Sebi bars 4 firms from carrying out investment advisory services

Markets regulator Sebi on Tuesday barred as many as four entities -- 3M Team Research, Samrat Trades, Core Investment and Core Group -- from carrying out investment advisory services till further orders.

The entities have been prohibited for several reasons, including providing investment advisory services without obtaining necessary registration, promising unrealistic assured return to investors and providing misleading information to Sebi while applying for registration as an investment adviser, among others.

With regard to 3M Team Research, the regulator, prima facie, found that entity held itself out as portfolio manager, provided portfolio management services to clients and charged fee from such services without obtaining the necessary regulator approval.

It also offered unrealistic returns to its clients.

Regarding Core Investment and Core Group, Sebi "prima facie" noted that the firms, apart from holding out as investment adviser and research analyst, falsely represented themselves as registered intermediary on their website to the general public who can deal in various fields of securities markets public.

Similarly, in the matter of Samrat Trades, Sebi noted that the firm's proprietor, Altamash Sheikh had carried out unregistered investment advisory services through Proficient Research and prima facie submitted false information to Sebi while applying for registration and concealed the fact that it was acting as an investment advisor prior to applying for registration.

"There is an urgent need to stop the investment advisory activities of the investment adviser," Sebi said in the orders.

In similarly worded orders, the regulator said the firms "shall cease and desist from undertaking the activity of investment advisory services, including the activity of acting and representing through any media (physical or digital) as an investment advisor, directly or indirectly, till further orders."