SEBI did not penalise most finfluencers: CFA study

Market regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) did not penalise 95.8% of influencers even though many of their activities showed warning signs or raised concerns, according to CFA Institute’s survey.

In a survey of 48 influencers and their behaviours in 2025, released in 2026, the CFA found SEBI’s action or involvement was found only in 6.25% of the fininfluencers.

Identifying several key issues surrounding how finfluencers offer investment advice and disclose their collaborations; it said some finfluencers do not explicitly mention paid collaborations. It is difficult for viewers to find out whether content has been paid for and by whom.

Some do not explicitly identify the brands involved in paid partnerships; instead, they refer to products or services in generic terms, which can obscure the commercial nature of the content, said the authors in the report titled “Clicks and Credibility 2.0: From Influence to Accountability, Disclosures, and Policy Impact.”

Finding that conflicts of interest are common; the survey said finfluencers might have their own business in related areas, such as wealth advisory, taxation, or providing legal help for start-ups and businesses. Such business activities may get a boost from the finfluencer activity by creating an impression of expertise. Potential and current clients/customers for those related businesses may be influenced as a result.

The sample showed that 62.5% disclosed their conflicts of interest, such as sponsored content or affiliate marketing. The remaining 37.5% did not. However, this does not necessarily indicate an undisclosed conflict, as some may not have had any commercial arrangements to disclose during the period reviewed.

Some finfluencers also organize offline sessions, often with followers, in which they suggest stocks and give advice, it said, adding some offer stock suggestions indirectly. “This observation has been based on anecdotal evidence around finfluencer activity and not specifically related to the sample set in this study,” it said.

Although the share of SEBI registered finfluencers increased modestly, it remains firmly in the minority, it said. Moreover, the proportion of finfluencers providing stock recommendations remains unchanged at approximately one-third, indicating that the underlying gap between regulated activity and current practice persists, according to the survey.

Highlighting the “wide gap” between how many finfluencers are SEBI-registered and how many offer explicit stock recommendations; it said in the total sample, only three 6.3% are SEBI-registered; the remaining 45 (93.7%) are not registered,

Of the 16 finfluencers in the sample whose content the survey identifies as explicit stock recommendations, only two of these are SEBI-registered; implying that 14 of those finfluencers are making explicit investment recommendations that may warrant further examination from the regulator.

Regulations had worked well on some grounds.  More than 72% of the surveyed influencers mentioned investment norms and nearly 67% of them were not giving recommendations. 

Finding that the investing landscape is undergoing a structural shift, marked by the rapid rise of finfluencers who are increasingly shaping how retail investors perceive and evaluate investment decisions; it recommended investors to verify credentials, understand the education versus advice distinction, use regulated investment platform and be cautious of terminology.