We ran 47 RIA cold emails through Stoke's 9-point FINRA/SEC compliance engine. Most advisors sending cold outreach today are in violation and don't know it.
A "passing" email under FINRA Rule 2210 standards requires a score of 80 or above — no performance guarantees, balanced risk presentation, disclosed testimonials. Only 8% of the emails we analyzed got there. The remaining 92% had at least one compliance problem.
The 50–69 bucket is the largest cohort — advisors who "sound professional" but are failing on specific technical rules most don't know exist. Performance implication language embedded in otherwise fine copy. One-sided benefit descriptions with no risk context. These aren't reckless emails; they're careful emails with invisible problems. That's exactly where FINRA spends enforcement hours.
These aren't edge cases. Each pattern below appeared in at least 38% of audited emails. The anonymized examples below are composites from enforcement patterns — the specific phrasings are representative, not verbatim.
Advisors managing $250M+ score 17 points higher than those under $50M, likely reflecting access to compliance resources and legal review. But a score of 71 is still below passing. Compliance gaps aren't just a small-firm problem.
| AUM Bracket | Median Score | Most Common Violation | Relative Score |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under $50M |
54/100
|
Undisclosed testimonials | |
| $50M–$250M |
63/100
|
Performance claims | |
| Over $250M |
71/100
|
Benefits-only framing |
This is what Stoke generates for every cold email before delivery — 9 checks, instant score, specific violations flagged with rule citations.
Stoke's compliance engine audits each email against 9 checks drawn from FINRA Rule 2210 and SEC Marketing Rule 206(4)-1. Scores are computed algorithmically — no human reviewer involved in individual emails. Aggregate statistics are recomputed nightly from all non-test, non-internal audits.
is_test = true)is_internal = true)