Sharan Hegde’s The 1% Club Gets RIA Licence From SEBI

Sharan Hegde’s The 1% Club Gets RIA Licence From SEBI

SUMMARY

The 1% Club has secured registered investment adviser (RIA) licence from the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI)

The licence will allow the startup to offer personalised one-on-one financial planning services to its members

The startup claims that its “personal CFO division” has a team of 40 people and is managing INR 750 Cr in assets under advisory

Finfluencer Sharan Hegde’s financial edtech platform The 1% Club has secured registered investment adviser (RIA) licence from the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI). 

The licence will allow the startup to offer personalised one-on-one financial planning services to its members, The 1% Club said in a statement.

The startup claims that its “personal CFO division” has a team of 40 people and is managing INR 750 Cr in assets under advisory (AUA). 

The startup is now eyeing to expand to major Indian cities. According to The 1% Club, it is planning to capture about 5-10% of India’s need of a million financial advisors in the next decade. 

“At 1% Club, we want to build trust, credibility, and a lasting legacy for India’s rising middle class. While the journey ahead will be tough, we are prepared to lead with integrity, scale nationally, and meet the evolving financial needs of millions. This is just the beginning; our vision includes acquiring more SEBI licenses to offer robust investment products like stock recommendations, small cases, and high-yielding debt solutions,” Hegde said. 

Founded in 2022 by Hegde and Raghav Gupta, The 1% Club is a members-only financial education platform that offers educational resources, mentorship, and networking avenues for its paid members.

The startup raised INR 10 Cr in its pre-Series A funding round led by Zerodha cofounder Nikhil Kamath-backed venture capital (VC) firm Gruhas. 

Notably, The 1% Club laid off about 15% of its workforce in November last year in a cost-cutting exercise. At the time, Hegde said that there were “some mistakes with hiring and redundant expenses”. He also hinted at AI-led automation being one of the reasons for the layoffs. 

Meanwhile, the development comes days after SEBI issued another set of clarifications on the guidelines governing finfluencers. The regulator reiterated that brokers, mutual funds, investment advisers, exchanges and other market participants “cannot be associated” with unregistered influencers, neither directly nor indirectly.

Notably, SEBI has now also brought mutual fund distributors, authorised persons, portfolio management services distributors and alternative investment fund distributors under the ambit of the new rules. 

This comes as SEBI recently cracked down on finfluencers for reportedly running pump and dump schemes. 

In December last year, the regulator restrained finfluencers behind “Baap of Chart” from trading on bourses for up to one year. “Baap of Chart” was founded by Hyderabad-based finfluencer Mohammad Nasiruddin Ansari. 

Further, SEBI also directed Nasiruddin Ansari, Rahul Rao Padamati, Tabraiz Abdullah, Asif Iqbal Wani, Golden Syndicate Ventures Pvt Ltd (GSVPL), Mansha Abdullah and Jadav Vamshi to refund INR 17.2 Cr in three months. The regulator also issued similar orders in multiple other cases related to finfluencers. 

You have reached your limit of free stories
Become A Startup Insider With Inc42 Plus

Join our exclusive community of 10,000+ founders, investors & operators and stay ahead in india's startup & business economy.

2 YEAR PLAN
₹19999
₹7999
₹333/Month
UNLOCK 60% OFF
Cancel Anytime
1 YEAR PLAN
₹9999
₹4999
₹416/Month
UNLOCK 50% OFF
Cancel Anytime
Already A Member?
Discover Startups & Business Models

Unleash your potential by exploring unlimited articles, trackers, and playbooks. Identify the hottest startup deals, supercharge your innovation projects, and stay updated with expert curation.

Sharan Hegde’s The 1% Club Gets RIA Licence From SEBI-Inc42 Media
How-To’s on Starting & Scaling Up

Empower yourself with comprehensive playbooks, expert analysis, and invaluable insights. Learn to validate ideas, acquire customers, secure funding, and navigate the journey to startup success.

Sharan Hegde’s The 1% Club Gets RIA Licence From SEBI-Inc42 Media
Identify Trends & New Markets

Access 75+ in-depth reports on frontier industries. Gain exclusive market intelligence, understand market landscapes, and decode emerging trends to make informed decisions.

Sharan Hegde’s The 1% Club Gets RIA Licence From SEBI-Inc42 Media
Track & Decode the Investment Landscape

Stay ahead with startup and funding trackers. Analyse investment strategies, profile successful investors, and keep track of upcoming funds, accelerators, and more.

Sharan Hegde’s The 1% Club Gets RIA Licence From SEBI-Inc42 Media
Sharan Hegde’s The 1% Club Gets RIA Licence From SEBI-Inc42 Media
You’re in Good company