5 Circles is a Kanpur-based stock market institute and research platform offering paid advisory services, trading calls, and structured courses across equity, F&O, commodities, and crypto segments.
It presents itself as a one-stop destination for traders looking for high-quality calls, structured education, and profit-oriented strategies under a SEBI-registered umbrella.
If you’re considering enrolling in their courses or subscribing to their advisory packages, it’s important to evaluate not just their regulatory status, but also their real-world track record and what users are actually experiencing.
In this blog, we’ll examine whether 5 Circles is a legitimate advisory service or just another institute riding on strong marketing claims.
5 Circles Private Limited Review
5 Circles positions itself as a premium stock market education and advisory firm, serving retail traders and investors across India.
The company distributes recommendations and course content via its website, WhatsApp groups, community platforms, and direct mentorship, covering intraday, swing, options, commodities, and crypto strategies.
The first question any prospective subscriber or student should ask: Is 5 Circles SEBI registered?
According to publicly available information, the firm is led by Rahul Saraoge and is registered with the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) as a Research Analyst under registration number INH000020004.
The company is incorporated as 5 Circles Private Limited (CIN: U74999MH2021PTC355742), with its registered office at Express Zone Mall, Malad East, Mumbai, and an operational centre in Govind Nagar, Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh.
Key Company Details:
- Founder & Mentor: Rahul Saraoge (NISM Certified, CMT Level III Candidate)
- SEBI RA Registration: INH000020004
- Registered: Mumbai, Maharashtra (incorporated 2021)
- Operational Hub: Kanpur, U.P.
- Twitter/X: @Rahul_Saraoge (14.3K followers)
5 Circles claims to have trained over 30,000+ traders and runs what it calls a “Lifetime Community Building Program”, purportedly the first of its kind in India.
It also markets a proprietary strategy system called EPMCS, which it describes as exclusively designed for wealth creation in the stock market.
Advisory and course services include:
- Stride Power Stocks: Short-to-medium-term equity picks
- Stride Option Promax: F&O calls for derivatives traders
- Stride Commax: Commodity calls (Gold, Silver, Crude Oil)
- Stride Cryptovate: Digital asset trade recommendations
- S.M.A.R.T. and G.R.O.W. structured learning programmes
- Exclusive Rahul Saraoge Mentorship Programme (priced at ₹1,80,000)
The business model revolves around subscription-based advisory and course packages.
Course fees range from approximately ₹62,000 for F&O programmes to ₹1,80,000 for the flagship exclusive mentorship.
The complaint summary for 5 Circles Private Limited shows a minimal number of grievances, with just one complaint currently under review.
With 65 clients onboarded and an overall complaint ratio of 0%, it may initially reflect a structured, compliant, and professionally managed setup.
However, beyond these numbers, real user experiences suggest there may be more beneath the surface, making it important to look deeper and evaluate carefully before making any financial decisions.
5 Circles Reviews
User reviews offer a revealing look at what subscribers and students actually encounter after enrolling.
Here’s a breakdown by issue type:
Category 1: No Accountability for Losses
Problem: The mentor and relationship managers take no ownership when trades go wrong, pivoting instead to blaming market conditions or the client’s execution.
This is a recurring theme.
When trades fail, the response from the team is either silence or a deflection, with no structured risk review, no acknowledgement of the call’s failure, and no course correction offered to the subscriber.
Category 2: Lack of Transparency & Non-Responsive RMs
Problem: After onboarding, clients report that their Relationship Managers (RMs) become unresponsive, especially once real money starts getting deployed, and losses accumulate.
This review exposes two separate issues: first, critical terms like profit-sharing percentages and operational rules were allegedly not disclosed upfront during onboarding
Second, after meaningful losses occurred, the RM became unresponsive, the opposite of what any legitimate advisory service should provide.
Category 3: Fake Profits Shown on Demo Accounts
Problem: Marketing materials and social media posts showcase profits generated on paper/dummy accounts rather than verified live trading results, creating a false impression of consistent performance.
Multiple reviewers, including Muskan Nandwani above, specifically call out the practice of showing “fake profits on dummy accounts.” This is a significant red flag in the advisory industry.
Demonstrating results on paper trades, then charging subscribers ₹2 lakhs based on those numbers, is a misleading sales practice that SEBI norms specifically guard against.
