Investor Charter for Investment Advisers

A. Vision and mission for investors

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.

B. Business transacted by the Investment Adviser

• Enter into an agreement with the client providing all details, including fee details, conflict-of-interest disclosures, and confidentiality of information.
• Conduct proper and unbiased risk profiling and a suitability assessment of the client.
• Conduct an annual audit.
• Disclose the status of complaints on its website.
• Disclose its name, proprietor name, type of registration, registration number, validity, complete address and telephone numbers, and associated SEBI office details on its website.
• Employ only qualified and certified employees.
• Deal with clients only from an official number.
• Maintain records of interactions with all clients, including prospective clients before onboarding, where any conversation related to advice has taken place.
• Ensure that all advertisements adhere to the Advertisement Code for Investment Advisers.
• Not discriminate among clients opting for the same or similar products or services offered by the investment adviser.

C. Services provided to investors

No indicative timelines

Onboarding clients

• Share a copy of the agreement.
• Complete the client's KYC.

Disclosures to clients

• Provide full disclosure about the adviser's business, affiliations, and compensation in the agreement.
• Not access client accounts or holdings for offering advice.
• Disclose the client's risk profile.
• Disclose conflicts between investment advisory activities and the adviser's other activities.
• Disclose the extent to which artificial intelligence tools are used to provide investment advisory services.

Advice and client care

• Provide advice based on the client's risk profile and suitability.
• Treat all advisory clients with honesty and integrity.
• Disclose all material facts, including risks, obligations, and costs, relating to advised products or securities.
• Provide clear guidance and adequate caution when advising on complex and high-risk financial products or services.
• Protect client information unless disclosure is required to meet legal obligations or the client has provided specific consent.
• Disclose service timelines and adhere to them.

D. Grievance redressal

1. Contact the Investment Adviser. The adviser shall strive to resolve a grievance immediately and no later than 21 days after receiving it.
2. Use SCORES 2.0 or contact IAASB. File a complaint through the SEBI SCORES 2.0 portal, which provides first-level review by IAASB and second-level review by SEBI, or use the designated IAASB email channel.
3. Use SMARTODR. If you are not satisfied with the resolution provided by the market participant, you may file the complaint on the SMARTODR platform for online conciliation or arbitration.
4. Send a physical complaint. Address it to the Office of Investor Assistance and Education, Securities and Exchange Board of India, SEBI Bhavan, Plot No. C4-A, G Block, Bandra-Kurla Complex, Bandra (East), Mumbai 400 051.

E. 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 information about all statutory and regulatory disclosures.
• Right to fair and true advertisement.
• Right to awareness about service parameters and turnaround times.
• Right to be informed of the timelines for each service.
• Right to be heard and receive satisfactory grievance redressal, including timely redressal.
• Right to suitability of financial products.
• Right to exit from a financial product or service in accordance with the terms of the agreement with the investment adviser.
• Right to receive clear guidance and a caution notice when dealing in complex and high-risk financial products and services.
• Additional rights for vulnerable consumers, including the right to access services in a suitable manner when differently abled.
• Right to provide feedback on the financial products and services used.
• Right against coercive, unfair, and one-sided clauses in financial agreements.

F. Expectations and responsibilities of investors

Do

1. Always deal with SEBI-registered Investment Advisers.
2. Ensure that the Investment Adviser has a valid registration certificate.
3. Check the SEBI registration number. Check SEBI's list of registered Investment Advisers.
4. Pay only advisory fees to your Investment Adviser. Make payments through banking channels and maintain duly signed receipts that include the payment details. You may use the Centralised Fee Collection Mechanism (CeFCoM) of IAASB if the adviser has opted for it.
5. Ask for your risk profiling before accepting investment advice. Insist that advice is based strictly on your risk profile and takes available investment alternatives into account.
6. Ask relevant questions and clear your doubts with your Investment Adviser before acting on advice.
7. Assess the risk-return profile of an investment, as well as its liquidity and safety, before investing.
8. Insist on receiving written, signed, and stamped terms and conditions. Read them carefully, particularly provisions concerning fees, advisory plans, and recommendation categories.
9. Be vigilant in your transactions.
10. Approach the appropriate authorities for redressal of doubts or grievances.
11. Inform SEBI about Investment Advisers offering assured or guaranteed returns.
12. Be aware that you have the right to exit the service of an Investment Adviser.
13. Be aware that you have the right to seek clarifications and clear guidance on advice.
14. Be aware that you have the right to provide feedback to the Investment Adviser about services received.
15. Be aware that you are not bound by a clause prescribed by an investment adviser if it contravenes regulatory provisions.

Do not

1. Do not fall for stock tips offered under the pretext of investment advice.
2. Do not provide funds for investment to the Investment Adviser.
3. Do not fall for promises of indicative, exorbitant, or assured returns. Do not let greed overcome rational investment decisions.
4. Do not fall prey to luring advertisements or market rumours.
5. Avoid transactions based only on phone calls or messages from an Investment Adviser or its representatives.
6. Do not make decisions just because of repeated messages and calls by Investment Advisers.
7. Do not fall prey to limited-period discounts, incentives, gifts, or similar offers from Investment Advisers.
8. Do not rush into investments that do not match your risk appetite and investment goals.
9. Do not share login credentials or passwords for your trading, demat, or bank accounts with the Investment Adviser.