For Financial Firms

A listing is directory information: the business details the directory displays for a firm so a visitor can find it by category and city. It is not an endorsement, and it is not a credential. Claiming is how a firm confirms that the information is right or asks for it to be corrected. A claimed listing is free.

If your firm already appears in the directory, use the claim page to start. If it does not appear yet, add your firm is the starting point. Either way, the request is about the firm's business information, and you can see the full directory on the financial professionals page.

Pro costs $39 a month or $390 a year. It adds up to 15 photos, a longer description with services and an FAQ, a "Message this professional" form that sends messages to the firm's email, and a Pro label. A Pro listing also sits ahead of unclaimed listings when listings are otherwise tied, hides other firms on its own listing, and reports monthly views and clicks.

Sponsored costs $79 a month at the founding rate, or $790 a year, for each category-city page. A page carries at most two Sponsored placements, and each one is always labeled Sponsored. Pro and Sponsored have no contracts, and either can be canceled at any time.

Both prices are flat fees. Inversado does not charge per lead, per client or as a percentage of anything, and no plan comes with a promise of calls, clients, leads or rankings. The plans and pricing page holds the side-by-side comparison.

Paid placement is paid directory advertising, and it is labeled that way. What a plan buys is presentation and placement: more photos and description, a contact form, a label and a position. Reviews, ratings, badges, credentials and endorsements are not for sale at any price, and the directory carries no reviews or ratings. Payment is not compensation for a client referral, and a Sponsored placement is not a ranking of firms by quality.

Related notices: the advertising notice and the disclaimer.

Pro and Sponsored are offered only after the professional's registration is checked on SEC IAPD, FINRA BrokerCheck or the state record, whichever applies to the firm. The Pro label or the Sponsored placement is applied after that check, not before it. If you are unsure which record covers your firm, the contact form has a topic for questions about plans, and the registration check is a fair question to ask there.

Paid placement is advertising, and advertising rules differ by how a firm is registered. This is general information, not legal advice, and a separate review by a compliance professional or counsel is what settles whether a specific arrangement complies.

For SEC-registered investment advisers, Rule 206(4)-1, the SEC Marketing Rule, applies to an adviser that directly or indirectly disseminates an advertisement. The SEC's small-entity guide says the definition of advertisement includes "any endorsement or testimonial for which an adviser provides cash or non-cash compensation directly or indirectly." Testimonials and endorsements are allowed only under conditions that include required disclosures, oversight, disqualification restrictions and the general ban on misleading advertising. In addition, Rule 206(4)-1(b)(3) bars an adviser from compensating a person for a testimonial or endorsement when the adviser knows, or reasonably should know, that the person is subject to a disqualifying event.

For broker-dealers and their associated persons, FINRA Rule 2210(d)(6) testimonial requirements, described in Regulatory Notice 12-29, include prominent disclosure that a testimonial may not be representative of the experience of other customers, that it is no guarantee of future performance or success, and, when applicable, that it is a paid testimonial.

On the consumer side, the FTC's Endorsement Guides, revised in June 2023, call for disclosing the relationship when people are compensated to promote or review a product. The Consumer Reviews and Testimonials Rule, effective October 21, 2024, prohibits buying or selling fake reviews and conditioning compensation on a positive or negative review, among other practices.

State rules add a separate layer. Florida Rule 69W-600.0131, titled "Prohibited Business Practices for Investment Advisers and Their Associated Persons," records a March 21, 2024 effective date, and Florida-registered advisers need a state-law review in addition to any federal requirements.

Questions that are worth asking your own compliance professional:

• Does paid directory placement count as an advertisement for a firm with our registration?
• Which disclosures, approvals or records does our firm need before a listing or its text goes live?
• Does any part of the arrangement touch endorsement or testimonial rules?
• Which state rules apply to our firm?

The same contact form takes questions about five Inversado services: web design, SEO, review management, video marketing and custom app development. These services are separate from the free, Pro and Sponsored listing options, and a firm can ask about one, several or none of them.

Inversado is an independent financial education site and directory, published under the Inversado name rather than a personal byline. It is not a lender, broker-dealer, registered investment adviser, tax adviser or law firm, it gives no investment, tax or legal advice, and a listing is not an endorsement. The about page tells more about the site.

The guides are national and appear in English and Spanish. The first series, ten guides on borrowing against Bitcoin and other assets, sits inside the guides section.

The contact form has a topic for each request: claim or correct a listing, the Pro plan, Sponsored placement, web design, SEO, review management, video marketing, custom app development, or another question. A message through the form is a request. Approval of a plan depends on the registration check, and no plan promises traffic, leads or clients. To start, claim your listing or ask about a plan with Inversado.