Be found by investors looking for independent research.

It bars return promises, misleading testimonials and the SEBI logo now, and from early April 2027 the Common Advertisement Code tightens this further. SEBI's 2023 code for investment advisers and research analysts bars promises of assured or risk-free returns and misleading or deceptive testimonials, requires the standard market-risk warning in at least 10-point font, and requires prior approval from a SEBI-recognised supervisory body. (SEBI IA and RA advertisement code, 2023)

The Common Advertisement Code, notified on 8 October 2026 and in force from the 180th day after publication (NSE circular on the SEBI Common Advertisement Code, 2026), adds or changes:

• Any testimonials are banned, not only misleading ones.
• Indicative returns and projections are banned, as are vague claims such as "high returns".
• Past performance may be referred to only as SEBI specifies; a research report shared with existing clients is exempt only if it makes no performance claims.
• Prior approval is removed except for celebrity advertisements, with reporting within three working days. (SEBI Board decisions, September 2026)
• The Research Analyst Administration and Supervisory Body is named as your supervisory body.

Pages that explain your method, coverage, disclosures and registration are both compliant and persuasive. Ask your compliance officer to map your current pages against both codes; this is not legal advice.

Yes, by making registration, method and disclosures easy to find and verify, which unregistered tipsters cannot do. The number of SEBI-registered research analysts grew to 1,584 as of June 2025 from 620 in 2018-19 (Business Standard, 2025), a small group beside the many unregistered channels offering tips.

SEBI's August 2024 notifications bar regulated persons and their agents from associating with unregistered persons who give securities advice or make return claims. (Business Today, 2024) That means you should not partner with tipster channels to grow, but it also means registration is a real point of difference you can state plainly.

Pages that help careful investors and AI tools tell you apart:

• A registration page with your SEBI number, supervisory body and how to verify it.
• A method page explaining how research is produced and reviewed.
• A disclosures page covering conflicts of interest and holdings policy.
• Coverage pages listing sectors or market caps you cover.
• Subscription terms, stated plainly.

AI tools favour clear, verifiable facts. When someone asks "is this stock research service SEBI registered", a firm with a plain registration page is more likely to be described correctly. Track that kind of question with Live AI Monitoring.

It depends on whether it promotes your service and who receives it. Under SEBI's Common Advertisement Code, from early April 2027, a research report shared with existing clients is exempt from being treated as an advertisement only if it makes no performance claims. (NSE circular on the SEBI Common Advertisement Code, 2026) Material that promotes your products or solicits interest from the public is an advertisement.

That leaves sample reports on a public website or a social channel in sensitive territory. A sample report used to sell subscriptions is promotional. If it shows specific securities, the new code requires the line "The securities or scheme(s) are quoted as an example and not as a recommendation" on the same page or frame, and it must not imply past performance will recur.

Until April 2027, the 2023 code applies, including prior approval from the supervisory body for advertisements. (SEBI IA and RA advertisement code, 2023)

Safer ways to show your quality publicly:

• A redacted or dated sample, clearly marked, approved through your process.
• Method articles that explain how you assess a company, using general examples.
• Educational pieces on reading annual reports or valuation basics, with minimal branding and no call to subscribe.

Ask your compliance officer to confirm how each format is treated before publishing. We describe the rules for orientation only; they are not legal advice.

Not unregistered ones who give securities advice or make return claims, and any celebrity endorsement will need prior approval under the new code. SEBI's August 2024 notifications bar SEBI-regulated persons and their agents from any direct or indirect association with unregistered persons who give securities advice or make return claims. (Business Today, 2024)

From early April 2027, the Common Advertisement Code defines celebrities to include influencers above a follower threshold set by the Advertising Standards Council of India, and virtual influencers. (NSE circular on the SEBI Common Advertisement Code, 2026) Celebrities may endorse only at the brand or entity level, with no claim about a specific product, and only with prior approval from the supervisory body or SEBI.

Affiliate programmes raise a further issue. If an affiliate publishes an advertisement for you without your consent, the code requires you to act within seven days, inform your supervisory body and disclose the details on your website.

Lower-risk growth routes for a research firm:

• Your own analysts explaining methods in articles and videos; founders and senior management appearing in their own firm's content are not treated as celebrities.
• Guest pieces in financial publications, approved where needed.
• Clear pages that rank for "sebi registered research analyst" searches.

Ask your compliance officer to review any paid promotion before it begins.

They search by style and need, such as "small cap research service" or "fundamental research subscription", and increasingly ask AI tools which services are reliable. The answers often mix registered firms, platforms and well-known tipsters, because AI tools summarise whatever is most written about.

Many potential subscribers are newer investors; CDSL's own statistics count 193,406,915 beneficial owner accounts at the close of September 2026. (CDSL, September 2026) A growing share of them will ask an AI tool before paying for research.

What careful investors check:

• SEBI registration, and whether it matches the name on the payment page.
• What the research covers and how often it is published.
• Disclosures about conflicts of interest.
• Subscription terms and refund conditions.
• No promised returns.

AI tools can get these facts wrong. In a 2026 G2 study of software buyers, 64% said they encounter inaccurate AI chatbot recommendations often or very often. (G2, 2026) That sample is software buyers, not investors, but the risk is the same: if your registration or pricing is unclear online, the AI may misstate it.

Track questions such as "is there a sebi registered research analyst for small caps" with Live AI Monitoring, and correct gaps on your own pages.