How to Start an Investing Podcast and Stay Compliant

To start an investing podcast that stays compliant, decide one thing first: are you teaching general information to a broad audience, or giving advice tailored to individual listeners? The first is protected speech; the second can make you an investment adviser under the law. Build your format around the first, disclose every sponsor and affiliate link audibly, and never imply guaranteed returns. Gear and growth come after that.

That order matters because the legal risk in this niche is real and specific, and most "how to start a podcast" guides skip it entirely. This one leads with it, then covers the rest, format, gear, your first episodes, and how to grow without crossing a line.

Is "this is not financial advice" enough to protect you?

Not by itself. A disclaimer is supporting evidence, not a shield. What actually protects you is whether your show fits the publisher's exclusion from the Investment Advisers Act, and that turns on what you do, not what you say. The Supreme Court set the test in Lowe v. SEC (1985): your content must be impersonal, genuine, and on a regular schedule to a general audience.

Break that down, because each prong is a line you can cross by accident:

Impersonal. You discuss securities, strategies, and markets in general. You do not tell a specific listener what to buy for their portfolio. The moment you give individualized recommendations, the exclusion weakens (Lowe v. SEC, 472 U.S. 181).
Bona fide. Genuine, disinterested commentary, not a vehicle to pump a stock you secretly hold. The Court's own language singled out the "tout" and the "hit and run tipster" as outside the exclusion.
General and regular circulation. A real publication on a cadence, not tips issued in response to episodic market moves.

A 2024 case shows the exclusion is alive and well for digital creators. A federal court in New York dismissed a class action against Seeking Alpha, ruling the financial-content platform fell within the publisher's exclusion even though it published in real time and let subscribers filter alerts, because that content was "generally available," not personalized (Katten Muchin Rosenman, 2024). Real-time publishing did not break the exclusion. Personalization would have.

One caveat the disclaimer cannot fix: even perfectly impersonal, disinterested content can still create liability if it is misleading or false under the Advisers Act anti-fraud provisions. "Not financial advice" does not license you to lie. This is general information, not legal advice, if your situation is close to the line, a securities attorney is cheaper than an enforcement action.

The publisher's-exclusion decision rule, built from the three-part test in Lowe v. SEC (1985). General information, not legal advice.

Illustration depicting How to Start an Investing Podcast and Stay Compliant

What triggers SEC or FINRA scrutiny for finance hosts?

The trigger is almost never the podcast format. It is what you do alongside it. If you only educate, the publisher's exclusion likely covers you. The risk spikes when you manage listener money, pay people to promote you, or are already a licensed professional speaking about securities outside your firm's supervision.

Three patterns draw the most heat:

You're an RIA or advise on portfolios. If you are a registered investment adviser, your podcast can count as an "advertisement" under the SEC Marketing Rule, Rule 206(4)-1-1). The rule is deliberately technology-neutral, audio and video are in scope. The SEC's December 2025 exam risk alert flagged the most common failure as not making required disclosures at or before the moment a testimonial or endorsement runs (SEC Division of Examinations, Dec 16, 2025).

You pay for testimonials or endorsements. Under the Marketing Rule, paying someone to praise your advisory service triggers clear-and-prominent disclosure of their client status and compensation. Pay a promoter more than $1,000 over 12 months and you need a written agreement, plus a due-diligence check that they aren't a disqualified person (Rule 206(4)-1-1)).

You're a FINRA-registered rep with a "personal" show. FINRA Rule 2210 governs communications with the public. A live, unscripted episode is usually treated as a lighter-touch "public appearance," but scripted or recorded content about securities can count as a retail communication needing principal pre-approval, and a "personal" podcast that touches your firm's business is still your firm's business (FINRA Rule 2210). If you hold a license, clear the show with your compliance team before episode one.

If none of these describe you, you teach general investing principles, take no pay to promote a specific adviser, and hold no license that supervises your speech, your exposure is far lower. You still owe listeners honesty and accurate disclosures, which the next section covers.

How to disclose sponsors and affiliate links the FTC way

The FTC's Endorsement Guides require that any material connection, payment, free product, commission, or a business relationship, be disclosed "clear and conspicuous," which the agency defines as "difficult to miss." For audio, that means an audible disclosure; for show notes, a visible one. A hashtag buried at the end does not cut it.

Three rules carry most of the weight for finance shows:

Match the medium. If you say it on the mic, disclose it on the mic. "This episode is sponsored by [Brand]" spoken aloud, before or as the read begins, not whispered at the outro (FTC Endorsement Guides Q&A).
Use words people understand. The FTC says "affiliate link" may not be clear enough, and "buy now" or "commissionable link" definitely aren't. "Paid link" placed next to the link is its preferred example. In show notes, put the disclosure within the first few lines, next to the link, not at the bottom (FTC Endorsement Guides Q&A).
Disclose every form of compensation, every time. Free product and a commission means you disclose both. Each episode is its own ad and needs its own disclosure. The FTC has named podcast ads, affiliate links, and AI-generated endorsements as expanding enforcement areas, with penalties reaching tens of thousands of dollars per violation.

Finance is a higher-stakes category than most, because a misleading endorsement here costs listeners money. Treat disclosure as a feature of the show, not a footnote.

How profitable is a finance podcast, really?

Finance is one of the better-paying niches for ads, but pay is downstream of audience size, and most shows are small. Host-read mid-roll CPMs run roughly $15–$30 generally, with niche and B2B shows, finance and high-net-worth audiences among them, commanding premiums toward $50 (Podscan, 2025). The catch: those are rates per thousand downloads, and most podcasts never reach the downloads to make ads meaningful.

