SEC Charges 9 More Firms With Marketing Rule Violations

"It is therefore crucial that investment advisers implement policies and procedures to ensure their compliance with the rule. Until that is the case, we will remain vigilant and continue our ongoing sweep to ensure that investment advisers comply with the Marketing Rule, including the requirements for hypothetical performance advertisements."

The SEC's orders find that "each of the charged firms advertised hypothetical performance to mass audiences on their websites without having the required policies and procedures," the agency said. "In addition, two of the advisers, Macroclimate LLC and MRA Advisory Group, failed to maintain required copies of their advertisements."

The SEC levied its first action enforcing the new marketing rule on Aug. 21, when it ordered Titan Global Capital Management USA LLC, a New York-based fintech RIA, to pay more than $1 million for using hypothetical performance metrics in advertisements that were misleading, among other violations.

Without admitting or denying the SEC's findings, the charged firms agreed to be censured, cease and desist from violating the charged provisions, comply with undertakings not to advertise hypothetical performance without having the requisite policies and procedures, and pay civil penalties ranging from $50,000 to $175,000.