SEBI advertisement code and finfluencer rules (2026): a checklist for financial videos and posts

Which rules apply to you

Each kind of SEBI-registered firm has its own advertising code. They share a spine: be accurate, carry the warning, and never promise returns.

The standard warnings, word for word

Both codes say no word may be added to or taken out of the warning. Copy each one exactly as SEBI writes it, even where the grammar looks off. Our free SEBI disclaimer generator gives the exact text for your firm and format, in English or Hindi, and checks a script for you.

• Size. Advisers and research analysts must set the warning in a legible font of at least 10 point. The mutual fund code asks for legible fonts.
• Video. The warning appears on screen and is read aloud, clearly enough to follow. SEBI's own examples of "clear" are 20 words over at least 10 seconds for advisers, and the 14-word mutual fund warning over at least 5 seconds.
• Other languages. An ad in Hindi, Tamil or any other language carries the warning accurately translated into that language.
• Posts, messages and pop-ups. Where the full details do not fit, an adviser or research analyst may link to its website instead, provided the site shows the name, logo, registered address, SEBI registration number, supervisory body membership and the warning.

Plan the warning into the runtime

The warning comes out of the same seconds as your story. In a 30-second reel from an investment adviser, the 17-word warning read at SEBI's example pace of 20 words in 10 seconds takes about 8 to 9 seconds, close to a third of the film. A mutual fund's 14-word warning takes at least 5 seconds, a sixth of it. Write the warning into the script before you time it; our script length calculator shows how many words are left for everything else.

What an adviser's or research analyst's ad must show

• The name as registered with SEBI, the registered office address, the SEBI registration number, the logo or brand name, and the CIN if there is one.
• The standard warning, as above.
• The registration disclaimer. For advisers, the February 2026 wording is: “Registration granted by SEBI, enlistment with IAASB and certification from NISM in no way guarantee performance of the IA or provide any assurance of returns to investors.”
• Where the ad names a stock or other security as an example: “The securities quoted are for illustration only and are not recommendatory.”

Before it is issued, the ad needs prior approval from the SEBI-recognised supervisory body, which for advisers and research analysts is run by BSE. Keep a copy of every ad for five years. A suspended adviser or analyst may not advertise at all during the suspension, and the code also reaches any investment, research or consultancy firm linked to the adviser that issues an ad naming it.

What an ad cannot say

The advisers' code also bans calling a report or service free unless it really is, running down other advisers, and heavy technical or legal language that distracts investors. The mutual fund code bans exaggerated slogans, and SEBI allows celebrities only in industry-wide campaigns that promote mutual funds as a category, with its prior approval. A portfolio manager may not show model portfolio returns or the results of hand-picked clients, and the performance rules apply to anyone who advertises a portfolio manager's numbers, not only the manager.

Past performance and PaRRVA

PaRRVA, the Past Risk and Return Verification Agency, is how advisers and research analysts can now show a track record. CARE Ratings runs it, with the National Stock Exchange as its data centre, and it began regular service on 4 May 2026.

• From 4 May 2026. Performance for the period after that date can be advertised only as risk and return metrics verified by PaRRVA.
• Older figures. Performance from before PaRRVA, certified by a chartered or cost accountant, can be shared only one to one when a client or prospect asks for it, with SEBI's set disclaimer. It may never go on a website, social media or any public channel.
• Deadlines. Advisers and analysts had to enrol with PaRRVA by 3 August 2026 to keep sharing certified figures, and those older figures can be used only until 3 May 2028.

For a public video, the working rule is simple: unless the numbers carry PaRRVA verification, leave returns out. Talk about how the firm thinks, and let the numbers live in one-to-one conversations.

Finfluencers: who you can work with

Since 29 August 2024, SEBI-regulated firms and their agents may not have any direct or indirect association with a person who:

• gives advice or recommendations about securities without being registered with SEBI or otherwise permitted, or
• claims returns or performance, openly or by implication, without SEBI's permission.

“Association” means any transaction involving money or money's worth, referring clients, connecting IT systems, or anything of a similar nature. The rule covers registered intermediaries such as advisers, research analysts and brokers, mutual fund AMCs and AIF managers, and their agents, which SEBI says include employees, mutual fund distributors and authorised persons. Firms had three months from 22 October 2024 to end existing contracts with such people.

