No finance degree needed: Sebi widens eligibility for advisers and analysts; all you need to know

Sebi has opened the door for more professionals to enter the advisory space by allowing graduates from any discipline to register as investment advisers (IAs) and research analysts (RAs), widening the talent pool for the two regulated categories. The regulator made the changes through separate notifications issued on Tuesday.

The move replaces the earlier requirement that restricted eligibility to applicants with finance-related degrees, including Finance, Business Management, Commerce, Economics and Capital Markets. PTI reported that the relaxed framework now permits graduates in areas such as law and engineering to apply, provided they meet the certification conditions.




According to the revised rules, applicants must hold “a graduate degree or any equivalent educational qualification” from a recognised university or institution, including foreign institutions, or hold a CFA Charter from the CFA Institute, along with relevant NISM certification or certification from an organisation accredited by NISM.

Sebi has also eased the corporatisation process for individual IAs. The regulator said that once an adviser crosses the threshold of 300 clients or Rs 3 crore in fees, they must immediately notify Sebi and begin the transition to a non-individual entity. The new framework gives three months to seek in-principle approval and another three months to complete the conversion, during which the adviser can continue onboarding new clients and collecting fees.


Earlier, individual advisers were required to complete the shift to a corporate structure within three months of breaching the prescribed limits.


Sebi has amended norms for investment advisers and research analysts to give effect to the latest changes.

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