Sebi Removes 70,000 Misleading Social Media Posts

Mon, 24 March 2025

10:34

The Securities and Exchange Board of India has removed over 70,000 misleading online posts and accounts since October 2024 as it collaborated with social media platforms to curb misinformation, the regulator's whole-time member Ananth Narayan said on Friday.

The crackdown reflects Sebi's intensified efforts over the year to regulate finfluencers, stock recommendations, and deceptive content online.

"A common worry for all of us is the menace of unregistered investment advisors/research analysts, who are cashing on the rising interest in investments," he said while addressing the Association of Registered Investment Advisors (ARIA) summit.

Narayan said Sebi's proposal to use UPI 'Payright' handle will enable investors to easily identify registered entities and protect them from fraudsters. He also revealed plans for a nationwide survey to shape the regulator's investor outreach strategy.

Sebi aims to leverage the accredited investor model to identify risk-aware and capable investors.

He called for ongoing dialogue between stakeholders and Sebi to review overlaps among investment advisors, non-discretionary portfolio management services, mutual fund distributors, and incidental advice.

Narayan encouraged ARIA to evolve into a quasi-self-regulatory organisation, while emphasising Sebi's commitment to attracting foreign portfolio investor (FPI) flows.

"The recent trend of higher FPI debt flows than equity (on the back of India's inclusion into global debt indices) has perhaps helped improve the portfolio mix a little bit. For a growing country like ours, this is not a bad outcome. It puts the onus on us to continue to deliver on sustained growth, stable macros, and governance," he said.

As of February 2025, FPIs held Rs 62 trillion in equity and Rs 5.9 trillion in debt.

Narayan also stressed the need for an adequate supply of new securities to meet investor demand, ensuring stable markets and sustained capital formation.

-- Khushboo Tiwari, Business Standard

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