SEBI Mutual Fund Regulations

Definitions 2. In these regulations, unless the context otherwise requires: (b) "advertisement" includes every form of advertising, whether in a publication, by display of notices, signs, labels or by means of circulars, catalogues or other documents, by an exhibition of pictures or photographic films, by way of sound broadcasting or television, or in any other manner; Advertisement Material 30. (1) Advertisements in respect of every scheme shall be in conformity with the Advertisement Code as specified in the Sixth Schedule and shall be submitted to the Board within 7 days from the date of issue Misleading statements 31. The offer document and advertisement materials shall not be misleading or contain any statement or opinion which are incorrect or false.

• (a) Advertisements shall be accurate, true, fair, clear, complete, unambiguous and concise.
• (b) Advertisements shall not contain statements which are false, misleading, biased or deceptive, based on assumptions/projections and shall not contain any testimonials or any ranking based on any criteria.
• (c) Advertisements shall not be so designed as likely to be misunderstood or likely to disguise the significance of any statement. Advertisements shall not contain statements which directly or by implication or by omission may mislead the investor.
• (d) Advertisements shall not carry any slogan that is exaggerated or unwarranted or any slogan that is inconsistent with or unrelated to the nature or the risk and return profile of the product.
• (e) No celebrities shall form part of the advertisement.
• (f) Advertisements shall not be so framed as to exploit the lack of experience or knowledge of the investors. Extensive use of technical or legal terminology or complex language and the inclusion of excessive details which may detract the investors should be avoided.
• (g) Advertisements shall contain information which is timely and consistent with the disclosures made in the Scheme Information Document, Statement of Additional Information and the Key Information Memorandum.
• (h) No advertisement shall directly or indirectly discredit other advertisements or make unfair comparisons.
• (i) Advertisements shall be accompanied by a standard warning in legible fonts which states ‘Mutual Fund investments are subject to market risks, read all scheme related documents carefully’. No addition or deletion of words shall be made to the standard warning.
• (j) In audio-visual media based advertisements, the standard warning is to be displayed visually and the accompanying voiceover reiteration must be be audible, clear and understandable. For example, in standard warning both the visual and the voiceover reiteration containing 14 words running for at least 5 seconds may be considered as clear and understandable.