Reality Check / Trading courses / Rules
TRADING COURSE REALITY CHECK · READ 9 Oct 2026
What the rules say about selling a trading course
36 provisions from the US, UK, EU and Italy, each linked to its source. They explain why some practices are red flags, not just our opinion.
The key line
Education is allowed. Personal advice and false claims are not.
- General education is not investment advice. Explaining how markets and tools work is fine. Telling a specific person what to buy or sell, or selling signals, can need authorisation (in Italy, TUF art. 1 and art. 18; ESMA and CONSOB say the same for finfluencers).
- Income claims need proof. In the US, a seller must be able to substantiate earnings claims. In Italy and the EU, misleading results claims are unfair practices.
- You may have a right to withdraw. For distance contracts, EU law gives 14 days, with exceptions for digital content you agreed to start at once. A missing or vague statement of this is itself a red flag.
Provisions
Where each rule comes from
WhereRuleWhat it says, in shortSource
US
FTC Business Opportunity Rule, 16 CFR Part 437, 437.2
Written disclosure document at least seven calendar days before signing or paying.
US
FTC Business Opportunity Rule, 16 CFR Part 437, 437.4(a)(1)-(4)
Earnings claim needs 'reasonable basis' and 'written materials that substantiate its claim'; state number and percentage achieving it.
US
FTC Business Opportunity Rule, 16 CFR Part 437, 437.6(a),(b),(d),(k),(l),(q)
No disclaimers of disclosures; no contradicting them; no misrepresenting income or profits, refund terms, or references; must honour refunds.
US
FTC Endorsement Guides, 16 CFR Part 255 (88 FR 48102, 2023-07-26), 255.2(b)
If results not representative: 'clearly and conspicuously disclose the generally expected performance'.
US
FTC Endorsement Guides, 16 CFR Part 255, 255.5
Payments, free products, ties with the seller 'must be disclosed clearly and conspicuously'.
US
FTC Rule on the Use of Consumer Reviews and Testimonials, 16 CFR Part 465 (final 2024; effective 2024-10-21), 465.2, 465.4, 465.5, 465.6, 465.7, 465.8
Bans fake/false reviews and testimonials, buying reviews, undisclosed insider reviews, company-controlled review sites, review suppression, fake social-media indicators; civil penalties.
US
FTC Earnings Claims Rule NPRM (2025-01-13), proposed
Economy-wide earnings-claim rule proposed; not final.
UK
CAP Code (ed. 12), 3.1, 3.3, 3.7, 3.11, 3.47
Profit claims for courses must be substantiated with robust evidence; testimonials must be genuine.
UK
CAP Code (ed. 12), 14.3, 14.4, 14.5
Basis of any forecast 'must be apparent immediately'; value can go down; past performance 'does not necessarily give a guide'.
UK
FCA FG24/1 Finalised guidance on financial promotions on social media (2024-03-26), all
Promotions 'fair, clear and not misleading', balanced risks; unauthorised influencers 'may be committing a criminal offence'.
UK
Financial Services and Markets Act 2000, s.21, s.25
Communicating a financial promotion without authorisation/approval is a criminal offence (see 2026 convictions).
UK
Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024, Sch. 20 para 7, 13(1)(a), 13(3), 18 (in force 2025-04-06)
'Falsely stating that a product will only be available for a limited time'; commissioning 'fake consumer review'; publishing reviews without reasonable steps; 'facilitate winning in games of chance'.
EU
Directive 2005/29/EC (UCPD), art. 6(1)(b); art. 7(1)
Main characteristics include 'the results to be expected from its use'; omitting material information is misleading.
EU
Directive 2005/29/EC Annex I, items 7, 9, 16, 20, 22
'Falsely stating that a product will only be available for a very limited time'; implying legality; 'facilitate winning in games of chance'; 'free' when paying; hidden commercial intent.
EU
Directive (EU) 2019/2161 amending UCPD Annex I, items 23b, 23c
Claiming reviews come from real purchasers without verification; submitting false reviews or social-media endorsements (transposed in IT art. 23 bb-ter/bb-quater).
EU
Directive 2011/83/EU (Consumer Rights), art. 9(1); art. 16(a), (m)
14-day withdrawal; exceptions only with 'prior express consent' and 'acknowledgment that he thereby loses his right of withdrawal' for digital content.
