Most financial advice firms built their marketing sign-off process around a guide written in 2012, before LinkedIn carousels, podcasts and AI copywriting tools. On 9 June 2026, ASIC replaced it.
The new RG 234 is a substantially rewritten guide, and it now speaks directly to the channels advisers actually use. This plain-English guide explains what RG 234 is, what changed in the 2026 update, how it applies to your website, social posts and newsletters, and gives you a 10-point checklist to run before anything goes live.
What is RG 234?
RG 234 is ASIC’s regulatory guide on advertising financial products, financial advice services, credit products and credit services. According to ASIC, it helps promoters comply with their legal obligations not to make false or misleading statements or engage in misleading or deceptive conduct.
The guide itself is not the law. It explains how ASIC expects the law to be applied, which makes it the closest thing advisers have to a rulebook for marketing. It applies to promoters of these products and services, and to the publishers who carry their advertising.
For firms building a marketing program, RG 234 should shape the content plan from day one, not sit at the end as a hurdle. It is a core part of how we approach marketing for financial advisers and our outsourced marketing work for advice firms.
What changed in the June 2026 update to RG 234?
The 2026 update reframes RG 234 around legal obligations rather than “good practice”, brings credit fully into scope, and deals directly with AI, social media and finfluencers. ASIC consulted on the draft through CS 37 before releasing the final guide.
The changes most relevant to advice firms, as summarised by Dwyer Harris, are:
- Legal obligations, with examples. The guide now draws on real enforcement outcomes, including penalties and infringement notices.
- AI is covered. The guidance applies whatever technology produced the advertising, and warns that AI-generated content can increase the risk of misleading claims.
- Social media and podcasts are named. Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, podcasts and influencer content are all expressly captured.
- Claims must be substantiated. Promoters should be able to back claims with evidence and keep records.
- Past performance guidance has moved in. Detailed guidance that previously sat in RG 53 is now part of RG 234.
- Suitability claims need an assessment. Saying a product suits a group of consumers should be backed by an actual assessment, linked to target market determinations.
- Testimonials and endorsements must be authentic and reflect genuine opinions.
- The actual audience matters, including financial literacy and vulnerability, not just the intended audience.
Does RG 234 apply to LinkedIn posts, podcasts and newsletters?
Yes. If a communication’s purpose is to inform people about or promote financial products or advice services, RG 234 applies regardless of the channel. The 2026 guide names social media platforms, podcasts and time-limited formats like stories and reels.
One theme matters for every adviser who posts online: a link, QR code or “see more” cannot fix a misleading headline. Balanced information, warnings and qualifications need to travel with the claim itself, which is hard in a 200-character post.
An individual adviser’s personal LinkedIn activity can also be treated as the firm’s advertising when it promotes the firm’s services. That is why many licensees require posts to be approved before they are published.
In practice, that means three habits. Write posts that are complete on their own, so a reader who never clicks through still gets a balanced picture. Keep product-specific commentary for formats with room for context, such as a newsletter article or a podcast episode. And keep a simple record of what was approved, when and by whom, so you can show your process if ASIC or your licensee ever asks.
Does RG 234 matter if you only advise wholesale clients?
Assume it does for anything public. A website, LinkedIn post or podcast episode can be seen by anyone, not just the wholesale clients you intend to reach, and the 2026 guide says promoters must take into account the actual audience that sees an advertisement, not just the one they intended (RG 234.133 to RG 234.134). The prohibitions on misleading or deceptive conduct also apply far more broadly than the retail disclosure rules. Wholesale-only firms should confirm with their compliance adviser how the guide applies to their specific materials.
RG 234 checklist: 10 questions before you publish
Run every piece of marketing through these questions before it goes to compliance. It makes sign-off faster, because the obvious problems are already gone.
- Is every claim true today, and do we have a record that proves it?
- Does the headline make sense on its own, without the fine print?
- Are risks and limitations as prominent as the benefits?
- Have we avoided “safe”, “guaranteed” and “risk-free” unless they are literally true?
- Do past performance figures include the five-year return (or the return since inception), at least as prominent as any other period, with the past performance warning right beside them?
- Are fees described accurately, including any the client pays indirectly through products?
- If we say a product suits a group of people, has that been assessed against its target market determination?
- Are testimonials real, representative and approved in writing by the client?
- Would the actual audience understand it, not just the audience we had in mind?
- If AI helped draft it, has a person checked every fact and figure?
Here is what that looks like in practice:
| Before | After |
|---|---|
| Our best-performing fund | Our Growth portfolio’s returns over 1, 3 and 5 years to the latest quarter end, after fees, with the past performance warning beside them |
| Safe investments for retirees | Lower-volatility options we consider for clients near retirement, and the risks that still apply |
| Free financial advice | Your first meeting is free. Ongoing advice is a fixed annual fee, set out before you agree to anything |
Why compliant marketing is usually better marketing
The phrases that worry compliance teams are also weak marketing. “Best”, “safe”, “guaranteed” and “market-leading” are exactly the words a sophisticated client has learned to ignore.
What persuades a business owner with $10 million to invest is specificity: how you are paid, what you would actually recommend for someone in their position, and what can go wrong. That kind of content is easier to substantiate, easier to approve and far more convincing. Compliance and good marketing pull in the same direction far more often than advisers expect.
The practical fix is to build compliance into the calendar instead of treating it as a final hurdle. Agree a turnaround time with your compliance team, keep a list of approved and banned phrases, and draft with the checklist above. The same discipline applies to partners’ personal profiles, which we cover in our guide to LinkedIn for partners.
This article is general information, not legal advice. Check your own materials with your licensee or compliance adviser.
Frequently asked questions
Is RG 234 legally binding?
No, RG 234 is guidance, but the laws it explains are binding. It sets out how ASIC expects the prohibitions on false, misleading and deceptive conduct to apply to advertising, so it is the best indicator of what ASIC is likely to act on.
Do I need a general advice warning on social media posts?
You may, if a post contains general advice provided to retail clients. Purely factual information generally does not need a warning. Because a social post has little space, check your licensee’s policy on how warnings should appear before you publish.
What is the difference between RG 234 and INFO 269?
RG 234 covers advertising of financial products and services generally, while INFO 269 explains when online discussion of financial products may become financial product advice. INFO 269 is written mainly for influencers and the licensees who use them, and the 2026 RG 234 points to it.
Can financial advisers use client testimonials?
Yes, provided the testimonials are genuine, representative and properly approved. The 2026 RG 234 expands its guidance on testimonials and endorsements, and your licensee may have additional rules. Written consent from the client is the minimum.
Make your marketing easier to approve
If you want a marketing program built around compliance from the start, talk to us about outsourced marketing for advice firms.
