Why ‘Finfluencers’ Will Always Find Addicts

In May, India’s market watchdog acted against a self-described options trader, allegedly for selling investment advice via the Telegram messaging app without the requisite registration with the regulator. As part of the settlement, P R Sundar, his wife, and their jointly controlled firm agreed to a one-year ban on buying or selling securities, without admitting or denying that they had broken any laws. They also wrote a disgorgement check of more than $700,000, including interest — a tidy sum for a former math teacher in Chennai.

If the Securities and Exchange Board of India had hoped that its action would produce a chilling effect across the country’s fast-growing horde of unregulated financial influencers, that didn’t happen. Which is why the Indian regulator has now decided to go beyond individuals. In a recently circulated consultation paper, it vowed to “disrupt the revenue model” of “finfluencers” by forcing all regulated entities to cut ties with them.