Can an RIA use ChatGPT or Claude to write marketing?
As we read the rule, it regulates the advertisement, not the drafting tool; the firm answers for what it disseminates. Review and keep AI-drafted ads like any other.
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Rules 206(4)-1 and 204-2 vs Turret
| Rules 206(4)-1 and 204-2 | Turret | |
|---|---|---|
| A review step before an ad is used | ||
| A phrase check for guarantee and risk-free wording | ||
| A copy of each advertisement, (a)(11) |
Rules: ✓ ask for it, ✗ do not. Turret: ✓ does it, for pieces submitted. Sources
The details
By Nick Cianci, founder of Turret. He runs Muse Capital Management LLC, an SEC-registered investment adviser.
Last reviewed
The short answer
Review an AI draft like any other ad, and keep the final copy. Rule 206(4)-1 regulates the advertisement an adviser disseminates, not the tool that drafted it, and the adopting release says the adviser is responsible for its advertisements "regardless of who creates or disseminates them".
What this means for your firm
- Check every fact, number, award and client result in an AI draft against something you can substantiate, and cut what you cannot.
- Keep the version you actually disseminate, and keep the support behind any performance figure in it.
- Add a line to your marketing policy: whether staff may draft with AI tools, who reviews the output, and where the final copy is kept.
- Keep client names and account details out of any tool your policy does not allow.
Turret is not a writing tool; it is one place to review the finished piece and record who approved which version.
In short
- Who is responsible
- The adviser, "regardless of who creates or disseminates" the advertisement (SEC, Release IA-5653, p. 19).
- What the Delphia and Global Predictions cases cover
- Statements about the advisers' own use of AI, as described in the SEC's press release 2024-36.
- What to keep
- A copy of each advertisement disseminated, and the records behind any performance shown (17 CFR 275.204-2(a)(11) and (a)(16)).
The rule covers the advertisement, not the drafting tool
Rule 206(4)-1 defines an advertisement by what a communication does, not by how it was written:
"Advertisement means: (i) Any direct or indirect communication an investment adviser makes to more than one person, … that offers the investment adviser's investment advisory services with regard to securities to prospective clients or investors in a private fund advised by the investment adviser …"
17 CFR 275.206(4)-1(e)(1)(i)
Nothing in that definition or the seven general prohibitions mentions the tool that drafted the piece. The adopting release, discussing third parties' content, says:
"Although the final marketing rule will not require an adviser to oversee all activities of a third party, the adviser is responsible for ensuring that its advertisements comply with the rule, regardless of who creates or disseminates them."
SEC, Release No. IA-5653, p. 19
That sentence is about who creates or disseminates a communication, and it does not mention AI. We found no SEC statement applying it to a drafting tool.
Does the SEC say anything about AI-written advertisements?
We found no SEC rule, release or risk alert on AI-written advertisements. What exists is the principle that the adviser answers for its advertisements whoever creates them (IA-5653, p. 19) and exam priorities saying an exam may review policies and disclosures where advisers use AI.
The fiscal 2025 priorities, p. 6:
"If advisers integrate artificial intelligence (AI) into advisory operations, including portfolio management, trading, marketing, and compliance, an examination may look in-depth at compliance policies and procedures as well as disclosures to investors related to these areas."
SEC Division of Examinations, Fiscal Year 2025 Examination Priorities, p. 6
In the fiscal 2027 priorities' leadership message (p. 2), the document's own term is "super intelligence (SI)", not "AI". It says registrants "are using generative SI tools to support research, drafting, coding, and client communications" and that "the Division is intensifying its efforts to understand how the technologies influence outcomes and whether firms continue to comply with existing, technology-neutral obligations." Neither priorities document is a rule.
What did the Delphia and Global Predictions cases involve?
In March 2024 the SEC announced settled charges against Delphia (USA) Inc. and Global Predictions Inc. over statements about the advisers' own use of AI. The cases concern those claims, not advertisements drafted with AI tools.
The SEC found Delphia (IA-6573) and Global Predictions (IA-6574) violated the Marketing Rule; the announcement is press release 2024-36.
