Under the SEBI Investment Adviser Regulations 2013, a Registered Investment Adviser (RIA) owes a fiduciary duty to every client — a legally binding obligation to place your financial interest above their own. When you engage a SEBI-registered RIA for portfolio management on Finamize, you are choosing a professional prohibited from receiving compensation from AMCs, insurance companies, or PMS providers.

The fee-only model is the cornerstone of conflict-free advice. Unlike mutual fund distributors who earn trail commissions of 0.5-1.5% annually from AMCs, an RIA charges you directly — either a flat fee capped at Rs 1.25 lakh per annum per family or up to 2.5% of assets under advice. Every recommendation is driven solely by what is optimal for your portfolio. Direct plans, which your RIA recommends, have lower expense ratios that compound significantly over 10-20 years.

Finamize independently verifies every RIA's SEBI registration before they can offer services. You can check registration numbers, view fee structures, compare advisory approaches, and read client reviews. Portfolio recommendations, review notes, and rebalancing alerts are all tracked within your dashboard for complete transparency.