Personal contacts, influencers and digital peer groups remain major sources of investment information for Indian investors. Sebi’s 2025 investor survey found that 62% of investors said their investment decisions were partly or fully influenced by finfluencer recommendations.
The growing influence of financial creators, however, comes with a regulatory concern. A CFA Institute study of 48 of India’s top finfluencers, released on 28 July, found that only 6% of those in its sample were registered with Sebi as investment advisors or research analysts, even though a third openly provided explicit recommendations on which stocks to buy, sell or hold, sometimes accompanied by a “not financial advice” disclaimer.
With a limited pool of registered investment advisors, Sebi chairman Tuhin Kanta Pandey has warned that the gap is increasingly being filled by voices that “present opinion as expertise and speculation as strategy.”
What the CFA study found
The CFA Institute acknowledges that finfluencer content can be informative, engaging and relatable, and can contribute to financial education and inclusion. But the low barriers to becoming a financial creator also expose investors to questionable advice and potential bad actors.
Its previous report, published in March 2025, found that only 2% of the finfluencers studied were registered with Sebi, while 33% provided explicit stock recommendations. In the latest study, the share of Sebi-registered creators increased to 6%, but the proportion offering explicit stock recommendations remained unchanged at 33%. Of the 16 finfluencers whose content was identified as explicit stock recommendations, only two were Sebi-registered.
The findings also show why investors should not equate professional qualifications with regulatory authorization. Many creators in the study have formal qualifications, with chartered accountancy and MBAs among the most common. But a degree or professional qualification does not by itself authorize someone to provide regulated investment advice or research.
In India, those providing regulated investment advice or research must meet applicable Sebi registration requirements as an investment advisor (IA) or research analyst (RA). The framework includes prescribed qualifications, examinations, experience and compliance requirements, including rules around disclosures and conflicts of interest. IAs and RAs are legally and ethically bound by a fiduciary duty, requiring them to always act in the best interests of their clients.
Commercial interests are another area investors need to watch. More than 60% of the finfluencers in the CFA sample disclosed brand partnerships or sponsorships, while 37.5% did not. The report cautioned, however, that the absence of a disclosure does not necessarily mean an undisclosed commercial arrangement existed.
Sebi's response
Sebi has stepped up surveillance and enforcement against misleading financial content and unregistered activity, while increasingly using technology to monitor online content at scale. Sebi chairman Tuhin Kanta Pandey has said that more than 1.2 lakh pieces of violative content had been taken down by March this year.
For registered intermediaries, Sebi has also introduced PaRRVA, or the Past Risk and Return Verification Agency, to independently verify performance claims. This allows investors to access verified risk and return information rather than relying solely on performance figures presented by an intermediary.
The regulator has also introduced other investor-protection measures, including verified labels for trading apps operated by registered brokers, validated UPI handles for registered intermediaries and Sebi Check, which allows investors to verify payment details before transferring money. Its upgraded SCORES platform provides a structured mechanism for investors to raise grievances against Sebi-regulated entities.
Investor checklist
Suresh Sadagopan, founder of Ladder7 Financial Advisories, believes the pursuit of eyeballs and views can sometimes take precedence over investors’ best interests. Financial content may be presented as education when the underlying objective is to maximize engagement and build an audience, he said.
For instance, he said, a vacation funded through credit-card reward points may sound like a great deal, but the focus can be on the reward rather than the spending required to earn those points. With so many opinions available today, investors need to focus on what is actually in their best interest, he said.
The same principle applies to investment content. Investors should not rely on a creator’s follower count, professional qualification or past successful calls alone. They should independently verify whether the person is registered with Sebi where registration is required and distinguish general financial education from explicit investment advice.
Investors should also look for clear disclosures around sponsorships, affiliate links, brokerage relationships, paid promotions and other financial interests that could influence a recommendation. Claims of guaranteed returns, “sure-shot” multibaggers or risk-free profits should be treated as red flags. Investors should look beyond potential upside and consider whether the content adequately explains risks, fees, taxation, liquidity and the possibility of losses.
The CFA Institute recommends that investors verify a finfluencer’s credentials, relevant qualifications and Sebi registration status through Sebi’s official resources. The regulator has sought to draw a distinction between financial education and regulated investment advice, making it important for investors to understand what kind of content they are consuming before acting on it, the CFA report added.
If things go wrong
Investors who believe they have been misled should preserve relevant evidence, including screenshots, videos, messages, payment records and the influencer’s disclosures.
Sebi can take enforcement action against unregistered entities and regulatory violations, but such action is primarily intended to stop or penalise wrongdoing and does not necessarily provide an individual investor with a direct mechanism to recover losses.
Where an investor believes an unregistered entity has committed fraud or cheating, a complaint with the police or cybercrime authorities may also be appropriate, depending on the circumstances. Where the dispute involves a Sebi-registered intermediary, investors can first approach the entity and, if the issue remains unresolved, escalate the grievance through Sebi's SCORES platform.
With social media increasingly shaping investment decisions, investors need to look beyond follower counts, qualifications and confident stock calls. Verifying an advisor’s registration, checking payment details and performance claims, examining sponsorships and conflicts, and understanding the risks behind a recommendation can help investors distinguish financial education from financial advice.