If you’re an active investor, or even someone who likes to keep in touch with the latest investment trends, you would have heard about SEBI’s directive asking investors to deal only with SEBI Registered Investment Advisers (RIAs) and to ensure that they pay the RIAs only through advisory fees. This has sparked a bit of a debate because investors are wondering whether they should really be asked to pay for investment advice.
It’s not that we’re strangers to paying fees for advice; we all pay our doctors, lawyers, accountants for their advice and services. With investment advice though, it may seem like we’re already getting it free of cost. Bank relationship managers, insurance and mutual fund agents, numerous mutual fund or insurance awareness websites, expert articles online, are all giving investment advice for free. So why should we now be asked to pay for it?
