(Article from Registered Funds Regulatory Update, July 2026)
For more information, please visit the Registered Funds Resource Center.
On May 4, 2026, the North American Securities Administrators Association (NASAA) announced that its members had voted to adopt amendments to four model rules governing investment adviser advertising. The amendments modernize state-level advertising standards and more closely align them with the SEC’s federal marketing rule for SEC-registered investment advisers. The amendments were initially proposed for public comment in July 2025.
The amendments establish a model framework under which states may permit state-registered investment advisers to use testimonials, endorsements, ratings, and specific performance reporting, subject to defined regulatory specified guardrails. Previously, existing NASAA model rules explicitly prohibited the use of such marketing tools and did not specifically authorize performance advertising. The amendments now allow state-registered advisers to use marketing practices more closely aligned to those used by SEC-registered firms and require the advisers to update their policies and procedures to ensure that marketing materials, including testimonials, comply with new guidelines to prevent fraudulent or misleading communications.
The amendments relate to NASAA Model Rules concerning unethical business practices, prohibited conduct, and recordkeeping requirements.
NASAA News, NASAA Modernizes Investment Adviser Advertising Rules to Align with Federal Standards (May 4, 2026), available at: https://www.nasaa.org/81020/nasaa-modernizes-investment-adviser-advertising-rules/.