Market regulator SEBI releases dos and don'ts of investing, says 'know the risks'

New Delhi: The investor charter that was proposed in the Union Budget 2021-2022 with the aim of protecting investors from misselling of financial products, was released by the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) on November 17, 2021.

This charter (for investors in the Indian securities market) includes the rights and responsibilities of investors, and dos and don'ts of investing in the securities market.

The charter has been published to protect the "interests of investors by enabling them to understand the risks involved and invest in a fair, transparent, secure market, and to get services in a timely and efficient manner".

It will also ensure that SEBI-registered intermediaries/ regulated entities adhere to their investor charters, including the grievance redressal mechanism.

The market regulator has created a separate investor charter for stock exchanges, clearing corporations and depositories; entities which together are known as market infrastructure institutions (MIIs).

Further, the investor charter will ensure that causes of investor grievances are analysed on a periodic basis and appropriate policy amendments are made if required.

As per the investor charter, investors have the right to:

Get fair and equitable treatment.

Expect redressal of investor grievances filed in SCORES (Sebi Complaints Redress System) in a timebound manner.

Get quality services from SEBI-recognised market infrastructure institutions and SEBI-registered intermediaries/ regulated entities/ asset management companies.

Investors have the responsibility to:

Deal with SEBI-recognised market infrastructure institutions and SEBI-registered intermediaries/ regulated entities only.

Update their contact details such as address, mobile number, email id, nomination and other KYC details in case of any changes.

Ensure grievances are taken up by concerned entities within a stipulated period of time.

Ensure that their accounts are operated only for their own benefit.

Dos for investors:

Read and understand documents carefully before investing.

Know about investor grievance-redressal mechanism.

Know the risks involved before investing.

Keep track of account statements and bring to notice of concerned stock exchange/ intermediary/ AMC any discrepancy that may be noted.

Know about various fees, charges, margins, premiums, etc., involved in the transactions.

Preserve relevant transaction-related documents.

Don’ts for investors:

Don’t make payments in cash while making any investment in the securities market, beyond the prescribed limit.

Don’t share critical information such as account details and passwords with anyone.