How to check whether a research analyst is real

India has a large and profitable industry of people selling stock calls without registration. These checks take about five minutes and are worth doing on anyone, this service included.

1. Find the registration number, then verify it independently

A Research Analyst's registration number begins INH. It should be on every page, not buried in a footer on one. Then check it against SEBI's own list — not against the website's claim about itself. A number printed on a website is a typeface, not a fact.

2. Look for the grievance ladder

There must be a named grievance officer with a real contact, plus links to SEBI SCORES and SMART ODR. A service whose only escalation route is the same email address that sold you the subscription has no escalation route.

3. Read the complaint data

Registered analysts must publish monthly complaint figures in SEBI's format. Check the arithmetic reconciles. It is remarkable how often it does not, and a table that does not add up tells you what the compliance function is like.

4. Then apply the sniff test

Any of these should end the conversation:

• A stated accuracy percentage or win rate. Past performance may not be advertised at all unless it has been verified by SEBI's designated verification agency, and public display is restricted even then.
• Assured, guaranteed, minimum or "risk-free" returns. Prohibited outright.
• Profit-and-loss screenshots as marketing.
• Pressure: limited seats, price rising tonight, a closing offer.
• Fees demanded in cash, or into a personal account.
• A request for your demat credentials or trading password. No research analyst ever needs these. Nobody legitimate ever needs these.

Everything this service publishes about itself sits on the disclosures page, in full and without an account.

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Why this explainer exists. A service that publishes the method for auditing it is making the one claim it can actually substantiate.