What Investment Adviser Details Should Be Displayed on a Website or App?

Investors who know what investment adviser website disclosures should contain can conduct systematic pre-subscription due diligence in minutes — checking the website for displayed information and verifying its accuracy against SEBI's public database before committing to any advisory service.

This guide provides a practical checklist of investment adviser website disclosures, explains where each should be displayed and provides a step-by-step verification approach for investors.

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Required Website Display: Registration Details

Investment adviser website disclosures must include the entity's SEBI registration number displayed prominently — typically in the website header, footer or a dedicated legal/disclosures page. The registration number should be accompanied by: the registration category (Investment Adviser or Research Analyst), the registration validity period (start date and expiry date), the name and designation of the principal officer and the registered office address of the entity. These five elements together allow an investor to conduct complete primary verification at sebi.gov.in.

Required Website Display: SEBI Office Contact

Investment adviser website disclosures must also include the contact details of the relevant SEBI regional or local office under whose jurisdiction the entity falls. This information helps investors escalate grievances that cannot be resolved through the entity's internal process or SEBI SCORES. An investor who knows the relevant SEBI office contact can directly approach the regulator with documented complaints if the advisory entity's internal resolution process fails.

Required Disclosure	Where It Should Appear	Verification Step
SEBI registration number	Header, footer or legal page	Verify at sebi.gov.in intermediary register
Registration category	Alongside registration number	Confirm IA vs RA designation
Registration validity	Disclosure or legal page	Check expiry date is in the future
Principal officer name	Disclosure or about page	Match against SEBI register
Investor charter	Accessible page or download	Check it covers rights and grievance process

The Investor Charter Display Requirement

SEBI requires every registered adviser to display or link to the investor charter on their website. The investor charter is not a generic document — it should specifically state investor rights applicable to that category of regulated entity, the adviser's obligations toward clients and the step-by-step grievance redressal process including contact details for the internal compliance officer. Investment adviser website disclosures that do not include an accessible investor charter are missing a mandatory SEBI compliance element.

How to Verify Investment Adviser Website Disclosures

A practical verification approach for investment adviser website disclosures: navigate to the platform's website homepage and check for a visible SEBI registration number in the header or footer. Follow any "legal" or "disclosures" link to find the disclosure document. Look for the registration category, validity period, principal officer name and SEBI regional office contact. Take the registration number and verify it at sebi.gov.in — search the intermediary register for the exact number, confirm the entity name matches the website entity, confirm the registration category matches (IA or RA) and confirm the registration is currently active. Platforms like Univest (SEBI RA Reg. No. INH000013776) display their registration details and disclosure documents on their official website. Investors can apply this verification approach to any advisory platform before subscribing.

Verify Univest's SEBI Registration and Website Disclosures Before Starting Your Advisory Journey

Download the Univest iOS App or Univest Android App to conduct website disclosure due diligence before subscribing to any SEBI-registered advisory. The investment adviser website disclosures framework discussed here applies throughout.

Conclusion

Investment adviser website disclosures must include the SEBI registration number, registration category, registration validity period, principal officer name, registered office address, relevant SEBI regional office contact and an accessible investor charter. These disclosures should be visible without login. Investors should verify the displayed registration number at sebi.gov.in by confirming the entity name, registration category and current active status match the website information before committing to any advisory subscription.

FAQs

What should be displayed on an investment adviser's website?

Ans. An investment adviser's website must display: the SEBI registration number, the registration category (Investment Adviser or Research Analyst), the registration validity period (start and expiry dates), the principal officer's name, the registered office address, the relevant SEBI regional office contact details and an accessible investor charter covering investor rights and the grievance redressal process. The investment adviser website disclosures framework discussed here applies throughout.

Where on a website should SEBI registration details appear?

Ans. SEBI registration details should appear on the homepage (header or footer) or on an immediately accessible legal/disclosures page reachable without login. Registration details buried behind a paywall or visible only after subscription do not provide the pre-subscription due diligence information that SEBI's disclosure framework is intended to deliver. Investors should expect to find registration details without having to contact the service. The investment adviser website disclosures framework discussed here applies throughout.

How do I verify an investment adviser's registration on SEBI's website?

Ans. Navigate to sebi.gov.in and use the 'Market Intermediaries' or 'Intermediary/Market Infrastructure Institutions' search function. Enter the registration number displayed on the advisory platform's website. Verify that: the registration number matches the entity name shown on the advisory website, the registration category (IA or RA) matches the advisory service's description of its regulatory status and the registration status shows 'active' rather than 'cancelled' or 'suspended'. The investment adviser website disclosures framework discussed here applies throughout.

What is the investor charter and why must it be displayed?

Ans. The investor charter is a SEBI-mandated document summarising investor rights, the adviser's obligations toward clients and the step-by-step grievance redressal process. SEBI requires all registered advisers to publish and maintain the investor charter on their official website. The charter gives investors a reference document for their rights and for the grievance escalation process without having to search through the full client agreement.

What if an advisory platform's SEBI registration is expired or not listed?

Ans. If verification at sebi.gov.in shows the registration is expired, the entity should not currently be providing advisory services under that registration. If the registration number returns no results or matches a different entity name, the website information may be incorrect or the platform may be using a registration number that does not correspond to its actual entity. In either case, do not subscribe until the discrepancy is resolved by the advisory service with official documentation.

Does a visible SEBI registration number guarantee the advisory service is compliant?

Ans. No. A visible registration number confirms the entity has been registered with SEBI and is subject to regulatory oversight — it does not guarantee ongoing compliance in every aspect of the service delivery. Investors should review the full investment adviser website disclosures checklist, verify the registration number at sebi.gov.in and assess the completeness of other mandatory disclosures (fee structure, conflict of interest, investor charter) before relying on registration status alone as a quality indicator.