Investment adviser Basant Maheshwari’s YouTube videos might have been great for grabbing eyeballs, but they’ve now grabbed the attention of the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) — and not in a good way.
Sebi has fined Maheshwari’s firm, Basant Maheshwari Wealth Advisers LLP, ₹4 lakh for allegedly violating investment adviser rules. The order, dated March 25, follows a round of inspections carried out between October and December 2023.
One of the key issues Sebi flagged was the way the firm was charging clients. Instead of sticking to a single fee model, as the rules require, it was using both a fixed fee and an assets-under-advice (AUA) model. That’s not allowed under current regulations, which expect advisers to pick one route and stick to it.
There was also a miss on the basics — the firm hadn’t done its mandatory annual audit, according to Sebi.
Now here’s where it gets more colourful. Sebi took issue with Maheshwari’s YouTube content. Titles like:
10 Saal Mein 10 Guna Aur 20 Saal Mein 100 Guna!! Kaise Kare?? (How to make 10 times in 10 years and 100 times in 20 years?)
1 Crore Ko Double Kaise Kare? (How to double ₹1 crore?)
Kaise Banaya ₹150 Crore Sirf Trading Kar Ke? (How was ₹150 crore made just through trading?)
…may sound like everyday financial YouTube hype, but Sebi didn’t see it that way.
These videos also included links to Maheshwari’s smallcase portfolios, which made them look like promotional content. Under Sebi’s code, that classifies them as advertisements. And with that tag come a bunch of disclosure requirements — many of which, Sebi says, were not met.
One of the biggest issues Sebi pointed out was how the disclaimers were handled. Some were hard to notice, others were inconsistent across videos, and a few didn’t seem to appear at all. That matters because disclaimers are supposed to help viewers understand the risks involved before acting on any advice — even if it's presented as educational content.
In his defence, Maheshwari said the videos were aimed at educating investors, not selling them anything. He argued that the content was meant to protect viewers from being misled by other sources online. He also pointed out that the recently introduced “finfluencer” rules shouldn’t apply to him, as he’s not just a content creator but a registered adviser.
Interestingly, Maheshwari had initially filed for a settlement with Sebi — a move that might’ve ended things quietly — but he later withdrew the application.
The timing of the order is notable. Sebi has been tightening its grip on social media influencers and unregulated advisers. Over the last six months, the regulator claims to have taken down over 70,000 misleading posts and accounts across digital platforms.
There’s also a new push to clean up financial advertising. Platforms like Google and Meta are now being looped in — Sebi wants intermediaries to register with these platforms before putting out ads. The idea seems to be to trace who’s behind what and to stop shady promotions before they go viral.
