Partner Federation — last updated September 2026

Compliant Marketing Rules for Forex & CFD Partners

It’s tempting to assume that marketing compliance is the broker’s problem — they hold the license, they wrote the risk disclosures, you’re just running ads. Regulators increasingly don’t see it that way. A growing body of enforcement treats the person actually publishing the promotion — the partner, the affiliate, the influencer — as directly accountable for what it says, license or not.

This page covers what not to do. For how to actually build traffic in the first place, channel by channel, see the Marketing-Channels Playbook.

• Why this is your problem too, not just the broker’s
• The claims that get partners in trouble
• Risk disclosure isn’t optional, and it isn’t a footnote
• Jurisdiction matters twice over
• A practical pre-publish checklist
• What if the numbers came from the broker’s own material?
• FAQ

Why this is your problem too, not just the broker’s

Australia’s regulator, ASIC, makes this explicit in its advertising guidance (Regulatory Guide 234): the rules apply to “promoters of financial products” and “publishers of advertising,” not only the licensed product issuer. Similar reasoning shows up across other regulators’ enforcement patterns — a broker’s license doesn’t create a shield for an affiliate’s own marketing claims. If you write the ad, post the video, or run the campaign, you’re generally on the hook for what it says, independent of whatever the broker’s own compliance team signed off on.

The claims that get partners in trouble

A few patterns show up again and again in enforcement actions and regulatory guidance: guaranteed or fixed-return language (“guaranteed profits,” “risk-free,” a specific promised monthly return); presenting a hypothetical, simulated, or cherry-picked performance figure as if it’s typical or representative; and — specifically called out in ASIC’s most recent guidance — lifestyle marketing that implies trading success through imagery like luxury goods and sports cars, especially from influencers, without the substance to back it up. None of these need to be your own original idea; reposting or adapting a broker’s own promotional angle doesn’t transfer the risk away from you.

Risk disclosure isn’t optional, and it isn’t a footnote

Regulatory guidance is increasingly specific that risk information has to carry equal prominence to the benefits being advertised, not be buried in fine print, a linked disclaimer, or a disclosure the audience has to click through to find. A promotional post that leads with a compelling return figure and tucks a risk warning into a barely-visible caption is exactly the pattern regulators have called out — the fix isn’t a better-hidden disclaimer, it’s presenting the risk alongside the claim itself.

Jurisdiction matters twice over

Two different sets of rules can apply to the same piece of content: the rules of the country you’re personally operating from, and the rules of wherever your actual audience is located, which won’t always be the same place. A broker’s IB or affiliate agreement restricting your permitted marketing methods or claims — covered in Red Flags in a Partnership Contract — is very often the broker building its own compliance obligations into your contract, not an arbitrary restriction. Reading those clauses as “why does this matter” rather than “annoying fine print” is usually the right instinct. The checklist below is one of several tools on the site — see the Tools & Resources page for the rest.

A practical pre-publish checklist

Before publishing a piece of promotional content, it’s worth running through a short, honest checklist: no guaranteed-profit or fixed-return language anywhere in the piece; a genuine, prominent risk warning rather than a buried one; no simulated or hypothetical performance figure presented as typical or expected; no lifestyle imagery implying that trading success is a normal or guaranteed outcome; and a specific check of what your particular broker’s marketing guidelines actually restrict — ideally something you’ve gotten from them in writing, not assumed.

What if the numbers came from the broker’s own material?

Using figures or claims a broker gave you directly generally doesn’t transfer the compliance responsibility away from you as the publisher of your own content. If a broker’s own marketing material makes a claim that wouldn’t survive the checklist above, republishing it under your own name or channel still puts the compliance risk on you, not just on them — which is one more reason a broker’s marketing team being cavalier about disclosures is itself a signal, alongside the other predatory program warning signs covered elsewhere on this site.

FAQ

Can I get in trouble for marketing claims even if my broker is properly licensed?
Yes. Regulatory guidance like ASIC’s RG 234 explicitly covers promoters and publishers of advertising, not just the licensed product issuer — your broker’s license doesn’t shield your own marketing content.

What kind of claims are most likely to cause problems?
Guaranteed or fixed-return language, presenting hypothetical or cherry-picked performance as typical, and lifestyle marketing implying trading success without substance behind it — all specifically flagged in recent regulatory guidance.

Is it enough to include a risk disclaimer somewhere on the page?
Not if it’s buried or disproportionately less prominent than the benefit claim. Current guidance expects risk information to carry equal prominence to the claims being made, not be relegated to fine print.

Whose country’s advertising rules apply to my content?
Potentially both — the rules where you’re based, and the rules of wherever your actual audience is located. These aren’t always the same jurisdiction.

If I got the performance numbers from the broker, am I still responsible for using them?
Generally yes. Republishing a broker-supplied claim under your own name or channel doesn’t transfer the compliance responsibility for your own published content.

Is this page legal advice?
No. This page explains general patterns in how affiliate/partner marketing is regulated so you know what to check — confirm your specific content and jurisdiction with a licensed compliance professional or lawyer.

Related terms

Partnership Contract Red Flags · How to Spot a Fake or Predatory Partner Program · Do You Need a License to Be a Forex or CFD Affiliate? · Trust & Verification