What it means in practice, from SEBI's own FAQs:

• Educators are allowed. A creator engaged only in education can work with you, provided they do not use market prices from the last 30 days to name a security in a way that suggests its future price, advice or a recommendation. SEBI cut this window from three months to 30 days in a circular of 8 May 2026, applicable from 1 July 2026.
• Brand work with creators is allowed. You can work with a creator on branding and promotion, as long as that creator does not give advice or claim returns.
• Your agency's choices count as yours. If a marketing agency or lead-generation partner ends up associating you with someone who gives unregistered advice or claims returns, SEBI treats that as a breach by you.
• Where your ads run matters. On platforms where you control where your ad appears, you can keep it away from such people. Where you have no control and your ad lands with one, that also counts as a breach.
• Penalties can include fines, suspension or cancellation of registration, and debarment.

Before you sign a creator

1. If they give any investment views, check that they are registered, in SEBI's lists of registered intermediaries.
2. Watch their recent videos and posts for stock tips, price targets and return claims.
3. Write the rule into the contract: education only, nothing that names a security against recent prices, and no claims of returns.
4. Agree who reviews each script and cut, and keep the approvals with the ad copies.

Our shortlist of influencer marketing agencies covers who runs creator campaigns in India.

What this means for a video, podcast or reel

• Treat every clip as an ad. A reel cut from your podcast is a communication on its own, so it needs the details, or the link, and the warning.
• Lead with ideas, not numbers. Philosophy, process, history and plain-language education all sit comfortably inside the rules. It is also where the best finance content lives: how a firm thinks, explained well.
• Brief your guests. A guest who names a stock or predicts a price can turn an episode into advice. Brief them before recording, and add the illustration disclaimer wherever a security is named.
• Check titles and thumbnails. “Best”, “No. 1” and “guaranteed” break the code in a thumbnail just as they do in a voiceover.
• Translate the warning. A Hindi cut of a film needs the warning in Hindi.
• Put approval in the calendar. Advisers and research analysts need supervisory approval before an ad goes out, so review time belongs in the production schedule, not at the end of it.

For a wealth firm that grew on content in the US, under the SEC's rules rather than SEBI's, see how Ritholtz Wealth Management did it.

Questions people ask

What is SEBI's advertisement code?

A set of rules for ads by SEBI-registered investment advisers and research analysts, in force since 1 May 2023 and now part of their master circulars. It covers every form of communication, including social media and video. It sets what an ad must show, such as the registered name, SEBI registration number and standard warning, and what it cannot contain, such as promised returns, superlatives like “best” and the SEBI logo. Mutual funds and portfolio managers have their own codes.

Do mutual fund distributors have to follow the finfluencer rules?

Yes. SEBI treats distributors as agents of the fund houses they sell for, and the fund house is responsible for making sure its distributors do not associate with people who give unregistered advice or claim returns. The same applies to employees, PMS and AIF distributors, and brokers' authorised persons.

Can SEBI-registered firms work with finfluencers?

Only with those who do not give unregistered advice or claim returns. Since 29 August 2024, regulated firms and their agents cannot pay, refer clients to or otherwise associate with such people. Creators engaged only in education are allowed, provided they do not name a security using market prices from the last 30 days.

Can investment advisers show past returns in ads?

Only as risk and return metrics verified by PaRRVA, the verification agency run by CARE Ratings with NSE, which began regular service on 4 May 2026. Older figures certified by an accountant can be shared only one to one when a client asks, never publicly, and only until 3 May 2028.

Do Instagram and YouTube posts count as advertisements?

Yes. The advisers' code covers any communication that may influence an investment decision, and names social media platforms, messaging apps, email and audio-visual media. Where a post cannot carry all the details, it can link to a website that does.

Can mutual fund ads feature celebrities?

Not in an ad for a fund or a scheme. The mutual fund advertisement code says no celebrities shall form part of an advertisement. SEBI allows celebrity endorsements only in industry-wide campaigns that raise awareness of mutual funds as a category, with its prior approval.

What is PaRRVA?

The Past Risk and Return Verification Agency, which verifies the track records of investment advisers and research analysts. CARE Ratings runs it with NSE as its data centre, and it began regular service on 4 May 2026. Performance for any period after that date can be advertised only as PaRRVA-verified risk and return metrics.