Sebi eases call-recording mandate for research analysts dealing with funds

Sebi eases call-recording norms for research analysts to reduce compliance burden

Market regulator Sebi on Friday eased the mandatory requirement for research analysts to maintain call recordings of their interactions with institutional investors to reduce compliance burden and improve ease of doing business.

In a circular, the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) said research analysts and entities will no longer be mandatorily required to maintain call recordings of interactions with institutional investors.

However, they will continue to be required to maintain records of their interactions with all clients, including prospective clients, through means such as signed physical records, emails, SMS messages, call recordings or any other legally verifiable method.

The records are required to be maintained for five years. In cases where a dispute has been raised, the records will have to be preserved until its resolution. They also need to be retained if Sebi directs that specific records be preserved.

The regulator clarified that call recordings are not required when client interactions take place through channels such as email, where a digital footprint is available.

"RA shall maintain records of interactions, with all clients including prospective clients (before onboarding), where any conversation related to its services has taken place, inter alia, in the form of physical record written and signed by client; call recordings; email from registered email ID; record of SMS messages and any other legally verifiable record," Sebi said.

This is subject to the requirement to maintain call recordings of interactions with clients, which are institutional investors shall not be mandatory, it added.

The new provisions will come into effect from November 8. Last month, Sebi board approved a proposal in this regard.

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