SEBI Doubles Broker Inspections, Sharp Rise In Oversight Of Investment Advisers, Research Analysts In FY25
Insider trading remained the most prominent focus, with investigations rising from 175 to 287 and completions from 130 to 192, followed by market manipulation and price rigging cases, which saw a marginal decline in new cases but a sharp jump in closures.
Markets regulator Securities And Exchange Board of India has significantly ramped up its surveillance and enforcement efforts in fiscal 2025, carrying out 312 inspections of stock brokers, more than double the 146 conducted in the previous year.
Also, oversight of other market intermediaries also rose sharply, with inspections of investment advisers surging to 207 from 21 and research analysts jumping to 149 from just 15 in Fiscal 2024, according to Sebi's annual report for 2024-25 released on Tuesday.
In contrast, inspections of mutual funds and their registrar and transfer agents remained largely steady at 24 compared to 25 a year earlier.
These measures are part of SEBI broader push to tighten oversight of advisory practices, curb biased or misleading market research, and ensure strict compliance with fair disclosure norms.
During the year, SEBI also developed offsite inspection alerts for monitoring stock brokers, depository participants, investment advisers, and RTAs as part of its continuous supervision framework, according to the annual report.
Further, work is underway on the SEBI e-drive -- a cloud-based platform for sharing inspection data and alerts with brokers and DPs, it and.
On the enforcement front, the regulator initiated 400 cases for investigation into violations of securities laws in fiscal 2025 compared to 342 in the previous year, and completed 301 cases against 197 earlier.
Insider trading remained the most prominent focus, with investigations rising from 175 to 287 and completions from 130 to 192, followed by market manipulation and price rigging cases, which saw a marginal decline in new cases but a sharp jump in closures.
SEBI said its in-house surveillance system generates alerts for any disruptions in trading patterns.
Based on these alerts, as well as complaints received, inputs from stock exchange examination reports, and other sources, SEBI undertakes detailed investigations into the matters.
