. Collaborate with Legal and Compliance Early
Don’t wait until post-launch reviews. Engage your legal team during campaign planning to identify potential compliance risks, especially in:
- Influencer or affiliate partnerships
- Financial or performance-based claims
- Investor-related communications
This cross-functional approach reduces revisions and accelerates approval timelines.
4. Use Automated Monitoring Tools
FINRA and SEC emphasize ongoing supervision. You can use digital tools to streamline this process:
- Hearsay Systems: Monitors social media compliance for financial institutions
- Global Relay: Provides archiving and audit trails for communications
- Proofpoint: Flags noncompliant language in real-time
These solutions help large marketing teams maintain control without stifling creativity.
Real-World FINRA Ad Example: Robinhood’s Compliance Reset
A few years ago, Robinhood, the stock-trading app, faced regulatory backlash over misleading claims about its trading practices. The resulting fines and reputational hit prompted a massive internal review of their marketing and compliance systems.
Instead of pulling back, Robinhood doubled down on education-focused marketing, which simplified complex investing concepts and added full disclosures to campaigns. These resulted in a more transparent brand voice, improved consumer perception, and reduced compliance incidents.
For CMOs, Robinhood’s evolution underscores that trust-based marketing is both ethical and profitable.
Actionable Steps to Build SEC and FINRA Ad Compliance Into Your Marketing Strategy
Compliance doesn’t have to slow you down. If you embed it into your creative process, it actually makes your marketing stronger. Here’s how forward-thinking CMOs can operationalize what the SEC and FINRA have been preaching for years.
1. Treat Compliance as a Creative Enabler, Not a Barrier
Just as the SEC demands verifiable results, modern CMOs can elevate their campaigns by integrating compliance as part of their brand narrative.
Your creative team should know upfront that disclosures, data-validation standards, and testimonial rules must be integrated into every campaign.
And when they do, you empower them to craft authentic and defensible work.
That’s precisely what customers want, too.
According to a 2025 Salsify study, 87% of shoppers say they will pay more for products from brands they trust. In other words, transparency and integrity drive conversion.
Designing creativity within guardrails positions your brand as trustworthy, so you gain a competitive advantage.
2. Build a Cross-Functional Compliance Culture
A Gartner survey from mid-2024 found that 39% of legal/compliance leaders believe their organizations must improve their strategy to keep pace with new regulations. But your marketing team shouldn’t be alone in compliance.
You have to bring in:
- Legal teams to set clear guidelines
- Data analysts to validate performance metrics
- Influencer managers to enforce disclosure rules
- Creative directors to design transparent yet engaging ads
Bringing different teams together early avoids bottlenecks, ensures policies are built into your workflow, and keeps campaigns moving swiftly and securely.
3. Audit and Archive Everything
Both the SEC and FINRA require firms to retain copies of ads, communications, and supporting documentation.
Even outside of regulated industries, this is a smart marketing practice.
Keeping an archive of all ad iterations, influencer scripts, data dashboards, and approval records protects your brand in case of scrutiny and accelerates compliance reviews for future campaigns.
Tools like Global Relay (for communication archiving), Hootsuite or Sprout Social (for social monitoring), Google Drive, and Notion (for internal documentation) can make the process seamless.
Pro tip: Tag all archived materials by campaign, claim type, and date, so they’re easily retrievable during audits or internal reviews.
4. Implement a “Pre-Flight” Compliance Review
Before any campaign goes live, run it through a short but mandatory checklist, just like financial-services firms must under FINRA Rule 2210.
Your checklist might include:
- Disclosure tags visible on all sponsored content
- Verification of performance data sources
- Balanced representation of outcomes
- Legal review sign-off
- Updated privacy and consent statements
Make this pre-flight check a standard step in your project management tool, so compliance is built into the flow.
5. Leverage Technology to Automate Compliance
Automation is your best ally in scaling compliant creativity. You can use tools or platforms that scan ad copy for risky claims, enforce disclosure standards, and archive communications in real time.
Using these tools helps you move at the speed modern marketing demands while still keeping every campaign controlled and fully auditable.
Achieve SEC and FINRA Ad Rule Compliance with inBeat Agency
The SEC and FINRA ad rules might have been written for the financial world, but their message that credibility is currency echoes across every marketing discipline.
For CMOs, these rules offer a framework for doing marketing that lasts: transparent, data-driven, and grounded in trust.
The smartest marketing leaders are treating compliance as a creative ally, not an obstacle.
They’re blending storytelling with substantiation, and disclosure with authenticity, building high-performing campaigns that stand up to scrutiny.
That’s what modern leadership in marketing looks like.
At inBeat, we help you build campaigns that follow SEC and FINRA ad rules.
We balance performance and integrity, including influencer strategies that win attention while staying true to ethical standards.
Curious how this applies to your brand? Schedule a free strategy call and let’s map out your next steps.
FAQs
1. What is FINRA Rule 2210, and why does it matter for marketing?
FINRA Rule 2210 governs how broker-dealers communicate with the public. It requires all public communications (including ads, electronic newsletters, and social posts) to be fair, balanced, and not misleading.
2. Do firms need to file their marketing materials with FINRA?
Some retail communications must be submitted through FINRA’s filings review program, especially if they promote certain investment products or include performance data. FINRA reviews these filings for compliance with its content standards.
3. How does Rule 2110 affect advertising?
Rule 2110 sets the Standards of Commercial Honor and Principles of Trade, meaning all marketing and public communications must reflect honest conduct. It reinforces the expectation that firms avoid exaggerated or misleading claims.
4. Are educational materials treated differently under FINRA rules?
Yes. Educational material that explains concepts without promoting specific products is subject to fewer requirements than promotional content. However, it must still be accurate and not misleading.
5. How do performance claims fall under SEC and FINRA rules?
Performance information must follow applicable standards, including using prescribed time periods and avoiding cherry-picked results. Both regulators require clear disclosure of methods and assumptions.
6. How do firms stay compliant with electronic or digital communications?
Firms must supervise electronic communications the same way they supervise traditional channels. This includes archiving messages, reviewing content for accuracy, and ensuring all public communications meet regulatory requirements.
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