Can my spouse or parent sell distribution products to my research clients?
In force
No. The bar runs at family level, not just at your own.
Your family may not provide distribution services to a client you give research to, and you may not give research to a client your family distributes to.
Family is defined for this purpose as you, your spouse, your children and your parents.
This is where sole proprietors most often get caught. The analyst keeps research and distribution separate personally, while a spouse sells mutual funds to the same household.
Separately, an individual research analyst may not provide distribution services at all. That restriction is absolute, not client-by-client.
What SEBI says, word for word
Regulation 26C(2)“The family of an individual research analyst shall not provide distribution services to the client to whom research services are being rendered by the individual research analyst”Source: SEBI (Research Analysts) Regulations, 2014 — Regulation 26C(2) Open document ↗
Regulation 26C(1)“An individual research analyst shall not provide distribution services.”Source: SEBI (Research Analysts) Regulations, 2014 — Regulation 26C(1) Open document ↗