Companies approving financial marketing for unregulated firms will face an additional range of checks from the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA).
The UK regulator revealed on 12 September it will introduce enhanced controls on such businesses to ensure regulated firms and their professionals have the "necessary skills and expertise to approve adverts".
Prior to this, FCA-authorised companies were able to approve promotions on behalf of unregulated firms.
However, the watchdog noted the practice has caused harm to end investors in the past, as at times, the regulated businesses did not understand the promotions they were approving, resulting in unclear, unfair and/or misleading adverts.
As a result, if regulated companies wish to continue approving financial promotions from unregulated firms, they will need to apply to the FCA between 6 November 2023 and 6 February 2024, ahead of the 7 February 2024 deadline, when the new marketing rules will come into force.
The FCA explained companies will still be able to approve marketing promotions after the implementation date until a decision has been made on their application.
To help the FCA clamp down on rogue adverts, firms will also be required to regularly report on what they are signing off and on any concerning adverts they cancel approval for.
FCA executive director of markets Sarah Pritchard said: "By introducing these new checks, we will ensure people approving adverts have the right skills and understanding they need to do so.
"Firms need to make sure people are equipped with the right information at the right time, so they can make properly informed decisions. As we face the rising cost of living, consumers are having to make difficult decisions about their finances and how they pay for things, so this is more important than ever."
The move follows on from the FCA's action on financial promotion, after it introduced stricter rules for advertising high-risk investments as well as its bid to revamp guidance for financial promotion on social media.
