- SEBI relaxed certification rules for sales and client-facing staff at investment advisers
- Non-advisory roles can now use a lighter NISM certification for compliance
- Advisory staff must still meet existing qualification and certification standards
India's markets regulator, the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI), has relaxed certification requirements for sales and client-facing employees at registered investment advisers, the latest in a series of measures aimed at reducing compliance burdens for regulated intermediaries.
SEBI on Tuesday allowed personnel engaged in sales, relationship management and other non-core functions at investment advisory firms to qualify through a lighter certification programme instead of the more rigorous adviser certification previously required for all persons associated with investment advice.
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Under the revised framework, employees involved in providing actual investment advice will continue to be subject to existing qualification and certification requirements. However, staff engaged in customer acquisition, servicing and other support functions can now obtain a newly introduced National Institute of Securities Markets (NISM) certification designed specifically for non-advisory roles.
The move follows representations from industry participants who argued that employees with client contact but no advisory responsibilities were being subjected to the same certification standards as investment advisers, increasing compliance costs and creating hiring and onboarding challenges.
SEBI said the relaxation forms part of its ease-of-doing-business initiative while maintaining investor-protection safeguards by preserving higher standards for professionals engaged in advisory activities.
The regulator has adopted a similar approach in recent months across other segments of the securities market. In March, SEBI introduced a separate and lighter certification requirement for sales and non-core personnel associated with research analyst entities, recognising that such employees are not directly involved in research functions.
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The latest change reflects SEBI's broader effort to calibrate regulatory obligations according to the nature of functions performed, rather than applying uniform compliance standards across all employees of regulated entities.
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