Paying a Financial Adviser? 5 Signs You're Wasting Money

Many Indians hire financial advisers just to get stock or fund picks — but that's not what a good adviser is for. Here's what you should actually expect, and how to know if your adviser is worth the fee.

Here's what happened: Most Indians hire financial advisers primarily to get mutual fund or stock recommendations — a fundamentally narrow use of what advisers can offer.. SEBI distinguishes between registered Investment Advisers (RIAs), who charge fees and must act in your interest, and mutual fund distributors, who earn commissions from the products they sell you.. Research consistently shows that behavioural coaching — stopping investors from panic-selling or chasing returns — delivers more long-term value than any single fund or stock pick..

What you should do: Check if your adviser is a SEBI-registered Investment Adviser (RIA) on the SEBI SCORES portal at scores.sebi.gov.in — if they are not listed, they cannot legally charge you an advisory fee.. Ask your current adviser to show you a written financial plan covering insurance, emergency fund, debt, tax, and investments — if they only send you fund recommendations, renegotiate or switch.. Compare fee structures: flat-fee RIAs (typically ₹10,000–₹50,000/year) often give more objective advice than commission-based distributors whose income depends on which funds they sell you..

A SEBI-registered RIA cannot earn commissions — so if your 'adviser' also sells insurance or earns trail commission, they are legally a distributor, not an adviser, regardless of what their business card says.

For readers weighing their credit and loan options, our personal loan guide and CIBIL score resources put this update in context.