SEC actions expose underbelly of RIA industry awards, but they are often lucrative for those who hand them out and unlikely to stop being abused by those who get them

Well-known awards do lead to new business for advisors through recognition and most importantly... search results.

Good piece Oisin. I don't question this is just a tip of an iceberg and there are far greater numbers of RIA failing to follow the rule. But I ask how serious are these breaches relative to other breaches we "expect" that cause real investor harm? The kind of harm that wrecks investors that former SEC Commissioner speaks passionately about. The harm that is often associated with the pervasive lack of transparency. Sara rightly noted this as a far larger issue. It is this context that I keep in mind when the SEC, catches, as Oisin recounts, "One RIA described itself as a “Top 100 Women’s Advisor,” rather than the fact that it employed a woman who made the “Top 100 Women” list published by InvestmentNews." and, "Other RIAs obscured or omitted the date an award was issued to make it seem more current." These are violations of the marketing rule, no doubt. They also pale in comparison to routine violations that we have come to expect.