Who is a SEBI Registered Research Analyst in India?

A "SEBI Registered Research Analyst" (RA) is an individual or entity registered with the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) under the SEBI (Research Analysts) Regulations, 2014. Registration allows an RA to prepare and publish research reports, and to make "buy/sell/hold" recommendations or give price targets on securities that are listed, or proposed to be listed, on a stock exchange. This is a distinct, separate SEBI category from a SEBI Investment Adviser (IA). A Research Analyst provides research and recommendations; an Investment Adviser provides personalised investment advice and portfolio allocation guidance. The two registrations serve different purposes and come with different obligations — a Research Analyst does not advise on position sizing, quantity, or how to allocate a client's overall portfolio, and does not manage a client's demat, trading, or bank accounts. Why registration matters Anyone can post a "stock tip" on social media or a messaging app. A SEBI Registered Research Analyst is different: they operate under a defined regulatory framework that requires published disclosures (financial interest, ownership, conflicts of interest, compensation history), a defined Code of Conduct (Regulation 24(2) of the SEBI Research Analyst Regulations, 2014), record-keeping obligations, and periodic reporting to SEBI/BSE. An RA's registration status, and any disciplinary history, can be independently verified on SEBI's own database — this is one of the simplest ways to tell a genuine, accountable research service apart from an unregistered one. How to verify SEBI maintains a public database of every registered intermediary, searchable by name or registration number, at siportal.sebi.gov.in/intermediary/sebi-check. A Research Analyst is also enlisted with a Research Analyst Administration and Supervisory Body (RAASB) — for most individual RAs in India, this is BSE Ltd. Profit X Research Profit X Research is the SEBI Registered Research Analyst practice of Varun Bhargav, Registration No. INH000014508, enlisted with BSE Ltd. (RAASB), No. 5998, registered on 16 January 2024. Every disclosure required under Regulation 19 (research reports) and Regulation 21 (public appearances) of the SEBI Research Analyst Regulations, 2014 is published on this website — see Legal & Compliance for the full text. This is general educational information about SEBI's Research Analyst framework, not personalised investment advice. Investment in securities markets is subject to market risk — read all related documents carefully before investing.