Under the SEBI (Investment Advisers) Regulations, 2013, a registered investment adviser is required to pay a renewal fee every five years from the date of grant of registration, within three months before expiry of the period for which the fee has been paid. SEBI noted that all 39 investment advisers had failed to pay the required renewal fees.
The 39 IAs whose registrations have been cancelled are: Alok Barnwal, Amit Arora, Ankit Ujjwal, Ankit Vyas, proprietor of Monetary Solutions, Ankur Mishra, proprietor of Capital Boosters, Chirag Gokani, proprietor of Wealthwiz Advisors, Deshraj Singh Thakur, proprietor of Bullmart Research, Divyesh Dipakkumar Patel, sole proprietor of Shubh Stocks Capital, Garima Verma, proprietor of Shield Research Advisory Services, Getclarity Fintech Services Private Limited, Himanshu Bharatkumar Bhavsar, Himesh Gupta, proprietor of Cyclone Money, Kanwarpreet Singh Jassal, Krunal Shah, N2 Capital Advisory LLP, Nalini Jindal, proprietor of Rothmans Investment Advisory, Nilesh Vyas, proprietor of Investment Via Investment Advisory, Nishant Chopra, proprietor of Dezire Research, Parthasarathy V Iyengar, Piyush Jain, Podium Market Research and Poonam Gautam, proprietor of Unique Research.
The list further includes: Revenue Maker Financial Services, Santosh Singh Parihar, proprietor of Traebizz Research, Shailendra Jain, proprietor of Samriddhi Capitals, Shweta Hemang Lalani, The Equicom Financial Research Pvt Ltd, Vivek Navinchandra Shah, Akanksha, Ankit Banga, Ankit Jain, proprietor of Ethical Research, Grabsure Investment Advisor, Mayur Joshi, Prutech Financial Services Pvt Ltd, Sandeep H Lodaya, Tacterial Consulting Private Ltd, Tuhinanshu Jain, proprietor of Equity Research Lab, Vinay Kumar Jaju and Yachit Mahajan.
The renewal fees of the 39 investment advisers remained unpaid for different periods. In several cases, the fees had been outstanding for years. For instance, the renewal fee of Garima Verma and Getclarity Fintech Services remained unpaid since March 2021, while that of Parthasarathy V Iyengar remained unpaid since October 2020. In some other cases, the renewal fee remained unpaid since 2023, 2024, 2025 and 2026.
Following the non-payment, SEBI initiated summary proceedings under Regulation 30A of the Intermediaries Regulations, 2008. Notices were issued to the concerned investment advisers on 2 June 2026 and 4 June 2026, giving them an opportunity to explain why their certificates of registration should not be cancelled or suspended. They were required to submit their replies, along with documentary evidence, within 21 days of receiving the notices.
SEBI said no replies were received from 28 IA’s within the specified period. Meanwhile 11 IA’s, submitted replies stating that their registrations as investment advisers may be cancelled by SEBI.
SEBI observed that since the renewal fees had not been paid, the certificates of registration of the IA’s had already ceased to be in force. After following the prescribed procedure, the regulator concluded that the registrations of all 39 investment advisers should be cancelled under Section 12(3) of the SEBI Act, 1992, read with Regulation 30A of the Intermediaries Regulations, 2008.
However, cancellation of registration does not absolve the IAs of their past obligations. SEBI directed the concerned entities to continue to be liable for anything done or omitted to be done while acting as investment advisers. The cancellation also does not protect them from action for any violation of securities laws committed during the period when they were registered.
The regulator further directed the 39 IA’s to maintain and preserve records and other documents required under the relevant regulations, address investor grievances, transfer records, funds or securities of clients where applicable, and take necessary action regarding defaults or pending matters.
SEBI said the main purpose of cancelling the registrations is to prevent the misuse of expired registration certificates to mislead or deceive investors.
