Marketing Material Guidelines and Compliance FAQ
7.
Question
Applications of the Advertising Guidelines
There is a transitional provision for the adoption
of the Advertising Guidelines where
advertisement issuers may follow the advertising
guidelines in the respective Product Codes that
were effective prior to 1 August 2008 (the old
advertising guidelines) or the new Advertising
Guidelines during the period up to 31 December
2008. Is it permissible for an issuer to adopt
partially the old advertising guidelines and
partially the new guidelines?
Answer
d.
e.
Use of terms like “Guarantee” could be misleading unless what is being guaranteed is
clearly spelt out. Also, if the guarantee is only available under very restrictive conditions
and in limited circumstances, it may not be fair to use the word "guarantee" generally to
describe the product.
Financial or other incentives in investing in a product should not be used or presented in
such a way that it is likely to divert or mislead investors' focus from the proper
consideration of the product.
While the SFC does not pre-vet marketing materials of SFC-authorized collective investment
schemes other than those where they are not exempt under s. 103 of the Securities and
Futures Ordinance (such as ILAS, MPF and Pooled retirement fund products), the SFC
conducts surveillance on all marketing materials, and will take all necessary action against
issuers in respect of marketing materials that have not brought their product disclosure up-to-
date in light of the new circumstances and concerns in the market.
Certain examples illustrating the disclosure/presentation that would not be considered to be in
accordance with the guidance set out in this FAQ 6A can be found at the following link
http://www.sfc.hk/web/EN/files/PCIP/FAQ/Sharing_some_recent_topical_issues_re_SFC-
authorized%20funds_15-Dec-2014_20150116.pdf. Please note that those examples are for
illustrative purposes only and are not meant to be complete or exhaustive. Issuers of
marketing materials are welcome to contact the relevant case officers in the Investment
Products Division should they have any questions regarding the above.
During the transitional period from 1 August 2008 to 31 December 2008, an advertisement
issuer may adopt the old advertising guidelines for some of its advertisements and the new
guidelines for other advertisements. However, for each advertisement, either the old or the
new guidelines should be complied with in full. Adoption of selective provisions in the old and
the new guidelines in an advertisement is not permitted.
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