Sectoral regulators themselves lack coordination among themselves when it comes to keeping a watch on the activities of investment advisors, says D Swarup, head of a committee looking into various aspects of checks on those giving suggestions on financial planning.
“There is lack of coordinated effort in so far as financial literacy is concerned and also lack of a sort of common thread among regulators in terms of investment advice,” Swarup, who is also interim pension regulator, said at a recent seminar.
The committee was set up by the Government in March this year to examine the issue of regulating investment advice in the larger context of investor awareness and protection. The committee is likely to submit the report in August.
“We have done the inventory so far as to what is happening in the country on financial literacy and on the investment advice,” he said. When asked if the committee would recommend a single regulator, he said, “That’s not in the terms of reference of the committee.”
Besides Swarup, the panel comprises Joint Secretary in the Finance Ministry K P Krishnan, Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) member M S Sahoo, Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (Irda) member G Prabhakara, Irda Executive Director K Subrahmanyam and Reserve Bank of India (RBI) General Manager Sujatha Prasad.