SEBI Eases Certification Burden for Sales Staff at Investment Advisory Firms
Moneylife Digital Team 25 June 2026
Market regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has relaxed qualification norms for non-advisory employees at registered investment advisers, creating a lighter certification pathway for sales and relationship management personnel who interact with clients but do not render investment advice.
 
In a circular, SEBI said it would allow such staff to qualify through a newly created module — the NISM Series-XXV-B: Persons Associated with Investment Advice (Sales and Other Non-Core Services) Certification Examination — rather than the more demanding two-level framework previously mandated for all client-facing personnel.
 
Until the circular, all persons associated with investment advice, or PAIA, were required to clear both the NISM Series-X-A: Investment Adviser Level 1 and Series-X-B: Level 2 examinations under rules introduced in January 2025. 
SEBI has now bifurcated this requirement by function: employees directly involved in rendering investment advice must continue to clear both Series-X-A and Series-X-B, while those limited to sales, client servicing, and other support roles will qualify under the new Series-XXV-B module.
 
SEBI said the decision followed feedback from market participants and formed part of its broader ease-of-doing-business agenda, noting that personnel without direct involvement in investment advice should not face the same certification burden as those providing investment recommendations.
 
Firms will receive transition relief for existing staff. Employees in the non-advisory category who already hold valid Series-X-A and Series-X-B certifications as of the date of the circular will not be required to immediately switch to the new module; they may continue on their current certifications and obtain Series-XXV-B before those certifications lapse.
 
The NISM examination communique indicates the Series-XXV-B module is designed around regulatory and ethical aspects relevant to client-facing sales functions, without requiring the advanced advisory competencies tested at level 1 and level 2. 
 
Comments
Will the Supreme Court Finally Rein in Rogue ARC Practices?
Sucheta Dalal, 26 June 2026
The core job of an asset reconstruction company (ARC) is to buy troubled assets, recover maximum value from bad loans, clean up bank balance sheets and restore financial stability. They fulfil the first function efficiently, but their...
RBI’s New NBFC Rules Revive Tata Sons Listing Debate as ₹1 Lakh Crore Threshold Becomes Key Test
Moneylife Digital Team 25 June 2026
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has overhauled its framework for identifying upper-layer non-banking financial companies (NBFCs-UL), replacing a complex scoring-based methodology with a simple asset-size threshold of ₹1 lakh crore....
SEBI Proposes Extending Direct Market Access to Retail Investors, Seeks Comments on Technology Rule Changes
Moneylife Digital Team 24 June 2026
Market regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has proposed allowing all categories of investors, including retail investors, to access direct market access (DMA) facilities, as part of a broader review of trading...
NSE Warns Investors against 'lootdealsoffersbest' Telegram Channel, 'ZeroToHeroCalls' YouTube Channel
Moneylife Digital Team 24 June 2026
The National Stock Exchange of India Ltd (NSE) has cautioned investors against dealing with a Telegram channel named 'lootdealsoffersbest', a YouTube channel called 'ZeroToHeroCalls' and an associated web application that are...
Free Helpline
Legal Credit
Feedback