Currently, applicants must have a graduate or postgraduate degree in financial fields such as finance, business management, commerce, economics or capital markets to be eligible for registration.
Under the new framework, graduates from any discipline, including law and engineering, are eligible to become investment advisors and research analysts.
Applicants are required to possess “a university degree or an equivalent educational qualification from a university or institution recognized by the Central Government or a State Government or a recognized foreign university or institution or association or CFA Charter from the CFA Institute, and relevant certification from NISM or from any other organization or institution accredited by NISM”.
On relaxing the corporatisation process for individual IAs, Sebi said that once an investment advisor crosses the threshold of 300 clients or Rs 3 crore in fees, he should immediately inform the regulator and initiate the transition process. The IA would then have three months to apply for in-principle approval and a further three months to complete the conversion to a non-individual entity. During this transition period, the IA would be allowed to take on new customers and continue collecting fees, Sebi said. Previously, an individual IA was required to complete the transition to a corporate structure within three months of exceeding prescribed customer or reimbursement limits.
To achieve these effects, the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) has changed the norms for investment advisors and research analysts. PTI
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