Every ad you run must carry your name and SEBI registration number, avoid return promises and testimonials, and cite only PaRRVA ratings. Celebrity ads need RAASB approval first.
SEBI has amended the SEBI (Intermediaries) Regulations, 2008 to add a new Chapter IIID, the Common Advertisement Code. Research Analysts are named as a regulated entity under it, alongside stock brokers, investment advisers, mutual funds and others. The amendment was published in the Gazette on 9 October 2026. It comes into force on the 180th day from that date. Until then, nothing in this chapter applies to you.
Your supervisory body under the code is the Research Analyst Administration and Supervisory Body (RAASB). SEBI can direct RAASB to take action against violations. Separately, SEBI can act on its own, including under Chapter V of the Intermediaries Regulations.
What counts as an advertisement An advertisement is any communication, endorsement or representation, in any form and through any channel, that promotes, invites or solicits for your services or promotes your brand. This covers print, TV, radio, podcasts, websites, social media and outdoor media. Some things are excluded, as long as they do not promote your services or solicit interest: - research reports, recommendations or analyses shared with existing clients that make no claims about your performance - educational content with minimal and incidental branding and no promotional call-to-action - replies to a client's or prospect's request for information - greetings, condolences, feedback surveys to registered clients and recruitment notices
Every advertisement must show your name, your SEBI registration number and your logo, if you have one. It must also carry the disclaimers SEBI specifies, in the manner SEBI specifies. The regulation does not set out the disclaimer wording. For an SMS, pop-up or push notification where space does not allow this, you must include a hyperlink to these details on your official website.
What you cannot say Your ads cannot promise guaranteed, risk-free, indicative or fixed returns. They cannot include testimonials or content based on assumptions or projections. You cannot refer to past performance unless you do it in the manner SEBI specifies. You cannot use words like high yield, high rated or high returns without basis. You cannot use logos, images or symbols of SEBI or the exchanges and depositories unless specifically permitted. You cannot disparage other regulated entities or copy their ads.
If you show a specific security as an example, you must state that "The securities or scheme(s) are quoted as an example and not as a recommendation" on the same page or video frame, not at the end. Any data, graph or chart must show its source and the date or period it covers. You cannot offer incentives, vouchers, coupons, tokens or subscription plans to clients as an inducement to avail your services or to download an app. You must not use any dark pattern listed in Annexure I of the CCPA's Guidelines for Prevention and Regulation of Dark Patterns, 2023.
Ratings, celebrities and third parties The only ratings or rankings you can use in an ad are those assigned by a Past Risk and Return Verification Agency. The rating must be explained in the ad or through a link to the agency's or your website. The ad must state that ratings are only one factor in choosing an analyst. The rating must come from a study covering all relevant market participants in the category.
Celebrities can endorse you only at the brand or entity level, with no claim about a specific service. Any ad featuring a celebrity needs prior approval from RAASB. You cannot pass the cost on to clients. If you are the founder, promoter, director or senior management of the entity and appear in your own ad, you do not count as a celebrity.
If a third party runs an ad for you without your consent, you must start appropriate action, including legal action, within seven days of learning of it and inform RAASB. You must report the outcome to RAASB and disclose the incident, the third party and the action taken prominently on your website. If your registration is suspended, you cannot issue any advertisement during the suspension.
“advertisements shall be true, fair, accurate, complete and unambiguous;”
SEBI (Intermediaries) (Second Amendment) Regulations, 2026, Gazette of India No. 608 of 9 October 2026 (F. No. SEBI/LAD-NRO/GN/2026/323), Regulation 16L(1)(a)
The document
SEBI (Intermediaries) (Second Amendment) Regulations, 2026, Gazette of India No. 608 of 9 October 2026 (F. No. SEBI/LAD-NRO/GN/2026/323) on sebi.gov.in.
This summary is prepared from the SEBI document linked above. Read the original before you act on it.