Be the firm investors find when they research where to invest.

Portfolio managers, investment advisers and full-service brokers usually gain most, because each client stays for years and investors research carefully before handing over money. A single PMS client or a family that moves its portfolio to an adviser is worth far more than one app download.

The market is large and still growing. CDSL had 193,406,915 demat accounts at the end of September 2026 (CDSL, September 2026), and NSDL had 4,71,83,877 active client accounts on 30 September 2026. (NSDL, September 2026) Most of those investors start with an app, but many later want a person: to plan retirement, invest from abroad, manage a lump sum or understand a strategy.

That is where smaller firms can compete. Discount platforms win broad searches such as "demat account". Specialists can win "nri trading account india", "fee only financial planner" or "small cap pms", where a clear explanation matters more than brand size.

Research analysts and mutual fund distributors gain too, but differently. Analysts compete with unregistered tipsters, so showing registration clearly is the edge. Distributors compete with apps on local and help-focused searches.

Look at the fit table to compare fields, then open your own field page for the searches and pages that matter there.

They decide what counts as an advertisement, what it must show and what it must never say, and the rules are changing in 2027. Until the Common Advertisement Code takes effect in early April 2027, each type of firm follows its current code:

• Investment advisers and research analysts: SEBI's 2023 code bans promises of assured or risk-free returns, misleading or deceptive testimonials and the SEBI logo, requires a standard warning in at least 10-point font, and needs prior approval from the supervisory body. (SEBI IA and RA advertisement code, 2023)
• Stock brokers: NSE requires prior approval for all advertisements before issue. (NSE Members Code of Advertisement)
• Mutual fund distributors: AMFI guidance bars adviser and wealth manager style names and asks for the tagline "AMFI-registered Mutual Fund Distributor". (AMFI guidance on distributor names, 2020)

SEBI notified the Common Advertisement Code on 8 October 2026; it starts on the 180th day after publication. (NSE circular on the SEBI Common Advertisement Code, 2026) It covers brokers, advisers, research analysts, portfolio managers, mutual funds and AMCs, removes prior approval except for celebrity advertisements, requires reporting within three working days (SEBI Board decisions, September 2026), and bans any testimonials.

Educational content that has minimal branding and no promotional call to action is not treated as an advertisement under the new code. That makes explainers, process guides and plain-language glossaries the most useful and lowest-risk pages. Check each page with your compliance officer before publishing; this is not legal advice.

Start with an audit of every page against the new code, because the changes mostly remove things rather than add them. The code takes effect in early April 2027, the 180th day after its publication in October 2026. (NSE circular on the SEBI Common Advertisement Code, 2026)

A practical checklist:

1. Testimonials and client quotes. The new code bans any testimonials, not only misleading ones. (NSE circular on the SEBI Common Advertisement Code, 2026) Plan to remove client quote sliders and video stories from advertising pages.
2. Registration details. Every advertisement must show your name and SEBI registration number. Check headers, footers, landing pages and social profiles.
3. Performance and examples. Past performance may be referred to only as SEBI specifies, and any securities shown as examples need the line "The securities or scheme(s) are quoted as an example and not as a recommendation" on the same page.
4. Charts and numbers. Statistics, graphs and charts must state their source and period.
5. Offers. Incentives, vouchers or coupons to induce trading, investing or app downloads are prohibited.
6. Your approval process. Prior approval falls away except for celebrity advertisements, but reporting within three working days begins. (SEBI Board decisions, September 2026) Decide who files it.

Until the start date, keep following your current code. Your supervisory body and compliance officer are the right people to confirm each change.

Today the answer depends on your registration, and from early April 2027 testimonials in advertisements are banned for all firms covered by SEBI's Common Advertisement Code. (NSE circular on the SEBI Common Advertisement Code, 2026)

The position now:

• Investment advisers and research analysts: the 2023 code bars misleading or deceptive testimonials in advertisements. (SEBI IA and RA advertisement code, 2023) Any testimonial also needs to pass the supervisory body's prior approval.
• Stock brokers: advertisements need NSE's prior approval before issue (NSE Members Code of Advertisement), so any client story goes through that check.

From the new code's start date, the wording is plain: advertisements must not include any testimonials. The code covers brokers, advisers, research analysts, portfolio managers, mutual funds and AMCs.

This matters for search too. Many firms use review widgets and client video quotes as their main trust signal. Replace them with things investors can verify: your SEBI registration number, the people who will handle the account, how you are paid, how you handle grievances, and plain process pages. These are also the facts AI tools quote when they describe a firm.

Reviews that clients leave on third-party sites raise separate questions, such as whether embedding or quoting them on your pages counts as advertising. Ask your compliance officer before using them anywhere you control.

Only with great care, and never with unregistered people who give securities advice or make return claims. SEBI's August 2024 notifications bar SEBI-regulated persons and their agents from associating, directly or indirectly, with unregistered persons who give securities advice or make return claims. (Business Today, 2024)

The Common Advertisement Code, starting in early April 2027, adds more. (NSE circular on the SEBI Common Advertisement Code, 2026)

• Its definition of "celebrity" includes influencers above a follower threshold set by the Advertising Standards Council of India, and virtual influencers.
• Celebrities may endorse only at the brand or entity level, with no claim about a specific product.
• Any advertisement featuring a celebrity needs prior approval from the supervisory body or SEBI.
• Endorsement costs cannot be passed on to clients.

Your own founders and senior team appearing in your own content are not treated as celebrities under the code.

From a visibility point of view, paid influencer posts rarely build lasting search presence anyway. A registered adviser's own explainer videos and articles, published on your site and channels with your registration shown, keep working for years and give AI tools accurate facts to quote.

Before any collaboration, check the person's SEBI registration status and ask your compliance officer to review the arrangement. Treat this as background, not as legal advice on any particular arrangement.

They usually start broad, then narrow by need, city and trust signals, and AI answers now often appear at the first step. Google's AI Overviews had over 2 billion monthly users in July 2025. (Alphabet, 2025) A search such as "pms vs mutual fund" or "is a fee only adviser better" may be answered in a summary before any firm's page is seen.

That changes who gets the click. In Pew Research Center's 2025 study of US Google users, people who saw an AI summary clicked a traditional result in 8% of visits, against 15% for those who did not see one. (Pew Research Center, 2025) The sample is American, but the pattern explains why being cited inside the answer matters.

Investors then check trust signals before contacting anyone:

• SEBI registration, and whether it can be verified.
• How the firm is paid: fees, commission or brokerage.
• Whether there is a person to talk to, and where.
• Whether risks are explained without promises.

Firms that answer these four questions plainly on their own pages tend to be described accurately by AI tools; firms that do not are left out or described from directories. Track the questions your investors ask, in both Google and AI tools, with Live AI Monitoring.