• Promissory language---I know you won't guarantee results, but compliance officers are sensitive to gradations of language. List examples of what sets them off, as well as the language that they offer as solutions. Here are some examples provided by financial writer Susan Trammell: (red flag) The fund enables you to invest in high-quality convertibles vs. the fund offers the opportunity to invest in high-quality convertibles; (red flag) growth stocks have routinely outperformed value stocks over the past decade vs. growth stocks have historically outperformed value stocks over the past decade; (red flag) robo investing will transform the investment landscape vs. robo investing is likely to transform the investment landscape; (red flag) populist sentiment will hammer the FANG stocks vs. populist sentiment could put the brakes on high-flying social media companies.
• Mentions of specific investments, especially specific products, and their performance---You may wish to avoid mentioning specific investments unless absolutely necessary. These topics typically require disclosures. Especially for mutual funds, the disclosures can be long and require quarterly updating. Instead, as Susan Trammell suggests, "find a way to help your audience understand your meaning without mentioning brands. For example, you might refer to the leading smartphone innovators, the largest online retailers, cash-strapped clean energy car manufacturers, or pioneering ride-hailing companies. Your readers will figure it out." 
• Cherry-picking---For example, compliance doesn't want you to discuss only your stock picks that are doing well, or to vary the periods of performance (or the benchmarks) in your quarterly performance tables to show only those that are favorable to your firm's performance. Familiarity with the CFA Institute's Global Investment Performance Standards (GIPS®) can help you to get compliance on your side. (The CFA Institute offers an annual educational GIPS conference. The 2019 GIPS conference will be held Sept. 11-12 in Scottsdale, Arizona.) 
• Testimonials---these are forbidden to investment professionals who are regulated by the SEC. Susan Trammell suggests some workarounds, saying "You might point out that most of your new customers come from client referrals, that you have many second- and even third-generation investors, or that the average tenure of your client relationship is so many years. Just be honest with your stats, and be sure to have the data to support them!" 

On the positive side, you can list the rules and language that satisfy compliance requirements. For example: 

• Nonpromissory language---Sometimes referred to as "weasel words" because they sap the strength of your statements, these phrases are necessary to avoid misleading clients. They include phrases such as "We believe," "I think," "it appears," and "historically" (in phrases such as "Historically, small-cap stocks have outperformed large-cap stocks over the long run"). 
• Disclosures---Some boilerplate disclosures can be used as is, regardless of when your writing is distributed. Others, such as assets under management and performance, must be updated quarterly. You may find it useful to keep the text for unchanging disclosures in your checklist so you can simply copy-paste it. For more complex, changeable disclosures, make a note of the source you'll contact for current information. As a complement to your checklist, you can save fixed disclosures and placeholders for period-specific data elements in your document templates. 
• Documentation---Develop a sense of the kind of facts for which you'll need to provide backup. You may need to footnote the information. Or, it may be enough to have the source documented in case the regulators have questions. In my days on the staff of a large asset manager, I filled file cabinets with documentation. I imagine that most of this information is saved electronically these days. Make sure you know how to retrieve the information. 
• Information that helps you be accurate---As I discussed in "Investment commentary numbers: How to get them right," when you're not accurate, you undermine your credibility, embarrass yourself, and upset your compliance department. Your compliance officers appreciate accuracy. 

Your checklist can note the guidelines for proper sourcing of exhibits. You can also remind yourself to check that you're referring to the current quarter in your commentary. This is especially important if you start your draft by updating the previous quarter's commentary. On a related note, observe your firm's style guidelines---if they exist---(or create your own style guidelines). 

In addition to helping you with compliance, a checklist can ease your workload. For example, if you're a busy portfolio manager, you can ask your assistant to review your draft against the checklist. Even if you're working alone, it's less taxing to check a list than to try to recall the important guidelines on your own. Checklists lessen the load on your brain. 

A good way to expand your list---and help your colleagues---is to ask them for their input. They may know nuances that you don't. On the other hand, by sharing your checklist with them, you may save them from mistakes that will slow compliance approval of their writing.