You will be able to find the platform and Singapore rules for financial product ads and apply them.
Financial products are among the most tightly controlled things to advertise. The ad platforms each have general ad rules, and they add financial-specific policies on top of those. Singapore then adds regulatory expectations on top of the platform rules. You still need to read the current rules yourself and follow your firm's compliance process, and nothing here is advice on any product.
Meta, Google and TikTok each publish advertising policies for financial products and services. The policies cover areas such as credit, loans, insurance, investments and cryptocurrency, and they vary by product and by country. Depending on the product and market, an ad may be allowed with conditions, may need prior approval, or may be restricted or banned.
These policies change often, so read the current Singapore version of each one before you build an ad. Search each platform's help centre for its financial services advertising policy and save the pages. As you read, note anything that applies to your product, such as required disclosures, approvals or targeting limits.
Google also runs financial services verification in a list of countries. This process can require an advertiser to prove it is licensed or authorised by the local regulator before its financial ads can run. Google's help pages list the countries covered and what counts as proof. When the course was written, Singapore was on the list, and proof there can involve a MAS licence or an exemption. Check Google's current page to see whether you need to verify. If you do, start early, because verification can take time.
Financial advertising in Singapore falls under the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS). MAS has rules and guidelines on how financial institutions and their representatives advertise and market financial products, and these include online and social media marketing. They cover fair and balanced presentation, risk disclosures, and oversight of what representatives publish. Look up the current MAS requirements on the MAS website for your product type and licence type. The wider conduct expectations for representatives are covered in the course "Selling financial advice in Singapore: needs-based and compliant".
If you are a representative of a financial advisory firm, an insurer or a bank, you are also bound by your firm's own advertising policy. Many firms require compliance to approve every ad, post and landing page before it runs. Some firms do not allow representatives to run paid ads at all, so find out where your firm stands. You have to follow the firm's process as well as the platform rules.
The Singapore Code of Advertising Practice also applies. It is published by the Advertising Standards Authority of Singapore (ASAS), covers all ads in Singapore, and requires them to be legal, decent, honest and truthful. You met it in Lesson 5.3 "One offer, one proof, one action". A financial ad has to meet this code along with the platform, MAS and firm rules.
Daniel is a financial adviser representative in Singapore (an invented example). He has seen other advisers running ads that offer free retirement reviews, and on a Sunday night he drafts one of his own. It has a photo of a smiling couple on a beach, the headline "retire at 55 with guaranteed monthly income", and a link to a form. He is about to publish it when a colleague asks whether compliance has seen it.
Compliance has not seen it. The ad also has several problems, and any of them could get it rejected by the platform, get his account restricted, or put him in breach of his firm's rules. The clearest problem is "guaranteed monthly income", which promises returns. "Retire at 55" is a vague or misleading claim.
Daniel rewrites the ad with the headline "plan your retirement income with a free one-hour review". He swaps the beach photo for an image of a real meeting. His landing page now explains what the review covers and says the review is with a licensed representative. He sends the ad, image and landing page to his firm's compliance team before publishing anything.
Daniel's first draft shows two of the four mistakes that most often cause trouble. Check every draft for all of them:
Promising returns. Words such as "guaranteed", "risk-free" or "sure profit" are red flags to platforms and regulators alike. Presenting a specific return as certain is treated the same way. Leaving out risks. An investment or insurance ad that lists only benefits is unbalanced. Where risks, fees or conditions apply, they must be presented fairly, and your firm usually sets out how to do that. Vague or misleading claims. "Retire at 55" implies an outcome that depends entirely on personal circumstances. An offer of a "free retirement review" can be acceptable if the review really is free and the ad makes clear what happens next, for example a meeting with a representative who may recommend products. Products with extra limits. Some products have further restrictions on marketing to the public. For cryptocurrency and other digital tokens, check the platform policies and also the MAS guidance on how such services may be promoted in Singapore before you think about running any ad.
After checking for these four mistakes, check the draft against the Singapore Code of Advertising Practice. Then send the ad, the post and the landing page to compliance and wait for approval before you publish. An ad that breaks the rules can be rejected by the platform, can lead to the advertiser's account being restricted, and can put you in breach of your firm's rules.
The full order of work is to save the three platform policies, check Google verification, read the MAS requirements, read your firm's policy, check your draft for the four mistakes and against the code, and then get compliance approval.
In the activity below you will find and save the current financial services ad policies for Meta, Google and TikTok, and pick out three rules that would affect your ads.
Find and save the current financial services ad policy pages for Meta, Google and TikTok, then list three rules that would affect your ads.
Junxiong-WFG Organisation is an authorised representative of AIA Financial Advisers Private Limited (Reg. No. 201715016G).