Explainers
Research Analyst or Investment Adviser — which one you actually need
Two different SEBI registrations doing two different jobs. Most people asking for one want the other.
These are separate registrations under separate regulations, and the distinction is not bureaucratic — it decides what the person is permitted to say to you.
A Research Analyst
Publishes research on securities. The work is about the security: what the business is, what it earns, what it appears to be worth, and on what evidence. The same report goes to every subscriber. It does not take account of who you are, and it is not permitted to.
An Investment Adviser
Advises you. Takes your income, your liabilities, your taxes, your goals and your tolerance for loss, and recommends what you personally should do. That is a different registration with different obligations, including a formal suitability assessment.
How to tell which you need
Ask what question you are actually trying to answer.
- "Is this company any good, and is the price sensible?" — that is research.
- "Given my salary, my home loan and my children's fees, how much should I have in equities at all?" — that is advice, and no Research Analyst may answer it.
The honest consequence
A great many people who subscribe to research would be better served by an adviser, and a research service that tells you otherwise is selling. Research is useful once you have already settled how much you are investing and for how long. It is not a substitute for having settled those things.
Wisdom Investments is a Research Analyst, not an Investment Adviser. Nothing published here is personalised advice, and no one here may tell you what to do with your money given your circumstances. If that is what you need, engage a SEBI-registered Investment Adviser.
Why this explainer exists. It sets the boundary of what this service is allowed to do for you, which is the most common misunderstanding a prospective subscriber arrives with.
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