Advisor Ad Rule Changes Coming in October: SEC
The commission will take up changes to investment advisor advertising and solicitation rules.
The Securities and Exchange Commission plans to recommend in October adopting amendments to the advertising and solicitation rules for RIAs, according to the agency’s latest regulatory agenda.
The Division of Investment Management plans to recommend that the commission adopt amendments to rules 206(4)-1 and 206(4)-3 under the Investment Advisers Act of 1940 regarding marketing communications and practices by investment advisers.
Dalia Blass, IM’s director, said on Aug. 3 that “next steps” on outstanding proposals, including long-awaited changes to the investment advisor advertising and solicitation rule — would be coming sometime this year.
Blass stated at the Investment Adviser Association’s compliance event in early March that the agency was still digesting the comments that have come in regarding the definition of advertising — the scope — and “the compliance review aspect of the proposal” as well as “where those two areas can present potential problems.”
The comment period on the ad rule proposal ended Feb. 10.
Blass explained that the proposal affects “a diverse community” of investment advisors and their advertising and solicitation duties, along with retail and institutional investors as clients as well as private funds and robo-advisors.
Putting the advertising rule changes together “was not an easy task,” Blass said. “It was one of the harder proposals for us to bring together,” considering the rule predated the internet as well as other market and technology developments.
SEC staffers, Blass said, are “working hard” at moving toward a recommendation based on the feedback.
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