How long must an RIA keep advertisements?

Not less than five years, counted from the end of the fiscal year in which you last published or otherwise disseminated the advertisement, the first two years in an appropriate office. Performance-support records follow the same clock, and the SEC's adopting release says the rule prescribes no particular method of keeping them. A piece you stop using in June 2026 is still on the clock until the end of 2031 at the earliest, for a firm with a calendar fiscal year. Whether a particular communication is an advertisement depends on its content.

What this means for your firm

• Record, for every piece, the date you last used it: took it off the website, stopped sending it, retired the deck. The five years count from the end of that fiscal year, not from when the piece was written.
• Write down your fiscal year end. A firm with a June 30 year end gets different dates from one with a December 31 year end.
• Keep the support for any performance figure with the piece that shows it.
• Decide where copies from each channel are kept: website, social, newsletter tool, mailbox.

A recorded last-used date and a kept copy of each piece are the simplest way to show how the clock was counted. Turret's Marketing plan computes this clock for each piece you submit once the piece is no longer disseminated, and its website archive keeps dated versions of your public pages. To work through your own pieces, the Marketing Rule checklist lists the records by paragraph.

Clock for ads and performance support

Five years from the end of the fiscal year in which the adviser last published or otherwise disseminated the communication; the first two years in an appropriate office (Rule 204-2(e)(3)(i), covering (a)(11) and (a)(16))

Advertising records in the rule

Copies of advertisements, and of newsletters and similar communications sent to ten or more persons; testimonial and rating documentation; performance support; a record of the intended audience for hypothetical performance and model fees (Rule 204-2(a)(11), (a)(15), (a)(16), (a)(19))

Method

None prescribed; e-mail archives, including in cloud storage or with a third-party vendor, are permissible if you can promptly produce the records (SEC adopting release IA-5653, p. 245)

Not less than five years from the end of the fiscal year in which the adviser last published or otherwise disseminated the advertisement, the first two years in an appropriate office (17 CFR 275.204-2(e)(3)(i)).

The clock starts from the last time you put the piece out, not when it was made or first used. Paragraph (e)(3)(i) says:

"Books and records required to be made under the provisions of paragraphs (a)(11) and (a)(16) of this rule shall be maintained and preserved in an easily accessible place for a period of not less than five years, the first two years in an appropriate office of the investment adviser, 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)

The general rule, (e)(1), carves (a)(11) and (a)(16) out and counts from the last entry on a record. For that clock, see how long Rule 204-2 email records are kept.

Four paragraphs of Rule 204-2(a) carry them. Paragraph (a)(11) is the core:

"(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 exceptions cover oral advertisements and compensated oral testimonials. Paragraph (a)(11)(i)(B) adds a "notice, circular, newspaper article, investment letter, bulletin, or other communication" disseminated to "ten or more persons (other than persons associated with such investment adviser)".

The other three:

• (a)(15): a record of the disclosures given to clients about a testimonial or endorsement, if not in the advertisement, and "documentation substantiating the adviser's reasonable basis for believing" that they comply.
• (a)(16): the records "necessary to form the basis for or demonstrate the calculation of any performance or rate of return" you present.
• (a)(19): "A record of who the "intended audience" is pursuant to § 275.206(4)-1(d)(6) and (e)(10)(ii)(B) of this chapter."

See the Rule 204-2 books-and-records checklist.

Illustrations only. The clock runs from the end of the fiscal year in which you last disseminated the piece.

• Calendar fiscal year. A brochure PDF comes off the website and out of the sales folder on June 12, 2026. The fiscal year ends December 31, 2026, so the five-year minimum runs to December 31, 2031, the first two (to December 31, 2028) in an appropriate office.
• Used again. The same PDF is emailed to a prospect on March 3, 2027. That is a new last dissemination; the fiscal year ends December 31, 2027, so the date moves to December 31, 2032.
• June 30 fiscal year. A deck is last shown on September 15, 2026. That falls in the fiscal year ending June 30, 2027, so the date is June 30, 2032.

A piece still in use has no end date yet. State-registered advisers look to their state's rules; see state-registered advisers' marketing and recordkeeping.

