ISTANBUL

The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announced Monday its settled charges with nine investment advisers for marketing rule violations. 

The charges are spreading advertisements that included untrue or unsubstantiated statements of material fact or testimonials, endorsements, or third-party ratings that lacked required disclosures, it said in a statement.

All nine firms have agreed to settle the charges and to pay $1.24 million in combined civil penalties, it added.

"The Marketing Rule's provisions regarding truthfulness, substantiation, and disclosure are critical to protecting investors," said Corey Schuster, co-chief of the SEC Division of Enforcement's Asset Management Unit.

"The advertisements at issue in each of these actions violated the Marketing Rule and posed a serious risk of misleading investors," he added.