SEBI’s clampdown on finfluencers, cannot use live stock market data in educational content

SEBI has tightened regulations on financial influencers, barring the use of live stock market data in educational content. Under the new rule, only stock prices with a three-month lag can be used, effectively curbing real-time trading tips disguised as education.

In a circular, SEBI stated, “A person engaged solely in education shall mean that such person is not engaged in any of the two prohibited activities. Such person should not be using the market price data of the preceding three months to speak/talk/display the name of any security, including using any code name of the security in his/her talk/speech, video, ticker, screen share, etc., indicating the future price, advice, or recommendation related to security or securities.”

Additionally, SEBI reiterated that brokers, mutual funds, investment advisers, exchanges, and other market participants “cannot be associated” with unregistered influencers, either directly or indirectly. The new regulations also bring mutual fund distributors, authorized persons, portfolio management services distributors, and alternative investment fund distributors under SEBI’s oversight, making them responsible for compliance.

As per the clarification, SEBI-registered intermediaries are prohibited from engaging with unregistered influencers in any form, including:

Transactions involving money or money’s worth

• Referral of clients
• Interaction of IT systems
• Joint marketing or promotional activities

SEBI had initially restricted interactions between regulated entities and unregistered influencers in an October 2024 circular. Amit Trivedi, a trainer and author at Osat Knowledge, welcomed the move, emphasizing that finfluencers should be educators, not advisors, as they are not regulated.

Many influencers rely heavily on live data to offer stock tips. With this restriction, they may struggle to retain subscribers and students who previously followed them for real-time market insights.