By Susannah Snider, SmartAsset featuring Cecilia T. Williams, CFP®, AIF®, COO/CCO at Halbert Hargrove
Advisors, check your calendars. The compliance date for the Securities and Exchange Commission’s investment advisor marketing rule is Nov. 4. That’s right around the corner.
And for many investment professionals, that deadline matters. In fact, nearly 69% of investment advisor compliance professionals said that their timeline for complying with the new rules was “on or shortly before” the Nov. 4 date, according to one survey.
On that date, investment advisors will have to follow rules that aim to modernize and amend their marketing strategies. That includes activities related to the publication of third-party ratings, testimonials and endorsements, and performance metrics, among other marketing materials.
To understand what financial advisors and investment professionals should know ahead of this important date, SmartAsset spoke with two experts. Cecilia Williams, chief operating officer and chief compliance officer at Halbert Hargrove, and Jonny Swift, a marketing expert and vice president at Impact Communications, shared the tasks investment professionals should complete.
What Advisors Should Know Ahead of the SEC Marketing Rule
Don’t forget to review existing performance reporting. Advisors should eye the performance reporting component of the marketing rule since they likely already have performance metrics published via various marketing materials. “There’s a lot of performance reporting out there,” Williams says. “If you show gross fees, you should also show net fees.”
Start collecting and gathering testimonials. Swift is already working with professionals to survey existing clients via services such as SurveyMonkey and gather testimonials. “We’re waiting until that Nov. 4 flip-switch to really start publishing everything and putting it out there just to be safe,” he says.
