How do I market financial planning services without making misleading performance claims?
Return numbers are the fastest way to trouble with regulators, and they rarely explain why someone should hire a planner.
- Can I show returns?
- What can I promise?
- How do I show value without numbers?
Market what you do, not what markets did: the planning process, the decisions you help with, the time and worry you save and who you serve. Avoid promises of returns, cherry-picked periods and hypothetical results unless your compliance team approves them with the required context. Use plain risk language and anonymized, approved examples of planning decisions.
Safer ways to show value
| Show | Example |
|---|---|
| Process | Five steps from first meeting to plan |
| Decisions | When to start pensions, how to draw income |
| Coordination | Working with your accountant and lawyer |
| Service | Reviews, response times, reporting |
If you show performance
In the US, the SEC Marketing Rule sets specific conditions for performance advertising. In Canada, firm and regulator rules apply. Let compliance handle it.
This is general information, not legal or compliance advice. Your dealer, firm or compliance officer decides what you can publish.
How we look at it at ShoutEx
We write process-led pages and content that compliance can approve.
- Return promises.
- Best-year examples.
- Guaranteed outcomes.
- Unreviewed hypotheticals.
- Process explained.
- Approved examples.
- Plain risk language.
- Compliance sign-off.
What advisors and regulators say
Here is what regulators say.
Conditions for performance advertising by US advisers.
Read the guide →Canadian regulators' expectations on promotional content.
Read the guidance →Community summaries describe recurring themes in public threads, not individual posts. Vendor pages describe vendor claims, so test them on your own calls.
Read next
Go deeper in the ShoutEx guides, or check the sources behind this answer.
We'll write content compliance can approve.
Book a call →Follow-up questions
Can I show a sample plan?
Often, anonymized and approved.
What about calculators?
With clear assumptions, usually fine.
Can AI write marketing for advisors?
It can draft. Compliance approves.