State it plainly so you plan honestly: in a survey of 1,200+ independent creators, only about 1 in 4 (26%) monetize their podcast at all (The Podcast Host, indie monetization survey). High finance CPMs are a ceiling for the few who scale, not a floor for beginners. Do not start an investing podcast expecting income, start it expecting an audience, and let revenue follow if the audience does. And never promise listeners returns or imply your show generates them.

The size of the opportunity is real, though. In the US, about 55% of the population age 12+ now listens to podcasts monthly (Edison Research, Infinite Dial 2025). Finance and business are durable, search-friendly topics. The audience exists. Reaching it is the work.

The 7 steps to launch (with the compliance layer baked in)

Pick a lane narrow enough to own. "Index investing for people in their 20s," "small-cap company breakdowns," "FIRE for late starters." A defined lane keeps your content impersonal-by-design and easier to rank. Specificity is your friend legally and for podcast SEO via transcripts.

Write your disclaimer before your first script. Put it in the template so it never gets skipped. Read it in the first episode and reference it after. (Script below.)

Choose a format that fits the law. Solo explainers, interviews with experts, and listener-question episodes all work, as long as you answer questions in general terms, not as personalized advice. If a listener asks "should I buy X," answer the principle, not their portfolio.

Buy one good microphone, not a studio. A clear voice in a quiet room beats expensive gear used badly. A USB dynamic mic in the $70–$100 range is plenty to start; see our best podcast mics by budget tier and the best budget mic under $100 breakdowns.

Record video if you can. YouTube is now the #1 US podcast platform, and 53% of new weekly listeners prefer to watch (Backlinko, 2025). Video also gives you clips, which is the cheapest discovery you have.

Script your sponsor and affiliate disclosures into the show. Build the FTC language into your read template so it is never an afterthought.

Publish on a real cadence. Regular circulation is one of the three publisher's-exclusion prongs, and consistency is the single biggest predictor of a podcast surviving past its first month. Weekly or biweekly, held for months.

One episode feeds a week of distribution, keep the disclaimer attached at every step. Source: QuickReel editorial workflow.

The 8-second disclaimer script you can read on air

Read this once near the top of each episode. It is plain, fast, and covers the bases, without pretending to be legal protection it can't deliver:

"Quick note: everything on this show is general education, not personalized financial advice. I don't know your situation, so don't treat anything here as a recommendation to buy or sell. Talk to a licensed professional before you act, and assume any product I mention may be a paid partnership."

That last clause is doing real work, it primes listeners that sponsorships exist, which complements (it does not replace) the specific, audible disclosure you make at each sponsor read. For affiliate links in show notes, write "Paid link" beside the link, in the first few lines. Keep a written record of your disclosures; if you are ever a licensed adviser, recordkeeping is mandatory under the Marketing Rule.

A version of this script and the full checklist live in the free kit linked above.

Common mistakes that turn a hobby into a liability

Answering "what should I buy?" personally. The fastest way out of the publisher's exclusion. Reframe every personal question into a general principle. "Here's how anyone might think about that," not "you should buy that."
Touting a position you hold without saying so. Disclose your holdings when you discuss a specific security. Undisclosed touting is exactly what Lowe carved out of protection (Lowe v. SEC).
Disclosing the sponsor but not the affiliate commission. They're separate material connections. The FTC requires both, every time (FTC Q&A).
Relying on "#ad" or a footer line. The FTC has said hashtags and bottom-of-notes disclosures are easy to miss and often inadequate. Make it audible and put it next to the link.
Being a licensed rep and treating the show as "personal." If it touches securities, your firm's rules likely apply. Clear it with compliance first (FINRA Rule 2210).
Implying or promising returns. Never. It is misleading, and the anti-fraud rules apply even when the publisher's exclusion does.

How clips help an investing show grow (the honest version)

Short clips are the cheapest discovery a new finance show has, because most new listeners now find shows by watching social video, not browsing audio apps. A clear two-minute explainer of one concept travels further than a link to a 50-minute episode. But carry your disclosure into the clip, the FTC's rules apply to a 30-second cut as much as the full show.

Virality without strategy is empty engagement, though. A clip that earns views but no subscribers is a vanity metric. Aim clips at one job: get the right person to follow the show, where a clear spoken call to action turns a viewer into a listener.

FAQ

Do I need a license to start an investing podcast? No, not to share general investing education. You become an "investment adviser", and need to consider registration, when you provide personalized advice for compensation or manage money. A podcast that teaches general principles to a broad audience typically fits the publisher's exclusion (Lowe v. SEC). If you already hold a license, your firm's rules apply.

Is saying "this is not financial advice" legally required? It is not a magic shield, and not technically required, but it is good practice. It signals your intent to give general information and supports the publisher's exclusion. What actually protects you is keeping content impersonal, genuine, and regularly published, and never misleading.

How do I disclose affiliate links on a podcast? Say it audibly on the show ("this segment includes a paid partnership") and write "Paid link" next to the link in your show notes, in the first few lines. The FTC says "affiliate link" alone may not be clear enough, and a hashtag or footer is not adequate (FTC Q&A).

Can I talk about specific stocks? Yes, in general, analytical terms. Disclose any position you hold in a security you discuss. Avoid telling individuals what to buy or sell, and never imply guaranteed gains. Undisclosed touting and misleading claims are where liability lives.

How much money can an investing podcast make? Finance sits at the higher end of host-read CPMs, roughly $15–$30 generally, with niche and B2B finance shows pushing toward $50 (Podscan, 2025), but most shows earn little, and only about 1 in 4 podcasters monetize at all (The Podcast Host). Plan for audience first, revenue later.

Are these rules different for non-US podcasters? Yes. This article covers US frameworks (SEC, FINRA, FTC). Other countries have their own securities and advertising regulators. If you publish to a US audience, US rules can still reach you, check local counsel.