EU
Regulation (EU) 596/2014 (MAR) + Delegated Reg. (EU) 2016/958, art. 3(1)(35), art. 30(2) MAR; arts. 2-6 DR 2016/958
Definition 'very broad': public posts with price opinions count; must identify author, date, separate facts/opinions, 'disclose any conflicts of interest in a clear way'.
EU
ESMA product intervention decisions on CFDs and binary options (2018-05-22; Decisions (EU) 2018/796, 2018/795), measures
Standard warning '[x]% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider'; incentives banned; leverage limits; binary options banned for retail.
EU/IT
ESMA factsheet 'Finfluencer: suggerimenti per una promozione responsabile' (Italy, 2025), all
Saying what to buy/sell can be licensed advice; disclaimers do not protect; educational content 'potrebbe essere considerato una consulenza o una raccomandazione'; label 'pubblicità'/'sponsorizzato'.
IT
Codice del Consumo (d.lgs. 206/2005), art. 21 c.1 lett. b
Misleading to deceive on 'i risultati che si possono attendere dal suo uso'.
IT
Codice del Consumo, art. 22 c.1-2
Omitting material info or presenting it 'in modo oscuro, incomprensibile, ambiguo o intempestivo'; hidden commercial intent.
IT
Codice del Consumo, art. 23 c.1 lett. g
'dichiarare, contrariamente al vero, che il prodotto sarà disponibile solo per un periodo molto limitato'.
IT
Codice del Consumo, art. 23 c.1 lett. m, t
Paid editorial content not disclosed; 'informazioni inesatte sulle condizioni di mercato o sulla possibilità di ottenere il prodotto'.
IT
Codice del Consumo, art. 23 c.1 lett. bb-ter, bb-quater
Unverified 'consumer' reviews; 'recensioni di consumatori false o falsi apprezzamenti ... sui media sociali'.
IT
Codice del Consumo, art. 24; art. 25 lett. d
'indebito condizionamento'; 'ostacolo non contrattuale, oneroso o sproporzionato' to exercising contract rights (e.g. withdrawal).
IT
Codice del Consumo, art. 27 c.9
'sanzione amministrativa pecuniaria da 5.000 euro a 10.000.000 euro'.
IT
Codice del Consumo, art. 52 c.1
'periodo di quattordici giorni per recedere da un contratto a distanza ... senza dover fornire alcuna motivazione'.
IT
Codice del Consumo, art. 59 c.1 lett. a, o
Fully performed services only with 'previo consenso espresso' and acceptance of losing withdrawal; digital content not on tangible medium: express consent + acknowledgment.
IT
TUF (d.lgs. 58/1998), art. 1 c.5-septies
'prestazione di raccomandazioni personalizzate a un cliente ... riguardo a una o più operazioni relative a strumenti finanziari'.
IT
TUF, art. 18 c.1
'L'esercizio professionale nei confronti del pubblico dei servizi e delle attività di investimento è riservato' to SIM, banks, EU/third-country firms.
IT
TUF, art. 166 c.1
'reclusione da uno a otto anni e ... multa da euro quattromila a euro diecimila' for unlicensed investment services or distance promotion.
IT
TUF, art. 7-octies c.1, 1-bis
CONSOB may publicise non-authorisation, 'ordinare di porre termine alla violazione', ban advertising campaigns for unauthorised services.
IT
AGCOM Delibera 7/24/CONS (2024-01-10) Linee guida influencer, Allegato A
TUSMA rules apply to influencers: ad recognisability, minors; AGCOM 'può applicare sanzioni direttamente per le violazioni del testo unico'; update consulted via 472/24/CONS.
IT
IAP Linee guida sulla pubblicità delle cripto-attività (Codice di Autodisciplina art. 27; Regolamento Digital Chart), all
Risks with 'evidenza almeno equivalente all'indicazione dei potenziali guadagni'; 'l'intero importo investito potrebbe andare perso'; no urgency; past returns >12 months with source; influencers must take care.
AU
ASIC INFO 269 (2022-03-21) / Corporations Act 2001, advice vs factual information; misleading conduct
Opinion intended to influence an investment decision = advice requiring AFS licence; payment makes advice more likely; 'up to five years' imprisonment for an individual'.
CA
CSA/CIRO Staff Notice 31-369 (2025-12-11), all
Generic course is not advice but adding 'stock buy and sell signals' is; 'the registration requirement cannot be avoided by simply making a disclaimer'; compensation disclosure up front.
Rules change. Some items are marked as read through a secondary copy in the source file: check the linked text before you rely on it. Education only, not legal advice.