As you may know, freefincal has maintained a curated list of fee-only SEBI-registered advisors since 2014. In Sep 2017, many of those advisors formed an informal association – fee-only India (FOI), which has now grown bigger. A fee-only advisor does not get any commission or remuneration from any product manufacturer (insurers, mutual funds etc.). They work…

This article is an opinion piece on how to make affordable financial advice readily available in India. Financial advice here refers to financial advice without any conflict of interest. Or, in other words, fiduciary financial advice. That is advice that only has the best interests of the advice seeker in mind. Having been around this…

In this article, SEBI-registered fee-only financial planner Swapnil Kendhe explains why he believes good financial planning advice does not scale. About the author: Swapnil is a SEBI Registered Investment Advisor and part of my fee-only financial planners’ list. You can learn more about him and his service via his website, Vivektaru. In the recently conducted…

In this article, Melvin Joseph, one of India’s first fee-only financial planners and SEBI-registered investment advisors, shares his experiences over a 12-year career. While I was trying to build a list of fee-only financial planners in 2013, it was by sheer chance that I encountered Melvin Joseph’s post on Facebook. Someone had asked him about mutual…

A reader who prefers anonymity asks, “I would like to become a SEBI registered fee-only advisor. However many people in financial services have discouraged me. They either ask me to do something else or become a commission-based advisor or charge a fee based on the AUM of the client. I find these models unappealing. I…

Asan Ideas for Wealth (AIFW) is a personal finance group on Facebook. It is on the threshold of a major milestone – one lakh members. In this article, we trace the growth of its membership and how it has helped members manage money better. The group is owned by its sole admin – the one…

HourlyFee.org is the new initiative by SEBI Registered Investment Advisor, Avinash Luthria for US-based NRIs to find a financial planner free from conflict of interest. Avinash is the first Indian hourly fee financial planner (explained below). In this article, he explains in detail about the new website. About the author:  Avinash Luthria is Founder, Hourly-Fee Financial…

This article discusses why SEBI needs to categorize investment advisors like mutual funds as there is considerable confusion among investors. It has been almost nine years since the SEBI investment advisor regulations came into force. In essence, the rules mean that a person or entity has to be registered with SEBI to provide investment advice…

We had recently surveyed clients of SEBI registered fee-only investment advisors and obtained 685 responses. These are the results and a discussion of key learnings. We thank everyone who has participated in this survey. Your contribution will make a big difference in improving fee-only advisor (FOA) services and client-advisor relations. Two types of questions were…

SEBI has recently announced several important changes to its investment advisor regulations. Many freefincal readers and Facebook group Asan Ideas for Wealth members have played a role in influencing these changes. SEBI registered investment advisor Avinash Luthria explains what these changes are and how it would impact you.

SEBI has taken big steps to remove the conflict of interest in advisors. Thank you to all those who write to SEBI opposing key changes in their consultation paper!