Can financial advisers use client reviews and testimonials?
The short answer is mostly no. Testimonials from clients about your advice are treated as presumed misleading, and paid testimonials are prohibited, so an advice practice cannot build proof the way an accountant or an IT firm can. The good news is that the things that actually win advice clients, referrals and reputation, are still wide open. You earn recommendation rather than publish it. Confirm the specifics with your licensee, because this is general guidance, not legal advice.
Every other professional services firm is told to collect reviews and show them off. For financial advisers, that advice is close to dangerous. The rules that govern financial advice treat a client testimonial very differently, and getting it wrong is not a marketing slip, it is a regulatory one.
Why the rules are so strict here #
Financial advice is high-stakes and personal, so the regulator worries about anything that implies a result. A glowing client story about how well their portfolio did is exactly that: it suggests an outcome the next client cannot be promised.
That is why client testimonials about financial advice are treated as presumed misleading, and why paid testimonials are an offence. The relevant law and guidance sit in the ASIC Act and ASIC's advertising guidance (RG 234). The point for marketing is simple: the usual "collect and display reviews" playbook does not transfer, and copying it can put your licence at risk.
What you generally cannot do #
Assume the answer is no until your licensee says otherwise, particularly for anything that publishes a client's words about your advice or their results.
That means no published client testimonials about the advice or the outcomes, no paid endorsements, and nothing that implies a typical result. Public review platforms sit in the same risky territory: a Google review that praises your advice can be a testimonial in the regulator's eyes, so how you invite, display or respond to reviews needs a compliance view before you do it, not after.
What you can do instead #
The rules limit what you publish. They do not limit your reputation.
Word of mouth is still your strongest engine, and a client recommending you privately to a friend is not advertising. You can also show the proof that is not a testimonial: your credentials and licensing, your memberships, a clear explanation of how you work and what it costs, and genuinely useful education that demonstrates expertise without claiming a result. And you can be the practice that gets found and named when someone asks, which is earned visibility rather than a client endorsement.
Referrals are your real Recommend engine #
Because published proof is limited, the relationship carries more weight for an advice practice than for almost any other firm.
So put the effort there. Make it easy and natural for a happy client to refer you, and tell them the kind of person you help so they can spot one. Tend the professional referrers, the accountants and lawyers who see the same clients at the same life moments. For advisers, a warm referral is worth more than a wall of reviews you are not allowed to use anyway.
Where this fits #
Recommend is one loop of the wider system, and for advisers it leans on the relationship. It is cheapest when your clients are happy and staying, so start with keeping clients, then read the general version: turning clients into reviews and referrals.
Questions advisers ask #
Can we display Google reviews about our advice?
Treat it as risky until your licensee says otherwise. A review that praises the advice or an outcome can be a testimonial in the regulator's eyes, so how you invite and display reviews needs a compliance view first. This is general guidance, not a ruling on your situation. And even where you can ask, the general rule still applies: you may choose when to ask but not cherry-pick who by expected rating (see our review-gating explainer).
Is a client referring a friend a problem?
Generally no. A private, unpaid recommendation from one person to another is word of mouth, not advertising. The restrictions bite when a client's endorsement is published or paid for as marketing.
If we cannot use testimonials, what proof can we show?
The proof that is not a client endorsement: your credentials and licensing, memberships, a clear process and fee model, and useful education that shows expertise without promising a result. Earn the reputation and let referrals carry it.