Writing compliant content

Compliant content does not have to be dull. It simply has to be content that a reasonable viewer cannot misunderstand. This lesson covers four habits that make your marketing fairer and safer: prominent risk warnings, balance, disclosure of your IB relationship, and honest results. Treat them as general good practice; the exact wording you must use depends on your jurisdiction and your broker.

1. Make risk warnings clear and prominent

A risk warning tells the viewer, in plain words, that trading leveraged products can lose them money. It only works if people actually see it.

Good practice

• Put it where people will see it before they act: at the start of a caption, on screen early in a video, and next to any sign-up link.
• Use the same size, colour and contrast as the rest of your text.
• Keep the language plain. For example: "Trading forex and CFDs is high risk. Most retail accounts lose money. Only trade with money you can afford to lose."
• Use any wording your broker or regulator prescribes. Some jurisdictions require specific text, including the percentage of the broker's retail accounts that lose money.
• Say it out loud in videos and livestreams, not only in the description.

Poor practice

• Hiding the warning behind "see more" or after a block of hashtags.
• Tiny, faint or fast-scrolling text.
• Flashing it on screen for half a second.
• Putting it only on a linked page that most viewers never open.

2. Balance benefits with risks

Fair content describes what can go wrong as clearly as what can go right. If you mention a benefit, the matching risk should sit next to it with equal prominence.

Notice that the balanced versions are still useful and still interesting. Balance is about honesty, not about removing anything positive.

3. Disclose your IB relationship

Your audience has a right to know that you are paid when they sign up. A clear disclosure explains:

• that you are an introducing broker for the broker you mention
• that the broker pays you, usually based on the trading of the clients you refer
• that this gives you a financial interest, also called a conflict of interest, in people signing up

Example disclosure: "I am an introducing broker for the broker linked below. The broker pays me when people who join through my link trade, so I have a financial interest in you signing up."

Place it close to the link, repeat it in videos, and do not rely on a single profile bio that new viewers may never read. Many advertising standards bodies and social platforms also expect paid relationships to be labelled, so use the platform's paid-partnership label where one is available.

4. Show results honestly, with no cherry-picking

Cherry-picking means showing only the trades that went well. Even when every screenshot is genuine, the overall impression can be false.

Worked example (illustrative numbers): an IB took 10 trades in one month.

• 3 winning trades of 200 USD each: 3 × 200 = 600 USD gained
• 7 losing trades of 150 USD each: 7 × 150 = 1,050 USD lost
• Net result: 600 minus 1,050 = a loss of 450 USD

If the IB posts screenshots of the 3 winners only, followers will assume a profitable month, when the account actually lost 450 USD. That is misleading, and in many jurisdictions it could breach financial promotion rules.

If you share results at all:

• show complete records for a stated period, losses included
• say whether the account is demo or live, and state the account size and the risk taken per trade
• state that past performance is not a reliable indicator of future results
• never suggest that followers will get the same results

Many careful IBs choose not to share personal profit and loss at all and focus on education instead. That is often the safest choice, and it keeps attention on skills rather than outcomes.

Key takeaways

• A risk warning only counts if it is clear, plain and prominent before anyone can act.
• Present risks with the same weight as benefits; balance is about honesty, not removing positives.
• Always disclose that you are an IB and that the broker pays you, close to your link and in every format.
• Cherry-picked results mislead even when each screenshot is real; show complete records or none.
• Follow any wording your broker or regulator prescribes, which can vary by jurisdiction.