Investor charter for research analysts

Vision and mission

Vision: Invest with knowledge and safety.

Mission: Every investor should be able to invest in the right investment products based on their needs, manage and monitor them to meet their goals, access reports, and enjoy financial wellness.

Business transacted by research analysts

Publishing research reports based on the research activities of the research analyst.
Providing an independent, unbiased view on securities.
Offering unbiased recommendations, disclosing any financial interests in the recommended securities.
Providing research recommendations based on analysis of publicly available information and known observations.
Conducting an annual audit.
Ensuring that all advertisements comply with the advertisement code for research analysts.
Maintaining records of interactions with all clients, including prospective clients before onboarding, where any conversation about research services has taken place.

Services provided to investors

Onboarding: sharing the terms and conditions of research services, and completing the KYC of fee-paying clients.
Disclosure: providing adequate and appropriate information to help investors decide — including the research analyst’s business activity, disciplinary history, terms and conditions of research services, details of associates, risks and conflicts of interest, if any; the extent to which AI tools are used in providing research services; where research of a third-party provider is distributed, any material conflict of interest of that provider (or a web address with those disclosures); and any conflict between research services and the research analyst’s other activities.
Distributing research reports and recommendations to clients without discrimination.
Keeping research reports confidential until they are made available in the public domain.
Respecting clients’ data-privacy rights and taking measures to protect their confidential information from unauthorised use.
Disclosing the timelines for each service provided, and keeping to them.
Giving clear guidance and adequate caution notices when providing recommendations on complex and high-risk financial products or services.
Treating all clients with honesty and integrity.
Keeping information shared by clients confidential, unless disclosure is required by law or the client consents.

Grievance redressal mechanism

An investor can lodge a complaint or grievance against a research analyst in the following ways:

With the research analyst. The research analyst must redress the grievance immediately, and in any case within 21 days of receiving it. See the escalation matrix.
With SEBI, through SCORES 2.0 (scores.sebi.gov.in), SEBI’s web-based centralised grievance redressal system, which provides two levels of review: the first by the Research Analyst Administration and Supervisory Body (RAASB) and the second by SEBI. Complaints may also be sent to the designated email address of the RAASB.
Online dispute resolution. If not satisfied with the resolution, the investor can file the complaint on the Smart ODR platform (smartodr.in) for resolution through online conciliation or arbitration.
Physical complaints may be sent to: Office of Investor Assistance and Education, Securities and Exchange Board of India, SEBI Bhavan, Plot No. C4-A, ‘G’ Block, Bandra-Kurla Complex, Bandra (E), Mumbai – 400 051.

Rights of investors

Right to privacy and confidentiality.
Right to transparent practices.
Right to fair and equitable treatment.
Right to adequate information.
Right to initial and continuing disclosure, including statutory and regulatory disclosures.
Right to fair and true advertisement.
Right to awareness of service parameters and turnaround times.
Right to be informed of the timelines for each service.
Right to be heard and to satisfactory grievance redressal, in time.
Right to exit from a financial product or service in accordance with the agreed terms and conditions.
Right to receive clear guidance and caution notices when dealing in complex and high-risk products or services.
Additional rights for vulnerable consumers, including access to services suited to persons with disabilities.
Right to provide feedback on the financial products and services used.
Right against coercive, unfair and one-sided clauses in financial agreements.

Expectations from investors

Do’s

Deal only with SEBI-registered research analysts.
Check that the research analyst holds a valid registration certificate, and check the registration number on SEBI’s website.
Read the disclosures in the research report carefully before acting on it.
Pay fees only through banking channels and keep signed receipts; you may also use the RAASB’s Centralised Fee Collection Mechanism (CeFCoM) where the research analyst offers it.
Check the research recommendation before buying, selling or subscribing to any security or public offer.
Ask relevant questions and clear your doubts before acting on a recommendation, especially for complex and high-risk products.
Know that you can stop availing the research service as per the agreed terms, and that you can give feedback.
Know that you are not bound by any clause that contravenes the regulations.
Inform SEBI about any research analyst offering assured or guaranteed returns.

Don’ts

Do not give your funds for investment to the research analyst.
Do not fall for luring advertisements or market rumours.
Do not be swayed by limited-period discounts, gifts or other incentives offered by the research analyst.
Do not share your trading, demat or bank login credentials or passwords with the research analyst.

Source

This charter follows SEBI circular SEBI/HO/MIRSD/MIRSD-PoD/P/CIR/2025/81 dated 2 June 2025, “Investor Charter for Research Analysts”. It is reproduced here in summary form; the official text is on SEBI’s website. Complaints data in the format SEBI prescribes is published on the complaints data page.