Paragraph (e)(3)(i) names (a)(11) and (a)(16). It does not name (a)(15) or (a)(19). The general paragraph, (e)(1), excludes a list of paragraphs that does not include them either. As we read it, that puts (a)(15) and (a)(19) under (e)(1): five years from the end of the fiscal year in which the last entry was made on the record, the first two years in an appropriate office.

"…shall be maintained and preserved in an easily accessible place for a period of not less than five years from the end of the fiscal year during which the last entry was made on such record, the first two years in an appropriate office of the investment adviser."

17 CFR 275.204-2(e)(1)

That is not an SEC statement. A separate period is a decision for your CCO and counsel; otherwise keep these records as long as the advertisement they support. For the testimonial and rating conditions themselves, see testimonials, reviews and third-party ratings.

Yes. The SEC's adopting release says e-mail archives, including in cloud storage or with a third-party vendor, are permissible, provided the adviser can promptly produce records. The rule prescribes no particular method (IA-5653, p. 245).

In IA-5653, the Marketing Rule's adopting release, the SEC answered a commenter who asked it to confirm that e-mail archives are acceptable for advertisements disseminated to investors: "and we agree." It added: "The final rule does not prescribe or prohibit any particular method of maintaining records." The condition is that the adviser can promptly produce records "in accordance with the recordkeeping rule and statements of the Commission."

Electronic storage under paragraph (g) of the rule still applies: records indexed so they can be found, produced promptly, and a separately stored duplicate. Our Google Vault answer quotes (g)(2).

Generic brand content, educational material and market commentary generally are not, the SEC said. A pitch for your services can make that portion one. A newsletter sent to ten or more persons may also fall under (a)(11)(i)(B).

Whether a communication is an advertisement "depends on the facts and circumstances" (IA-5653, p. 36). The release's white paper example is closer to a real newsletter: a paper that "concludes with a description of how the adviser's securities-related services can help prospective investors invest in the market" has that portion treated as an advertisement (pp. 37-38).

(a)(11)(i)(B) also names an "investment letter" or "bulletin" sent to ten or more persons. Keep every issue, so the classification question does not decide what you keep.

Where the copy lives matters. A newsletter sent from a mailbox connected to Turret's Email or Complete plan is in the email archive. Turret does not capture newsletter-tool sends or social posts; keep a copy of each issue yourself.

In the Meridian order, the SEC wrote that, as the communication "was published on a public website, it was made to more than one person." The adopting release says other content that offers or promotes the adviser's services on its own website or social media page "would likely meet the definition of 'advertisement'" (IA-5653, p. 23, fn. 50). So website pages that offer your services can be advertisements, and (a)(11) asks for a copy. In that settled order (September 2025), which Meridian consented to without admitting or denying the findings, the SEC found that Meridian Financial, LLC "failed to maintain copies of advertisements that appeared on its website." For more, see do RIAs need to archive their website?

For social posts, the April 2024 Division of Examinations risk alert, a staff view that "has no legal force or effect", lists among its observations: "Advisers did not maintain copies of information posted to social media." A footnote ties that observation to (a)(11)(i).

Turret's Marketing plan computes this clock for every piece: five years from the end of the fiscal year in which you last disseminated it, from the dates you record. A live piece, or one never disseminated, has no clock. Each version a submitter uploads (PDF, Word or PowerPoint) is kept, never changed afterward, with the approver's decision and an activity log. Website archiving keeps dated, SHA-256-hashed versions of your public pages for your firm's retention policy. Marketing is $99 a month with 5 submitters, no setup fee, 15-day free trial.

Sources opened October 27, 2026.

1. Rule text: eCFR, 17 CFR 275.204-2, Books and records to be maintained by investment advisers, Cornell LII, 17 CFR 275.204-2, Books and records to be maintained by investment advisers
2. Rule text: eCFR, 17 CFR 275.206(4)-1, Investment adviser marketing
3. SEC release: SEC, Investment Adviser Marketing, Release No. IA-5653 (Dec. 22, 2020)
4. SEC risk alert (Apr. 17, 2024): SEC Division of Examinations risk alert, Initial Observations Regarding Advisers Act Marketing Rule Compliance (Apr. 17, 2024)
5. SEC order: SEC, In the Matter of Meridian Financial, LLC (IA-6916, Sept. 4, 2025)