SEBI prepares an investor charter

SEBI prepares an investor charter

Asks Alternative Investment Funds for disclosure of complaints

The market regulator, the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has asked all registered Alternative Investment Funds (AIFs) for publishing investor charter and disclosure of complaints. This has been done to provide relevant information to investors about the various activities pertaining to AIF.

The investor charter is a brief document containing details of services provided, grievance redressal mechanism and responsibilities of the investors. These would be carried out in a dedicated space in a simple language that is easy to understand.

The AIFs are advised to take necessary steps to bring the investor charter to the notice of their investors. In the case of new schemes, it is to be announced in the Private Placement Memorandum (PPM), whereas for the existing schemes, as a one-time measure, it has to be disclosed on the registered e-mail of the investor.

For further transparency, the data on investor complaints received against AIFs on schemes and redressal status is to be disclosed by all AIFs. These disclosure requirements are in addition to the existing ones under various regulations, circulars and directions, issued by SEBI.

The provisions would be effective from 1 January 2022.