FAQs for existing MFDs
Can MFD provide financial planning?
No, the same will be considered as investment advice for which you need to be an RIA.
Can I use words like advisor, wealth manager, planner or similar names along with my name or in my company name?
No, an MFD has to abstain from using any such nomenclatures which describes one as providing financial or investment advice.
I am an MFD and have done CFP; can I use the salutation CFP with my name?
Yes you can use the salutation but you cannot provide advice to clients.
Can I continue with insurance business and earn commissions?
Yes
Can I continue distributing services like estate planning, NPS, FD, loans etc and get commissions?
Yes
What is incidental advice?
MFD can sell a scheme to a client and in this process can check appropriateness of the scheme to the client by doing his risk profiling and explaining product features, facts and risks of the scheme to the client. Incidental activity is always considered as minor accompaniment to core activity.
Will financial planning, goal planning or doing asset allocation considered as incidental activity?
No, financial planning, goal planning or asset allocation are part of the definition of investment advice and will not be considered as incidental activity.
If I become RIA will I get trail commission on my existing AUM?
Yes you will continue to get trail commission on your existing business. If you become Individual IA then any new business has to be done in direct plan only and if you become a corporate RIA then you can do new business in regular plan or direct plan with segregation at a client level.
Can I be an individual ARN holder and also director in a company who applies for RIA or I am a director in a company who has ARN and I want to apply as individual RIA?
No, SEBI will look at this as conflict of interest.
Can anyone else in my family be an MFD and I can be an RIA or I am an MFD and anyone in the family becomes RIA?
Yes you can do that but same client cannot be serviced by both of family members at the same time. Client will either be in advisory or in distribution.
I am not a PG but want to become an RIA?
Apply under corporate RIA by appointing a principal officer who can be the head of the IA division.
Can my website have financial calculators?
Yes, as long as you are not advising the clients
Can I make videos on investments and send to clients?
Yes, as long as those videos does not have the advice angle in it.
I would like to have both RIA and ARN license to give both types of services to my clients?
Become a corporate RIA
But corporate RIA has large networth, license cost, compliance etc?
Collaborate amongst your peers or join infrastructure company.
What happens to my existing financial plans or goals that I have created for my clients?
You have to become RIA or use other RIA services to continue to service planned goals for your clients.
Can I rebalance client portfolios if market goes up or down or if asset allocation or risk profile of client changes?
No, you need to be an RIA to advice to clients. So either you become RIA or join another RIA or collaborate amongst peers.
What are the consequences of violation of SEBI guidelines?
AMFI or SEBI may suspend / blacklist ARN and that could jeopardize the trail commission and put the entire practice, brand at risk.
SEBI will not catch violations for years or SEBI or AMFI will not come to me or my office, I don’t fall into distributor due diligence, why should I worry?
MFDs falling under due diligence violations may be caught during year end SEBI audit, what if client or rival or competition or even current or ex disgruntled employee complaints? MFDs not falling under due diligence – Today you are not in due diligence, tomorrow? SRO will regulate MFDs, cost of noncompliance is much more than cost of compliance.
FAQs asked by existing investment advisers
If I cross 150 clients when do I have to register for non individual IA?
Within 6 months from the date of trigger
When are the new rules applicable?
October 1, 2020
I have portfolios with regular plans which I cannot switch to direct as they are locked in or has a cost to redeem, what should I do?
You can continue to have them in client portfolios, disclose to clients if any remuneration is received and record the rational.
Can I provide insurance or any other services like estate, bonds, PMS, P2P etc. and get commissions?
Yes, you can provide all such services wherever direct is not available but you need to record and disclose to client the remuneration and the rational
I am corporate RIA; can I charge for financial planning and earn commissions for same client?
No, client level segregation needs to be maintained (1 Client = 1 Client and 1 source of revenue)
How much time I have for complying with new guidelines qualification and networth?
3 years
Is limit of 150 clients are for family or individuals?
Individual clients for whom the investment process is undertaken
I want to charge fixed in amount for 1 time financial planning and % for monitoring, tracking the portfolio?
: Only 1 fee type can be charged either fixed or percentage of AUA
FAQs for MFDs thinking of becoming RIA
What is the cost of getting the IA license?
Rs.15000 for Individual or Rs. 5.25 lakh for non-individual with a validity of 5 years
What is the cost of compliance?
Generally, in the range of 2,000 - 5,000 per month depending upon your size of business
What all compliances have to be followed?
Maintaining all records like risk profiling, suitability, rational, agreements, disclosures, KYC documents, investment process etc. and follow code of conduct.
How much networth I need to have?
Individual Rs. 5 lakh and non-individual Rs.50 lakh
Licensing is one time or recurring?
Licensing needs to be renewed every 5 years, yearly audit
Is CFP sufficient to apply for RIA?
CFP will suffice the certification requirement; you need to still have qualification, experience and networth to suffice all criteria
Post graduate, networth, fee recovery, compliance are biggest roadblocks for becoming IA, what should I do?
Join an existing RIA or infrastructure company
Aakash Bansal is the founder and CEO of Mercury Platform Services. He can be reached at aakash.bansal@mercuryfinancial.co.in. The views expressed in this article are solely of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of Cafemutual.
