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Advisor Resources

Compliance Check

Anything a client, prospect or the public will see goes through Zoop Alpha Compliance before you use it. Do your own homework first, then send it here. You'll get a clear answer, usually within 3 business days.

1 Self-review 2 Fix what you find 3 Submit below 4 Use it only after written approval

How it works

The goal is simple: protect your clients, your license and the firm, and get good material out the door fast. The cleaner your submission, the faster it comes back.

Step 1

Run your own check

Read the common-sense guide below. Then have a second set of eyes review it, run it through the AI prompt on this page, or both.

Step 2

Make the fixes

Apply the recommended changes. Gather the sources for every number, statistic and claim. Remove anything you can't back up.

Step 3

Submit it

Upload the file or share a link, tell us who will see it and where, and confirm you've done your due diligence.

Step 4

Get an answer

Compliance responds, usually within 3 business days: approved, a clarifying question, recommendations, or changes and a resubmission.

What usually passes, and what won't

A plain-English guide based on the SEC Marketing Rule (Rule 206(4)-1 under the Investment Advisers Act) and the anti-fraud rules behind it. It's a starting point, not a substitute for the review. When in doubt, ask.

Usually passes

Material that is accurate, balanced and easy to back up.

  • Education, not promises. Explaining how a strategy, product or concept works without predicting results.
  • Benefits shown with risks. Every benefit is paired with its material risks and limitations, with similar prominence.
  • Facts you can prove. Every number, statistic and claim has a source you keep on file and can produce on request.
  • Clear about who does what. Advisory services are identified as offered through Zoop Alpha Advisors, an SEC-registered investment adviser. Insurance and annuities are kept clearly separate.
  • Accurate titles. Only licenses and designations you actually hold, described accurately.
  • Labeled examples. Hypothetical or illustrative examples clearly marked as such, with their assumptions, and never shown as expected results.
  • Consistent with our filings. Services, fees and conflicts described the same way as in our Form ADV Part 2A and Form CRS.
  • Calm tone. Confident and direct without fear, hype or pressure.

Obviously not compliant

Fix these before you submit. They will come back every time.

  • Guarantees and "no risk" language. "Safe," "risk-free," "can't lose," "guaranteed returns." Insurance guarantees must be qualified as backed by the claims-paying ability of the issuing insurer.
  • Unsupported superlatives. "Best," "#1," "top advisor," awards or rankings without the date, period, source and whether anyone was paid.
  • Testimonials without the rules. Client reviews, quotes, endorsements or social media comments used without required disclosures and firm approval.
  • Cherry-picked or hypothetical performance. Best-period returns, gross without net, missing 1-, 5- and 10-year periods, or projections and back-tests shown to the general public.
  • Predictions stated as fact. "The crash is coming, act now." Fear-based urgency aimed at retirees.
  • Implied SEC approval or credentials. "SEC-approved," "RIA" after your name, or designations you don't hold.
  • Client information. Names, photos, statements or account details without written consent.
  • Unqualified tax claims. "Tax-free" with no conditions, or anything that reads like tax or legal advice.
  • Misleading product descriptions. Calling a fixed index annuity a stock market investment, or describing insurance as something it isn't.
  • Off-channel business. Texting or messaging clients about business on personal apps that aren't firm-approved and recorded.

Gray areas: always submit, and say so in your notes

  • Case studies and client stories, even when anonymized or composite.
  • Charts and illustrations of how a strategy might behave, including Waterfall Strategy and Income Engine visuals you've adapted.
  • Third-party articles, links and reposts. Sharing it can make it your own advertisement.
  • Seminar and event invitations, especially "free meal" events.
  • Comparisons with CDs, other products, other advisors or "typical" portfolios.
  • Anything about performance, even a single number.

Do your own compliance check first

You're responsible for what you put in front of people. Before you submit, run your material through your own process. Use one or more of these.

A second set of eyes

Ask a colleague, your own compliance contact or another advisor to read it the way a skeptical regulator would. Ask them: "What here could someone misread? What can't we prove?"

An AI review

Copy the prompt below into the AI tool of your choice (ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, Copilot), fill in the top section, and paste or attach your material. Apply the Must-fix and Should-fix changes.

Never paste client personal information into an AI tool.

Your own checklist

Walk through the guide above line by line. Find a source for every number. Read it once more as a 75-year-old prospect hearing it for the first time.

AI Compliance Review Prompt

Copy, paste into your AI tool, fill in the brackets, add your material.
You are a strict, detail-oriented compliance reviewer for the marketing and client communications of an SEC-registered investment adviser. I am an investment adviser representative (IAR) with Zoop Alpha Advisors. Review the material below before I submit it to my firm's Compliance Department. Your review is a first pass to catch problems early. It is not legal advice and it does not replace the firm's review, so never tell me the material is "approved" or "compliant." Tell me whether it looks ready to submit.

