Investment Adviser Marketing Rule
Investment adviser marketing practices in the Trade and Geopolitical Risk sector sit under active scrutiny from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, which finalized its Marketing Rule under the Investment Advisers Act in 2022 and has since issued examination priorities calling out performance advertising and testimonial compliance as specific deficiency areas. Firms that advise on trade-exposed portfolios face a compounding challenge: geopolitical risk content, country-risk ratings, and sanctions-adjacent commentary increasingly appear in client-facing materials the SEC treats as advertisements under Rule 206(4)-1. Compliance teams are currently mapping those materials against the substantiation and disclosure requirements before examination cycles hit.
Watch
- SEC Rule 206(4)-1 substantiation requirement for geopolitical risk performance claims
- SEC 2024 examination priorities: testimonial and endorsement compliance in adviser marketing
- Third-party risk ratings used in client materials may trigger the new definition of 'advertisement'
- Sanctions-related disclosures in adviser communications drawing increased SEC staff attention
- Whether hypothetical performance content in trade-risk briefings meets the one-on-one exclusion test
Recent material activity in Trade & Geopolitical Risk
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OFAC designates 14 entities linked to Russian defense procurement network
The Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control added 14 entities and 6 individuals to the Specially Designated Nationals list for their roles in procuring critical technology components for Russia's defense i…
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BIS adds 22 Chinese semiconductor entities to Entity List for advanced chip diversion
The Bureau of Industry and Security expanded export controls targeting Chinese semiconductor entities found to be diverting advanced computing chips through third-country intermediaries. New license requirements affect i…
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