CMA Decision No. 33/Chairman of 2023 · UAE Federal
Chairman decision regulating financial recommendations on social media, repealed by Decision No. 10/Chairman of 2025 on finfluencers.
Decision No. 33/Chairman of 2023 brought individuals who publish investment recommendations, on social media or elsewhere, under the Securities and Commodities Authority's registration and disclosure rules. Issued in Abu Dhabi on 3 August 2023, it took effect the day after publication in the Official Gazette (Article 6). The CMA's text records an amendment by Decision No. 01/R.M of 2024, in force on 16 January 2024, marked against Article 3. It was repealed by Decision No. 10/Chairman of 2025 on finfluencers, which applies from May 2025.
Article 1 defined a financial recommendation as information a natural person gives the public that directly or indirectly recommends buying, selling or holding a financial product or virtual asset, or recommends a financial service or issuer, through any media, seminar or public appearance. Article 2 excluded republication of information already approved by the Authority or a market. Article 3 allowed only an independent analyst, or a person presenting financial expertise and influencing the market, judged by criteria including at least one thousand followers, to give recommendations, and barred employees, directors and managers of Authority-licensed entities from doing so.
Article 4 required registration with the Authority through its website and payment of a fee, and disclosure of identity, regulatory status and qualifications. Recommenders had to separate fact from opinion, give sources, avoid misleading statements, take no payment from issuers, licensed entities or the public, disclose their previous 12 months' recommendations on the same product and holdings above 0.5% of an issuer's capital. Article 5 applied the penalties in the Regulations Manual of the Financial Activities and allowed suspension or cancellation of registration.
Natural persons in the UAE who publish recommendations on financial products, virtual assets, financial services or issuers to the public, and those who republish third-party recommendations, between August 2023 and the 2025 repeal.
English official text in 6 articles. Open the full text or jump to a provision:
| Article 1 | Defines financial recommendation as information a natural person gives the public recommending buying, selling or holding a financial product or virtual asset, or a financial service or issuer, through any media or public appearance. |
| Article 2 | Applies to anyone giving a financial recommendation; excludes publishing information previously approved by the Authority or the market. |
| Article 3 | Only an independent analyst or a person presenting financial expertise and influencing the market, assessed on criteria such as at least one thousand followers, may give recommendations; staff and directors of licensed entities may not. |
| Article 4 | Register with the Authority online and pay the fee; disclose identity, regulation and qualifications; separate facts from opinion; cite sources; take no payment from issuers or licensed entities; disclose holdings above 0.5% and the previous 12 months' recommendations. |
| Article 5 | Applies Section One of the Regulations Manual of the Financial Activities and its penalties; the Authority may suspend or cancel registration or refuse it where requirements are not met. |
Article 5 applied the penalties in Section One of the Regulations Manual of the Financial Activities and allowed the Authority to suspend or cancel a recommender's registration for breach; Article 4 also provided that misleading statements affecting market values are punished under the law.
Content creators and trading educators who set up companies through us ask whether talking about shares or tokens online needs approval. Between 2023 and 2025 it did under this decision; the question is now answered by the CMA's 2025 finfluencer regulation that repealed it, and for virtual assets marketed in Dubai also by VARA's marketing rules. Polaris is not licensed by the CMA or VARA and gives no investment recommendations. We explain whether the client's content needs registration or a licence, form and administer the media or education company around that answer, and keep its corporate, UBO, AML and tax records in order.
| Amended by | Decision No. 01/R.M of 2024 |
| Repealed by | CMA Decision No. 10/Chairman of 2025 |
| Cites | Former SCA Law |
“Cites” and “Cited by” are built automatically from references in the full texts held in this library; they cover only instruments in the library.
Finfluencer Regulation
Regulates finfluencers who promote or recommend financial products: conditions and applications for authorisation, obligations of the finfluencer and of issuers and licen…
Regulations Manual of the Financial Activities (Rulebook)
Issues the Regulations Manual of the Financial Activities (the CMA rulebook): licensing categories and requirements for financial activities, approved jobs, business cond…
Former Financial Consultancy and Analysis Regulation
Board regulation on financial consultancy and financial analysis activities, amended several times and now listed by the CMA among superseded regulations.
VARA Marketing Regulations
Governs all marketing of virtual assets and VA Activities in or targeting the UAE by any Entity, licensed or not: general prohibitions, content and disclaimer requirement…
Former Promotion and Introduction Regulation
Chairman decision organising the promotion and introduction of financial products, now listed by the CMA among superseded regulations.
Former SCA Law
Former federal law establishing the Emirates Securities and Commodities Authority and Market and regulating licensing, listing, trading and disclosure in the securities m…
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