SEBI Research Analyst Software Buying Guide (2026): Tools Compared
This is a guide to software tools research analysts use to run their practice, not a directory of Research Analysts to hire or subscribe to. If you are an investor looking for a SEBI-registered Research Analyst, check SEBI's public register instead. Most independent SEBI Research Analysts in India use a combination of Excel, manual BSE portal checks, and personal WhatsApp to run their practice. This works up to a point. Beyond 15 clients or 20 covered stocks, the gaps in filing coverage and the compliance exposure from non-tamper-evident records start to matter. This guide covers the four categories of tool available and what each one actually does.
Disclosure: This page is written by the Aktai team. Aktai for Research Analysts is one of the products covered here. We have tried to be straightforward about where it fits and where it does not. Nothing here is legal or compliance advice.
The software problem for independent SEBI RAs
There are approximately 1,400 SEBI-registered Research Analysts in India. The majority are solo practitioners or small partnerships covering 10 to 60 stocks, serving anywhere from 20 to 500 clients. Their software needs are specific: filing alerts filtered to coverage stocks, a compliant record-keeping system for Regulation 25, and a way to deliver research to clients on WhatsApp without creating a compliance gap.
Institutional tools are built for bank desks with 10-person teams and โน20-lakh data budgets. Consumer apps are built for retail investors tracking their own portfolio. Independent RAs fall in between, and until recently there was nothing designed for them.
What to look for in RA software
Before comparing tools, here are the six capabilities that matter for a SEBI-registered RA. Any tool evaluation should start here.
BSE/NSE filing alerts
Alerts within minutes of a material announcement on stocks in your coverage universe. Manual portal checking is not scalable beyond 10 stocks.
Regulation 25 audit trail
Every research note and client communication logged with a tamper-evident timestamp and client ID. A plain WhatsApp history does not satisfy this.
Client portfolio view
See which clients hold which stocks. When a filing drops, you need to know immediately which clients it affects.
WhatsApp delivery
Most Indian clients read messages on WhatsApp, not email. A tool that delivers to WhatsApp using the official Business API (not a personal number) covers the last mile.
CSV export for SEBI inspection
When SEBI requests records, you need to produce them quickly. A CSV export of timestamped, hashed records satisfies an inspection request without scrambling through old chat threads.
Client agreement tracking
SEBI requires a signed agreement with every client before research is provided. Tracking which clients have signed and when is a basic but often overlooked requirement.
Category-by-category comparison
Four categories of software are used by SEBI RAs today. Here is an honest breakdown of each.
The Regulation 25 gap in existing tools
This is worth stating plainly. No general-purpose tool (not Excel, not Gmail, not WhatsApp, not Notion) satisfies Regulation 25 on its own. They were not built for SEBI's record-keeping requirements.
Regulation 25 requires that records be maintained in a manner that prevents subsequent modification. That is a specific technical requirement. It means the record must have a timestamp that was set at the moment of creation, and the record must be verifiably unchanged since then. A file you can edit, a message you can delete, or a note with a mutable timestamp does not satisfy it.
SEBI inspections of individual RAs have increased since 2022. Record-keeping deficiencies are the most common finding. The practical risk is a show-cause notice, a fine, and in repeat cases, suspension of the RA certificate.
Purpose-built for SEBI RAs
Aktai for Research Analysts
Aktai for Research Analysts combines three things that independent SEBI RAs need and cannot find in a single tool elsewhere:
- BSE/NSE filing alerts filtered to each client's portfolio, delivered to WhatsApp or Telegram within 90 seconds of publication.
- Regulation 25 tamper-evident logging: every note is SHA-256 hashed at send time and stored with a client ID and timestamp that cannot be altered.
- CSV export in a format structured for SEBI inspection requests, covering the full 5-year retention window.
How most RAs currently cobble it together
A typical setup for an independent RA with 50 clients looks like this: BSE corporate announcements bookmarked in a browser tab, checked once or twice a day. Research notes drafted in Google Docs. Client communication via personal WhatsApp. A spreadsheet tracking which client received which note. Annual compliance report filed manually.
This works at small scale. The problems appear when:
- A material announcement drops on a Friday evening and you miss it until Monday. A client who holds that stock acts on stale information.
- SEBI requests records for a specific client communication from 18 months ago. You search through WhatsApp history, find the chat has been cleared, and have no record to produce.
- You grow to 150 clients. Tracking which of them holds HDFC Bank vs. ICICI Bank vs. Bajaj Finance, and which ones need a note on the RBI circular that just dropped, becomes a manual full-time job.
FAQ
What software do SEBI-registered Research Analysts use?
Most independent SEBI RAs in India rely on a patchwork of tools: Excel or Google Sheets for client lists, a combination of BSE and NSE portals for filing lookups, WhatsApp for client communication, and nothing purpose-built for Regulation 25 record keeping. Larger RAs may use Bloomberg or Refinitiv for data but these cost โน15โ25 lakh per year and are built for institutional desks. In 2026, purpose-built tools for independent RAs are emerging, with Aktai for Research Analysts being one of the first to combine BSE filing alerts, client portfolio tracking, and tamper-evident Regulation 25 logging in a single product.
Is Excel enough for SEBI Research Analyst compliance?
Excel is not a compliant Regulation 25 record-keeping system for two reasons. First, Excel files are not tamper-evident: a row can be edited or deleted after the fact with no audit trail. Second, SEBI inspectors ask for records that demonstrate the original timestamp of each recommendation. An Excel file with a "Last Modified" date of last Tuesday does not demonstrate when a cell was first entered. SEBI requires tamper-proof records, which means either a purpose-built logging system or a hash-and-timestamp approach that would need external implementation.
What is Regulation 25 compliance software?
Regulation 25 of the SEBI (Research Analysts) Regulations, 2014 requires every registered RA to maintain all research reports, client communications, and recommendations for 5 years in a manner that prevents tampering. Regulation 25 compliance software automates this: it captures each note or recommendation at the moment it is sent, applies a cryptographic hash and timestamp, ties the record to a client ID, and stores it in a way that SEBI inspectors can verify was not modified after the fact. Aktai for Research Analysts implements SHA-256 hashing at send time and generates a CSV export compatible with SEBI inspection requests.
How do SEBI Research Analysts track BSE and NSE filings?
Most independent RAs check BSE and NSE portals manually, either by visiting the corporate filings section or by running ad hoc searches. This is time-consuming when you cover 20โ50 stocks across multiple clients. The alternative is a filing alert system that monitors the BSE NEAPS feed automatically and sends a notification the moment a material announcement is published for a stock in your coverage universe. Aktai delivers these alerts to WhatsApp or Telegram within 90 seconds of NEAPS publication, filtered to the symbols in your client portfolios.
Can SEBI Research Analysts send research notes on WhatsApp?
Yes, WhatsApp is a permitted communication channel for SEBI Research Analysts, but the compliance requirement is that every communication sent to a client must be logged and retained for 5 years under Regulation 25. Sending a note via personal WhatsApp with no record-keeping mechanism is the risk: the message may be deleted, the phone replaced, or the chat cleared. Purpose-built tools that route research delivery through a logged channel resolve this. Aktai for Research Analysts delivers notes to clients via WhatsApp while simultaneously creating a tamper-evident log entry timestamped at the moment of send.