Stock market regulator SEBI is in the process of issuing a discussion paper on regulation of investment advisors very soon.
Speaking at the first convocation of the National Institute of Securities Markets (NISM), the SEBI Chairman, Mr U.K. Sinha, said: “There is a conflict of interest as many distributors masquerade as investment advisors, and there is a need to clear the blur between the distributor and the investment advisor.”
In general, investment advisors advise clients on what products to buy and charge a fee commensurate to their advice whereas distributors sell financial products for a commission.
Mr Sinha said, the SEBI was closely working with other regulators to ensure that all aspects of the financial markets were regulated by at least one regulator.
Mr Sinha said, SEBI had received very good response for its discussion paper on Alternative Investment Funds (AIF) and the regulator was in a position to put in a framework for AIFs in a couple of months.
He also said that the NISM would take the lead in propagating financial literacy and investor education soon.