New Marketing Rule Effective May 4, 2021

New Marketing Rule Effective May 4, 2021

On March 5, 2021, the new Marketing Rule for SEC registered RIAs was published in the Federal Register. The effective date for the rule is now set as May 4, 2021, and the required compliance date is November 4, 2022. 

The race is on as RIAs need to revamp their approaches to social media and take advantage of the new rules for paid and unpaid testimonials and endorsements. But the hurdles along the way are formidable, and in this compliance contest, you cannot take the hurdles just one at a time. Are you ready for marketing reviews?  

1. Work through the 430-page, 1075 footnote final release
2. Expect guidance from the SEC on the status of no action letters and more guidance on other tough questions also 
3. Remove major sections of existing policy and substitute replacement policies
4. Work through the concepts of adoption and entanglement that will be important to revamping content marketing approaches, including on social media 
5. Meet with and educate management
6. Meet with and educate marketing/IR
7. Meet with and educate marketing submitters from across the business 
8. Create new agreements and disclosures for paid testimonials and endorsements from current solicitors, as applicable
9. Identify related performance, extracted performance and hypothetical performance, including target performance and predecessor performance
10. Review all marketing materials per new general prohibitions

RIAs have a long window in which to comply with the new Marketing Rule if business does not push to move faster…a big IF. More than likely businesses will start asking when they can be in compliance. Have your thoughtful answer ready. For more guidance on the Marketing Rule, contact our regulatory experts: info@cssregtech.com.