SEBI Chairman Tuhin Kant Pandey called it necessary to increase financial awareness among retail investors. He said that families are taking investment decisions based on wrong information, fake apps and online advice. He said that with the increase in participation of retail investors, digital risk has also increased. In such a situation, financial awareness is very important.
Investment decisions are being taken on the basis of viral videos
Tuhin Kant Pandey addressed the regional seminar of BSE in Coimbatore on 27 November. He said that today investment decisions are being taken on the basis of messages, viral videos and social media recommendations instead of proper knowledge. This can affect the savings, expectations and financial stability of families.
Rapid expansion of financial markets
SEBI Chairman said that the securities market has expanded rapidly. The number of unique investors reached 13.6 crore in October this year. In FY19 it was less than Rs 4 crore. The number of mutual fund investors was 1 crore a decade ago, which has increased to 5.6 crore today. Monthly SIP was Rs 3,000 crore in 2016, which has increased to more than Rs 29,000 crore.
Gap between awareness and actual investing
SEBI’s Investors Survey 2025 has shown a huge gap between awareness and actual investing. According to this, 63 percent families have information about market products, but only 9.5 percent invest. In rural areas the number of families investing is less than 6 percent. Pandey said that from SEBI’s survey it seems that financial inclusion should cover all areas and it should be social.
Misinformation is spreading rapidly
He said that misinformation spreads faster than correct information. He said that fake trading apps and unregistered advisors are preying on investors. SEBI has reported more than 1 lakh cases of wrong online content from Meta, Google, Telegram and X in the last 18 months. To curb scams, SEBI has introduced many safety features.
Haste in investment decisions is not good
SEBI Chairman said that investors should not be hasty in taking investment decisions. Any information should be verified before trusting it. He said that awareness will help in taking finance related decisions with confidence.