SEBI RIA-Our story

SEBI RIA is the acronym for Securities & Exchange Board of India Registered Investment Advisor.

This is the gold-standard for financial advisors globally. Essentially, without this certification+registration no individual or business is allowed to offer personal financial advice. It has been in force in the west for decades having made its way into the Indian financial landscape just a few years back.

We completed our SEBI RIA certification+registration in Aug 2023.

Our SEBI RIA Registration No. is INA000018391 & the same can be validated on the SEBI website : https://www.sebi.gov.in/sebiweb/other/OtherAction.do?doRecognisedFpi=yes&intmId=13

Click here for our SEBI RIA certificate : https://www.ashoonya.in/sebi-ria-certificate

Why is this important for you as a client/investor?

Few reasons.

Firstly, SEBI RIA establishes credibility because the criteria for certification & registration is very wide & very deep.

From academia to work experience, domain knowledge to financial credibility, background checks to business plans, checks on quality & veracity of financial advice given to clients to ensuring there is no conflict of interest. We even wrote an essay or two & completed an interview. It reminded us of Ivy League University applications. 😆

It took us 5 months after our certification to complete registration requirements since the checklist on prospective advisors is comprehensive down to the last detail.

Moreover, not only is getting in difficult & the RIA club so to speak exclusive, the level of compliance to keep the registration valid is almost over-the-top meticulous. Keeps us on our toes, sometimes even unnecessarily.

For clients it means that they can eliminate the noise & be sure they're dealing with the real deal. It still doesn't mean you don't use your discretion. For instance, notwithstanding our SEBI RIA status & our client testimonials, we ask prospective clients to schedule a consult with us to establish authenticity 1-on-1 & after having done that to still check if we're a good Client-Advisor fit.

For us it establishes credibility & authenticity even more since we (intentionally) have no social media presence. We are today amongst only 700 RIAs in India.

What is our take?

We feel SEBI has achieved only 2 legs of the tripod.

One, make something exclusively tough to get in only on the basis of meritocracy. So that only a few get in.

Two, make it tough to stay in with consistent vigilance so that wheels continue to churn & no one gets lax only because they got in in the 1st place. This ensures even fewer stay in.

Three-they missed out on the third leg of the tripod. Once advisors prove they're competent enough to get in & competent enough to stay in, let them also enjoy privileges along with responsibilities. Privileges that are not open to all. Which in this case would imply that SEBI RIAs get access to all financial products & can not just advice but also plan & manage & implement. The whole gamut basically. Officially. Zero-restrictions. So that the best in the business are handling all personal finance aspects end-to-end. And no one is trying to find a work-around if there are restrictions. That's how a true-blue gold standard operates.

Having said all that, is it a given that intelligent financial advice comes only from those who are registered &/or certified. Absolutely not. Education, most of it, even all of it, can be autodidactic & informal & outside the purview of classrooms & certifications.

Why did we do it then? Because as of now this is the lay of the land. And in their attempt to formalise the Indian personal finance space SEBI has taken an important step. Until we find a better mouse-trap this is the best way forward.