SEBI cancels registration of 68 investment advisors for non-payment of renewal fees

New Delhi: Capital markets regulator Sebi on Thursday cancelled the registration of 68 investment advisers for failing to pay renewal fees.

“…of the Intermediaries Regulations, 2008, hereby cancel the certificates of registration as Investment Advisers of Noticees No 1 to 68,” Sebi’s Designated Authority Soma Majumder said in the order.

The list of cancelled entities includes Truenorth Labs Pvt Ltd, Equity Mantra, Saurabh Mundra, Sheetal Agrawal, Ateet Hemant Wagh, Getbasis Securities and Technologies India Pvt Ltd, Lucid Technologies, and Avenue Venture Partners Investment Adviser LLP, among others.

According to Sebi’s IA (Investment Advisers) rules, every registered investment adviser is required to pay a renewal fee every five years from the date of grant of registration by the regulator.The regulator noted that the advisers failed to make such payments despite being informed about the lapse. Sebi issued several show-cause notices to the entities between February and June this year.The market watchdog observed that since the certificates had already expired, the cancellations were necessary to prevent any possible misuse of the registrations by misleading unsuspecting investors.

“Since the certificates of registration of the noticees have already expired, I find that the certificates of registration as Investment Adviser, granted to the Noticees No 1 to 68, should be cancelled under the Intermediaries Regulations, 2008,” Majumder said in the order.