ASA bans Whiskey & Wealth Club ads
The UK’s advertising watchdog has upheld a complaint against Whiskey & Wealth Club, ruling that its cask investment advertising did not adequately explain the risks and variables affecting returns.
The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) examined a paid-for Facebook advert and its subsequent landing page, and the Whiskey & Wealth Club website, both seen in July last year.
The Facebook ad’s caption, which includes a hyperlink, stated: “Whiskey & Wealth Club partners with the world’s leading distilleries to offer premium cask whiskey with exclusive industry pricing. Clients also gain access to distillery tours, market insights, and exit strategy support.”
It linked to a landing page that featured claims concerning potential returns from investments in casks of Irish whiskey. Under the heading ‘Why you should invest in Irish cask whiskey’, text stated: “Solid returns: Investors can expect an average of 8-18% return per annum […] High return option: 55% per annum projected return (on certain exit strategies)”.
The ASA also looked at the Irish whiskey page of the Whiskey & Wealth Club’s website. Listing the benefits of investing in Irish whiskey, the page noted: “Solid potential for Returns”. An asterisk beneath, which appeared as the page scrolled down and disappeared when scrolled past, stated: “Returns subject to fluctuation and not guaranteed.”
A complaint lodged against Whiskey & Wealth Club challenged whether the investment return claims made on the landing page were misleading and could be substantiated.
The ASA was also asked to investigate whether the ads were misleading because they did not make clear material information about the risks of the investments and clarify that their value was variable.
Whiskey & Wealth Club’s defence
In its response to the ASA, the Whiskey & Wealth Club said the claim that “investors can expect an average of 8-18% return per annum” was not misleading. The investment firm alleges that its customers have gained this return, providing a spreadsheet to the ASA of a sample of its sales and exit data.
Whiskey & Wealth Club also explained that the claim “High return option: 55% per annum projected return (on certain exit strategies)” was a maximum projected return, not an average expectation. They told the ASA that it was an old figure that has been removed from the company’s website.
Regarding the disclaimer on the Irish whiskey page, the Whiskey & Wealth Club claimed this “was intended to clarify that all figures mentioned were indicative and based on historical performance, rather than guaranteed outcomes”. The investment firm agreed that the “positioning and visibility of the disclaimer may not have been sufficiently clear” and confirmed it has since been updated to ensure its permanent visibility.
The ASA noted that the Whiskey & Wealth Club said it had updated the website’s homepage, its social media ads, and all landing pages to “ensure that clear, prominent risk disclaimers were displayed, in line with CAP guidance”.
The ASA’s findings did not challenge the existence of historical client outcomes or the data supplied by the company. Instead, the ruling focused on how those figures were presented, concluding that the ads did not sufficiently explain key variables that could materially affect returns, such as holding periods, exit strategies, market volatility and the unregulated nature of whisky cask investments.
In its assessment, the ASA stated that without this context, consumers could be misled into assuming returns were guaranteed or broadly applicable, which would breach the CAP Code.
The ASA has told Whiskey & Wealth Club to ensure future ads do not “quote average or maximum return figures unless they held adequate evidence to substantiate those claims and they made clear returns were affected by the period of time the investment was held”.
The regulator also asked the firm to make sure its adverts state that the value of investments in cask whisky is variable, and clearly explain that these investments do not fall under any regulations.
In a statement provided to The Spirits Business, the Whiskey & Wealth Club said: “This ruling centres on the technical requirement to include specific variables such as holding periods and exit strategies – within marketing materials.
“The ASA reviewed the underlying client data provided, and the ruling does not dispute the validity of those outcomes.
“We updated our marketing processes immediately to ensure full compliance with the CAP Code and remain committed to transparency for all our clients.”
In 2022, the Whiskey & Wealth Club came under fire in the US after the Texas State Securities Board said it was ‘disappointed’ with the firm’s ‘slanted and unnecessary portrayal’ of its cease-and-desist order against the cask wholesaler.
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