Category 4: Hidden Fees & Undisclosed Profit-Sharing Terms
Problem: Key financial terms, including profit-sharing percentages exceeding 50%, are allegedly not communicated clearly before clients commit capital.
As Gautam Agrawal’s review reveals, the profit-sharing structure was not explained during the sales process. Clients only discovered the terms after suffering losses.
This kind of selective disclosure, mentioning benefits upfront but obscuring obligations, is a classic pattern in high-pressure advisory sales environments.
Category 5: High Fees, Unmatched by Results
Problem: Course fees reaching ₹1.8 lakh for a mentorship programme are not backed by transparent, audited performance data that would justify the price point.
The company’s flagship exclusive mentorship costs ₹1,80,000, a substantial sum for retail investors, many of whom may be beginners.
At that price level, prospective students deserve clear, independently verifiable information about actual outcomes, not testimonials curated by the company itself or results from demo trading environments.
What Investors & Traders Can Learn From This?
The pattern across these reviews highlights how misleading performance displays, unresponsive support, undisclosed terms, and sales-driven advisory practices can expose investors to serious financial and emotional harm.
Before signing up with any research analyst or trading institute, keep these points in mind:
- Always ask for audited, live-account performance records, not demo results.
- Confirm all fees and profit-sharing terms in writing before making any payment.
- Check the entity’s SEBI registration and any disciplinary history on SEBI’s official portal.
- Understand that past performance, even if real, is never a guarantee of future returns.
- If your RM goes silent after you’ve paid, escalate to SEBI SCORES immediately.
- Know that disclaimers on a website do not substitute for ethical conduct on the ground.
How to File a Complaint Against a Research Analyst?
Facing similar issues with 5 Circles or any other SEBI-registered entity? You are not alone, and you don’t have to navigate the process by yourself.
A dedicated support team can assist you end-to-end to ensure your grievance is documented and submitted effectively.
Our Step-by-Step Support Process
1. Initial Consultation & Case Assessment
We arrange a private discussion with a dedicated Case Manager who carefully understands your full situation and experience.
2. Professional Case Documentation & Drafting
We assist you in preparing a clear, well-structured, and legally sound complaint letter that highlights the misconduct, financial losses, and relevant regulatory violations.
3. Direct Engagement & Escalation
- Connecting with the Stockbroker/Research Analyst: Before moving to regulatory bodies, we guide you in formally raising your concern with the concerned party, which is often a required step in the grievance process.
- Filing a SCORES Complaint: We support you with step-by-step guidance to submit your complaint on the SCORES portal, monitor its status, and respond effectively to any SEBI queries.
- Submitting a Complaint with Smart ODR: For eligible cases, we assist you in navigating the SEBI Smart ODR platform, an efficient online system designed to resolve disputes with market intermediaries.
4. Advisory & Strategic Counselling
Our specialists provide insights on expected outcomes, potential recovery options, and the usual timelines involved in the regulatory journey.
5. Guidance on Advanced Recourse
If the response from the concerned entity or initial regulatory action is not satisfactory, our team will guide you on further options, including arbitration in stock market. If your agreement includes an arbitration clause, we can connect you with legal professionals experienced in securities arbitration to explore recovery possibilities.
Your finances matter. Your voice matters.
By taking this action, you are not only seeking justice for your loss but also contributing to a more transparent and accountable financial ecosystem.
Don’t let the process overwhelm you.
Register with us today to initiate your case, and let our experienced team support you in taking the first strong step toward resolution and accountability.
Conclusion
Rahul Saraoge’s 5 Circles holds valid Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) registration as a Research Analyst, and that legitimacy does matter.
However, registration is only the starting point, not a guarantee of outcomes or client experience.
What many users report across review platforms suggests a gap between promise and practice, including concerns around losses, post-enrolment support, performance transparency, and fee clarity.
These patterns highlight an important reality: when you’re investing a substantial amount, like a ₹2 lakh course or advisory, transparency isn’t optional; it’s essential.
Before subscribing to any research analyst or trading institute, it’s critical to verify their registration and check for any SEBI disciplinary history.
Ask for independently auditable performance records (not just screenshots or demo results), review unbiased feedback across third-party platforms, and fully understand the fee structure, including any profit-sharing terms, before committing.
Registration establishes legitimacy, but ethical conduct, transparency, and accountability are what truly build trust. In the end, due diligence isn’t just a precaution; it’s the first and most important trade you’ll ever make.