ABOUT THE MATERIAL (I will fill this in)
- What it is: [website page, social media post, email or newsletter, seminar slides, flyer, ad, video or podcast script, client letter, other]
- Who will see it: [general public / prospects / existing clients only / one specific client / CPAs, attorneys or other professionals / internal only]
- Where and when it will be used: [platform, event, date]
- Does it mention insurance or annuity products? [yes / no]
- Does it include performance numbers, testimonials, reviews, ratings, awards, rankings, case studies, hypothetical examples or projections? [describe]

REVIEW IT AGAINST ALL OF THE FOLLOWING
1. The SEC Marketing Rule (Rule 206(4)-1 under the Investment Advisers Act of 1940), including its general prohibitions:
   a. No untrue statement of a material fact, and no omission that makes a statement misleading.
   b. No material statement of fact that the firm cannot substantiate on demand.
   c. Nothing that would reasonably lead a reader to an untrue or misleading implication or inference.
   d. Any discussion of potential benefits must include fair and balanced treatment of the material risks and limitations, with similar prominence.
   e. References to specific investment advice or past recommendations must be fair and balanced.
   f. Performance must be presented fairly, including the time periods shown.
   g. Nothing else that is materially misleading.
2. Testimonials and endorsements (including client reviews, social media comments, "likes," shares and quotes): flag every one. Note the required clear and prominent disclosures (client or non-client, paid or unpaid, material conflicts of interest), and that the firm must oversee them and may need a written agreement.
3. Third-party ratings, rankings and awards: the date given, the period covered, who created it, and whether anyone was paid. Flag "best," "top," "#1," "award-winning" and similar.
4. Performance: net of fees shown with at least equal prominence to gross; 1-, 5- and 10-year periods (or since inception); no cherry-picked periods or accounts; extracted performance must offer the total portfolio. Flag ANY hypothetical performance (projections, back-tests, model results, illustrations of future values) as high risk, especially for a general-public audience.
5. Consistency with the firm's Form ADV Part 2A and Form CRS: services, fees, conflicts of interest, and who provides what.
6. Titles, credentials and registration: no "RIA" after a person's name, no designations the person does not hold, no implication that SEC registration means approval, endorsement, skill or training.
7. Insurance and annuity content: advisory services and insurance products must be clearly separated, with who offers each. Do not call insurance or annuities "investments" in a misleading way, do not imply a fixed or fixed index annuity is invested in the stock market, and qualify every guarantee as backed by the claims-paying ability of the issuing insurer. Flag "safe," "no risk," "risk-free," "can't lose," "guaranteed income/returns" and "principal protection" unless precisely and accurately qualified. Benefits must be balanced with limitations such as surrender charges, caps, fees and liquidity limits.
8. Tax and legal statements: qualify "tax-free," "tax-advantaged" and similar claims with the conditions that apply; nothing should read as tax or legal advice; suggest consulting a qualified tax or legal professional.
9. Tone and tactics: no fear-based urgency, no market-crash predictions stated as fact, no promises of future results, no unfair comparisons with other products or advisors, nothing disparaging. Flag "free lunch" or "free dinner" seminar invitations aimed at seniors.
10. Privacy: no client names, account details, photos, statements or anything identifying a client without written consent (Regulation S-P). Do not repeat any personal data back to me.
11. Social media and recordkeeping: links to third-party content may be treated as the firm's own; content must be capable of being archived; business communications only on firm-approved, recorded channels.
12. Required elements that may be missing: who is offering the service (investment advisory services offered through Zoop Alpha Advisors, an SEC-registered investment adviser), the statement that registration does not imply a certain level of skill or training, risk language that fits the content, and a pointer to Form ADV Part 2A and Form CRS where appropriate.

GIVE ME YOUR REVIEW IN THIS FORMAT
A. Overall risk: Low, Medium or High, with a one-sentence reason, and whether it looks ready to submit.
B. Issues table with these columns: Exact quote from the material | What the problem is | Rule or principle | Severity (Must fix / Should fix / Consider) | Suggested compliant rewrite.
C. Missing disclosures or required elements.
D. Every factual claim, statistic, number or quote that needs a source on file, and what kind of source would substantiate it.
E. Questions the firm's Chief Compliance Officer is likely to ask me.
F. A fully revised version with every Must-fix and Should-fix change applied, keeping my voice and message as close to the original as possible. Mark what you changed.

RULES FOR YOU
- Be strict. If in doubt, flag it.
- Quote the material exactly when you point to a problem.
- Do not invent facts, statistics, sources or disclosure language that I would need to verify. Where a disclosure is needed, say so and draft it in brackets for me to confirm with Compliance.
- If something is outside what you can judge (for example, state insurance advertising rules), say so plainly.

THE MATERIAL
[Paste the text here, or attach the file or screenshots. For video or audio, paste the script or transcript. Remove any client personal information first.]
An AI review is a first pass. It does not replace Zoop Alpha Compliance, and it can be wrong. You still need written approval before use.

Submit for compliance review

For investment adviser representatives affiliated with Zoop Alpha Advisors.

  1. Upload the file or share a link. Upload PDF, Word, Excel or image files (up to 5). For slide decks, export to PDF. For video, audio or anything online, share a link that Compliance can open without asking for access.
  2. Send the final version. Approval covers the exact version reviewed. Any change after approval needs a new review.
  3. Put your sources in the notes, or a link to them, for every statistic and claim.
  4. One piece per submission works best. A campaign with several related pieces can go together.
  5. Answering a question or resubmitting? Use this same form and choose the matching option.

What happens next: you'll get an email confirming we received it. Compliance typically responds within 3 business days with an approval, a clarifying question, recommendations, or a request for changes and a resubmission. Please don't publish or distribute anything until you have written approval, and keep the approval email with your records.

This page is for Zoop Alpha Advisors investment adviser representatives and is not an offer of advisory services. The guidance here summarizes common requirements in plain English and is not legal advice. Zoop Alpha Compliance makes the final determination on all materials.