Financial Promotions (advertising)
Marketing can take many forms and this will involve financial promotions.
A promotion is almost anything with your company name or logo on it. Therefore, financial promotions will include:
- Business card
- Letterheads
- Compliment slips
- Office signs
- Email footers
- Fax headers
- Mailshots (similar communications to more than one client – in any media: letter, e-mail, text etc)
- Yellow pages or similar directory entries, including yell.com
- Local business directories
- Web sites (either the firm’s own or the firm advertising on someone else’s)
- General adverts in publications (newspapers or magazines, local or national)
- Telemarketing activities
- Sales aids used with customers
- Seminars (including the invitation, slides, the script and any handouts)
(This list is not exhaustive but covers the main areas used by independent financial and mortgage advisers).
Are the firm’s financial promotions 'clear, fair, balanced and not misleading?' Do they comply with the rules or has something been missed?
- What about the firm’s systems and controls;
- Do they cover all customer or intermediary facing material;
- Can the firm demonstrate senior management are able to understand and ultimately control what is produced?
These are just some of the questions that need to be tested to make sure your firm keeps out of trouble. With a large team at the FSA checking written adverts and internet promotions it won’t be long before every firm comes under scrutiny.
Please contact us for further information.