Risk profiling rules for SEBI investment advisers
An adviser completes a risk profile and takes the client's consent on it before giving any advice, and the advice then has to suit that profile. KYC runs through a KRA.
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A SEBI investment adviser (advisor) must complete a risk profile for the client and obtain the client's consent on the completed profile before giving any advice. The advice must then be suitable for that profile. Client KYC is done through a KYC Registration Agency.
The order of work
- KYC through a KRA.
- A risk profile completed for the client.
- The client's consent on the completed profile.
- Advice that suits the profile.
Why the sequence matters
The signed profile is the document your advice traces back to. In an annual compliance audit or a complaint, the first thing anyone asks is whether the advice matched what the client had profiled and agreed to. A profile completed after the advice, or one the client never consented to, does not answer that.
What the profile does not cover
Risk profiling belongs to personalised advice. Trading calls are outside investment advice under the IA regulations, so no profile attaches to them. An adviser who also implements advice does it through direct schemes only.
Keeping the record
The profile, the consent and the KYC are part of what the annual compliance audit looks at, along with the client-level segregation certificate. We prepare the risk-profiling forms and the consent flow as documentation, and the adviser signs them.
We handle the documentation and filing: Adviser compliance support
Sources read on 28 October 2026. SEBI revises these requirements, so we re-confirm every figure against the current circular before it goes into an application.
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