Investment Adviser, company or LLP
SEBI Investment Adviser registration for a company or LLP
A company or LLP that gives investment advice for a fee needs its own Investment Adviser registration under the SEBI (Investment Advisers) Regulations, 2013. BuildWright Consultants prepares the documents, files the application through the BSE portal and sets up the compliance calendar that starts once registration is granted.
- A company or LLP advising clients on securities or investment products for a fee.
- A startup or app that gives personalised investment advice, including one that uses AI tools. SEBI makes the registrant responsible for client data security and for advice based on AI output, and requires disclosure of the extent of AI use.
- An individual adviser whose clients exceed 300 at any point, or whose fees in a financial year exceed ₹3 crore. Whichever comes first, the adviser must apply to register as a non-individual adviser.
- A partnership firm registered as an Investment Adviser where no partner meets the regulation 7 criteria. Such a firm had to re-register as an LLP or company by 30 September 2025.
Principal officer and compliance officer
The company names a principal officer and a compliance officer. Each must meet the qualification and NISM certification that regulation 7 sets. The compliance officer holds NISM-Series-X-A, X-B or X-C, or NISM-Series-III-A.
NISM certification for associated persons
Persons associated with investment advice must also meet the regulation 7 qualification and certification. They do not need a registration of their own.
Deposit sized by client count
The deposit replaced net worth. It depends on the highest number of clients on any day of the previous financial year: ₹1 lakh up to 150 clients, ₹2 lakh for 151 to 300, ₹5 lakh for 301 to 1,000 and ₹10 lakh above that.
A functional website
Regulation 19A requires a functional website. It carries the compliance audit status, the disclosures and the AI-use disclosure.
The 300-client line
An individual adviser above 300 clients or ₹3 crore in fees applies for in-principle non-individual registration, which is valid for up to three months while the move completes. The old registration number may be kept afterwards.
SEBI application fee
₹10,000
SEBI registration fee
₹15,000
Every five years after
₹5,000
Our fee
₹60,000
The first three amounts are SEBI's fees for a body corporate, which includes an LLP, and are paid at actuals, separately from our fee. BSE also charges an administration fee, which is payable separately and is higher for companies and LLPs than for individuals. The prescribed deposit is paid separately too. We give you a written scope and the current BSE figure before you pay.
01 Eligibility check and documents
We check the company's activity, officers, qualifications and certificates against the regulations, then prepare the application and every declaration to the format BSE expects. BSE asks for letterhead, signature and date on every declaration, and for prescribed annexures exactly as issued.
02 BSE review rounds
BSE administers Investment Adviser applications for SEBI. It reviews the file and raises observations, and each round comes back to us for correction. On the Research Analyst applications we have seen, the rounds were about formatting and consistency.
03 SEBI review
BSE submits the application to SEBI, which reviews it and approves it. SEBI sets its own pace, so we do not promise a date. We answer any query that comes back.
04 BSE administration fee and deposit
After SEBI's approval notice the company pays BSE's administration fee and sends the payment proof. It also places the deposit, either as a fixed deposit receipt or as liquid or overnight mutual fund units with a lien marked in favour of BSE.
05 SEBI registration fee and number
BSE then generates the SEBI registration fee challan. The challan is valid for 48 hours, so the payment is ready before it is generated. The registration number issues once the fee is paid.
Document preparation
The application, officer particulars, certification proof and the company declarations, assembled to BSE's current format.
Filing and observations
Filing through the BSE portal and a corrected response to each round, so the file does not stall on formatting.
Post-approval steps
The administration fee, the deposit arrangement and the registration fee challan, in the order BSE needs them.
Compliance after registration
A calendar for the annual compliance audit, the adverse-findings filing due by 31 October, the client-segregation certificate and the website disclosures.
Product compliance review for investing apps
If the company delivers advice through an app, we can review the product against the adviser rules, covering risk profiling, consent, fee presentation and AI-use disclosure. It is an add-on that we quote separately.
Why do individual advisers move to a company?
An individual adviser whose clients exceed 300 at any point, or whose fees in a financial year exceed ₹3 crore, must apply for non-individual registration. Many form a company or LLP for this reason.
What does SEBI charge a company or LLP?
SEBI charges ₹10,000 as the application fee and ₹15,000 as the registration fee for the first five years, then ₹5,000 every five years. BSE's administration fee is payable separately and is higher for companies and LLPs than for individuals. We confirm the current BSE figure before you commit.
How long does it take?
SEBI does not commit to a timeline and BSE review rounds vary. We give you a realistic expectation once the application is filed.
Do our team members need their own registration?
No. The principal officer and persons associated with investment advice do not register separately, but they must meet the regulation 7 qualification and certification.
Registering a company as an Investment Adviser?
We'll start with an eligibility check against your company's activity, then take it from there.