Promotional Material

NFA Compliance Rule 2-29(e) states that "every Member shall adopt and enforce written procedures to supervise its Associates and employees for compliance with this Rule. Prior to its first use, all promotional material shall be reviewed and approved, in writing, by an officer, general partner, sole proprietor, branch office manager or other supervisory employee other than the individual who prepared such material (unless such material was prepared by the only individual qualified to review and approve such material). If the Member is registered as a broker-dealer under Section 15(b)(11) of the Exchange Act and the promotional material specifically refers to security futures products, the individual reviewing and approving the promotional material must be a designated security futures principal."

NFA considers these items as promotional material:

• Newspaper/magazine advertisements
• Brochures/flyers
• Websites
• Direct mail
• Radio advertisement
• Video (TV commercial)
• Banner ad for internet
• Newsletter (including a performance update)
• Seminars
• Sales scripts
• Cover letters
• E-mails
• Internet discussion/message boards (see Interpretive Notice: Use of On-line Social Networking Groups to Communicate with the Public)
• Performance information submitted to third party services
• And recent additions

For additional help in developing compliant promotional material, see the following resources:

• Sales Practices and Promotional Material page of NFA's website
• A Guide to NFA Compliance Rules 2-29 and 2-36: Communications with the Public and Promotional Material
• The Do's and Don'ts of Promotional Material webinar
  • Many Members are deficient because they are unable to support every statement made in their promotional material, both fact and opinion. This webinar helps discuss misleading statements. 

Here are some examples of statements that could be considered opinions or misleading, along with questions we ask when we review your promotional material.

• "We offer one of the best trading systems in the world." How do you prove this?
• "Our trading platform guarantees lightning-fast execution." How do you guarantee this? Do you test your platform on a regular basis? How do you prove something is "lightning-fast"?
• "XYZ Trading has some of the most experienced brokers in the country." How long have the brokers been in the industry? NFA would check their histories to verify this claim.

Many Members forget to review and approve each promotional piece in writing which can be done quite simply. If the piece is printed (brochure, flyer, newspaper ad or magazine ad), supervisory personnel can sign and date its approval. The piece should be kept in a promotional material file as required for five years. If your firm has a website, you can keep a spreadsheet of content changes and include the date of approval. The approval should be done by a supervisor or principal that did not create the promotional piece.

NFA offers a complimentary pre-review of all promotional material so that Members' promotional material is in compliance prior to its use. For more information on how to submit your promotional material for review visit the Promotional Material Pre-Review and Pre-Approval page on NFA's website.