How to Start a Research Analyst Practice in India (2026)
You know the markets. You want to turn that into a registered practice instead of a Telegram channel. Good instinct, and a much safer one. Here is the path from qualification to your first paying client, the tooling that keeps a solo practice lean, and how to grow without tripping the advertisement code.
Note: General information, not legal or registration advice. Confirm the current eligibility, fees and process against SEBI and RAASB before you apply.
The six steps
Get certified
Pass the NISM Series XV Research Analyst certification. It is the gating qualification and stays valid for three years.
Register with SEBI
Apply through RAASB, pay the registration fee, and put the required deposit in place, marked as lien in favour of RAASB.
Set up compliance from day one
Client agreement and MITC templates, a KYC flow, the investor charter and grievance links on your site, and a record-keeping system.
Pick your tooling
A filings tracker, a research and audit-trail tool, and a delivery channel. Keep it lean; you can run a 25-client practice on a small stack.
Price within the cap
Set a fee inside the โน1,51,000 per family per year cap for individual and HUF clients, and a clear billing cycle.
Find clients, compliantly
Publish useful research and education with your registration displayed and the right disclaimers. Grow a list; convert with proof, not promises.
The tooling a solo practice actually needs
You do not need an enterprise stack to run 25 clients. You need three things: a way to see the BSE and NSE filings that affect your clients, a way to turn a filing into a compliant note and keep an audit trail, and a way to deliver it. Aktai covers that middle and the delivery: it surfaces the filings weighted by client exposure, drafts a factual note in seconds, sends it white-label over WhatsApp and email, and hashes every send into a five-year Regulation 25 audit trail. For the rest of the stack, see the solo RA tech stack.
Get record-keeping right from client one
The mistake new RAs make is treating compliance as something to tidy up later. The records you need in an audit are the ones you create every day. Set up a tamper-evident archive of your research from your very first client, and the audit, the inspection and any future dispute are all far easier. It costs nothing extra to do it from the start and a great deal to reconstruct it after the fact.
FAQ
What qualifications do I need to become a Research Analyst?
A relevant qualification and the NISM Series XV Research Analyst certification. You then register with SEBI through RAASB, maintain the deposit based on your client count, and meet the ongoing compliance obligations. The NISM certification is the gating exam for most applicants.
How much does it cost to set up?
Budget for the NISM exam, the SEBI registration fee, the deposit (from 1 lakh rupees depending on client count), and your tooling. The tooling for a solo practice, filings tracking, a research and audit-trail tool, and delivery, runs a few thousand rupees a month, far less than the fee revenue from even a handful of clients.
How do I find clients without breaking SEBI rules?
Content and referrals, inside the advertisement code. Publish genuinely useful research and education with your registration displayed and the required disclaimers, no assured returns and no superlatives. A compliant email list and a clean social presence convert better over time than a stream of hype that risks enforcement.
What should I get right from day one?
Record-keeping. The single thing that turns a routine audit into a problem is being unable to show what you sent each client and when. Set up a tamper-evident archive of your research from your first client, not your fiftieth.