New advertising and marketing rule considered a top compliance issue for 2021 and beyond (ThinkAdvisor)

Looking back at the past year reveals several key industry developments and trends that will continue to be impactful during 2022. On the regulatory side, a new era for the SEC began with Chairman Gary Gensler at the helm. It quickly became clear that changes would be coming for certain regulations – and at the top of the list were the rules for advertising and marketing. As part of the ThinkAdvisor cover story on 2021 financial industry news highlights, comments by Amy Lynch, FrontLine’s Founder and President, were included about the changes to the advertising and marketing regulations. Ms. Lynch stated that while a new advertising and marketing rule was approved earlier this year, firms should tread cautiously with the rule’s permissible use of testimonials and endorsements until they are fully compliant and have policies that have been updated for the new rule. Additionally, in October, the SEC’s Division of Investment Management (IM) provided an update on the new rule that included a list of SEC no-action letters or staff letters that were withdrawn and no longer valid for reliance by investment advisers. (For more information, see our ComplianceAlert, “Division of Investment Management Takes Action on New Marketing Rule”). See ThinkAdvisor, “IA 2021 News of the Year: Cover Story“