The link to your own marketing is narrow. If a page of yours says the firm uses AI in its process, that can be a material statement of fact like any other:
"(2) Include a material statement of fact that the adviser does not have a reasonable basis for believing it will be able to substantiate upon demand by the Commission;"
17 CFR 275.206(4)-1(a)(2)
What an AI draft can get wrong
The general prohibitions apply to the text that goes out. One that a fluent draft can trip:
"(1) Include any untrue statement of a material fact, or omit to state a material fact necessary in order to make the statement made, in the light of the circumstances under which it was made, not misleading;"
17 CFR 275.206(4)-1(a)(1)
A draft can state a fact, a number, an award or a client result that the firm cannot back up. The staff's April 2024 risk alert, which is not about AI, lists advertisements "publicizing the receipt of certain awards or accolades that were not received" (p. 5) and advisers who "did not maintain documentation to support performance claims included in advertisements" (p. 3). A risk alert is a staff document, not a rule.
Performance figures, testimonials and ratings each carry their own conditions, whoever wrote the sentence. See the Marketing Rule checklist and testimonials and third-party ratings.
Review the draft like any other advertisement
The release asks for review that can be tested:
"We believe for these compliance policies and procedures to be effective, they should include objective and testable means reasonably designed to prevent violations of the final rule in the advertisements the adviser disseminates."
SEC, Release No. IA-5653, p. 239
Pre-approval is one example of such a means, not a requirement; see Do RIAs have to pre-approve marketing? How often a person reviews AI-assisted pieces, every one or a sample, is for the firm to set and write down. The April 2024 alert faulted policies that, in its words, "Were not tailored to address advisers' specific advertisements" (p. 2).
A policy line can be short: whether staff may draft with AI tools, who reviews the output before it goes out, what the reviewer checks (substantiation of facts and numbers first), and where the final copy is kept.
Do I have to keep the prompts and drafts?
Rule 204-2(a)(11) asks for a copy of each advertisement the adviser disseminates. We found nothing in the sources saying drafts or prompts must be kept; whether your policy keeps them is for your CCO and counsel.
"(11) (i) A copy of each (A) Advertisement (as defined in § 275.206(4)-1(e)(1) of this chapter) that the investment adviser disseminates, directly or indirectly, except: …"
17 CFR 275.204-2(a)(11)(i)(A)
The retention period for those copies runs from "the end of the fiscal year during which the investment adviser last published or otherwise disseminated, directly or indirectly, the notice, circular, advertisement, newspaper article, investment letter, bulletin or other communication" (17 CFR 275.204-2(e)(3)(i)). Paragraph (a)(16) separately covers "internal working papers" that form the basis for any performance shown, so an AI-assisted performance figure needs its support kept as well. More in How long must an RIA keep advertisements?
Client information and AI tools
Prompts often carry client detail: a name, an account value, a result. Before anyone pastes that into a tool, check your policy and the tool's terms on how it uses and keeps what you enter. Keep client names, account numbers and account-level performance out of any tool your policy does not allow, and write down which tools the firm has approved.
Where Turret fits
Turret is not an AI writing tool. A submitter uploads the piece (PDF, Word or PowerPoint); each upload is a new version, earlier ones unchanged. It runs an AI pre-screen that flags each piece for your approver (a firm admin can switch it off), including testimonial and rating language, hypothetical performance and guarantees; Anthropic's model runs it. The pre-screen does not check whether a claim is true. A named approver decides, and Turret computes each piece's Rule 204-2(e)(3) clock. Marketing is $99/mo with 5 submitters; no setup fee, 15-day trial.
Sources
Sources opened October 27, 2026.
- Rule text: eCFR, 17 CFR 275.206(4)-1, Investment adviser marketing
- Rule text: eCFR, 17 CFR 275.204-2, Books and records to be maintained by investment advisers
- SEC: SEC, Investment Adviser Marketing, Release No. IA-5653 (Dec. 22, 2020)
- SEC Division of Examinations: SEC Division of Examinations, Fiscal Year 2025 Examination Priorities
- SEC Division of Examinations: SEC Division of Examinations, Fiscal Year 2027 Examination Priorities
- SEC: SEC press release 2024-36, SEC Charges Two Investment Advisers with Making False and Misleading Statements About Their Use of Artificial Intelligence (Mar. 18, 2024)
- SEC Division of Examinations: SEC Division of Examinations risk alert, Initial Observations Regarding Advisers Act Marketing Rule Compliance (Apr. 17, 2024)
- SEC: SEC, In the Matter of Delphia (USA) Inc. (IA-6573, Mar. 18, 2024)
- SEC: SEC, In the Matter of Global Predictions, Inc. (IA-6574, Mar. 18, 2024)
- Turret: Marketing review, product page
Try Turret on your next piece of marketing.
Submit a piece, see what the pre-screen flags, and have your approver decide. You add a card at the end of setup; nothing is charged during the 15-day free trial. No setup fee.