You finally find an investment adviser who seems trustworthy. The website looks professional, the social media presence is strong, and the registration number is right there in the footer.
You feel reassured. But then someone tells you there is a SEBI order against this same adviser. What do you do now?
This is exactly the kind of situation that thousands of retail investors in India find themselves in every day. And it is also the exact situation that the name Ayushi Chauksey brings up when you start researching it.
Is Ayushi Chauksey SEBI registered? That is the first question. But as you will see in this blog, the more important questions come right after it.
Questions about past SEBI orders, violations, penalties, and what all of this means for investors who are considering, or have already taken, her advisory services.
In this blog, we cover Ayushi Chauksey’s registration status, the SEBI adjudication order and final order passed against her, each violation in detail, the penalty imposed, and how you can file a complaint if you have faced issues as an investor.
Is Ayushi Chauksey SEBI Registered or Not?
Yes, Ayushi Chauksey advisor is SEBI registered and holds multiple registrations.
She is a Mumbai-based Investment Adviser and Research Analyst who has been active in the financial advisory space since 2017.
Over the years, she has built a significant following on social media, especially on Twitter (X), where she goes by the handle @kuttrapali26, sharing stock recommendations, investment ideas, and market insights.
She also maintains an active presence on Telegram, where she distributes both free and paid advisory content to retail investors and high-net-worth individuals.
Her official entity is now called Ayushi Chauksey Adviser Private Limited, a non-individual SEBI-registered Investment Adviser.
The business was earlier operated under the name investmentbulls.com as a sole proprietorship.
She serves clients through subscription-based advisory products covering portfolio review, wealth management, and trading recommendations across equities and related instruments.
Her current entity holds:
- SEBI Investment Adviser (IA) Registration No.: INA000019707 (Non-Individual, Perpetual Validity)
- SEBI Research Analyst (RA) Registration No.: INH000021687.
Her earlier registration as a sole proprietor was under INA000008075, which was the registration in place when SEBI conducted its inspection and passed orders against her.
The registration is real, current, and verifiable on SEBI’s official intermediary registry.
Anyone can check it directly on sebi.gov.in. On the surface, it is a professionally structured operation, registered with SEBI, active on social media, and offering a clearly defined set of services.
But here is the part that every investor needs to read carefully. Ayushi Chauksey is not just a registered adviser.
She is also an adviser who has been the subject of a formal SEBI Adjudication Order in October 2022 and a Final Order in September 2023.
Two separate SEBI orders in two years, and that is a documented regulatory history every investor must understand before engaging with her services.
Ayushi Chauksey SEBI Order
This is where the story gets important for investors.
SEBI conducted a formal inspection of Ayushi Chauksey’s operations during September 2019, covering the period from April 2018 to March 2019.
The inspection found multiple violations of the SEBI Investment Advisers Regulations, 2013.
Based on the findings, SEBI first issued an Adjudication Order in October 2022 and subsequently a Final Order in September 2023.
It covers the regulatory history, the significance of the orders, and what the case tells investors about SEBI-registered advisers in general.
Now, let us go through each violation that SEBI found, one by one.
Violation 1: Providing Advisory Services Without a Valid NISM Certification
SEBI’s Investment Adviser Regulations require every registered IA to hold a valid NISM certification at all times.
Specifically, NISM Series X-A (Level 1) and NISM Series X-B (Level 2) certifications are mandatory for individuals providing investment advice.
Ayushi Chauksey’s NISM Level 1 certification expired in July 2018, and her Level 2 certification expired in October 2018. Despite both certifications lapsing, she continued providing investment advisory services to clients.
She renewed these certifications only in August and September 2021.
This means for a period of over three years, from mid-2018 to late 2021, she was offering paid advisory services without holding the qualifications that SEBI mandates for every investment adviser at all times.
Violation 2: Not Using the Term ‘Investment Adviser’ in Client Communications
SEBI’s IA Regulations under Regulation 13(d) require investment advisers to use the exact term “Investment Adviser” in every communication with their clients.
This is not optional. It applies to all correspondences, whether emails, SMS messages, or instant messaging platforms.
During the inspection period, SEBI found that Ayushi Chauksey had not consistently used the term “Investment Adviser” in her bulk SMS communications and WhatsApp messages.
She claimed that she had mentioned her status in introductory WhatsApp messages and in the introductory paragraph of emails. However, she could not provide documentary evidence to support this claim for every channel.
SEBI confirmed that the regulation requires the term to appear in every correspondence, not just introductory messages. The violation was upheld, though SEBI noted it was technical in nature.
Violation 3: Charging Unreasonable and Inconsistent Fees
Under SEBI’s IA Regulations, investment advisers are required to charge fees that are fair, reasonable, and consistently applied. Fee structures must be transparent and documented.
SEBI’s inspection found that Ayushi Chauksey was charging fees to different clients in a variable manner.
The stated fee structure was ₹30,000 per product per individual per month, with discounts offered depending on the tenure the client opted for. However, the actual fees paid by different clients during the same period were not uniform.
SEBI found that the fee variations observed across clients lacked adequate documented justification.
The disparity in fees charged raised concerns about whether the fee structure was truly “fair and reasonable” as required under the regulations, or whether it was being applied inconsistently.
Violation 4: Irregularities in Risk Profiling of Clients
Risk profiling is one of the most fundamental obligations of any SEBI-registered investment adviser.
Before giving any advice, an IA is required to assess the client’s age, income, existing investments, investment objectives, risk tolerance, and financial liabilities.
The risk profile must then be communicated back to the client. SEBI’s inspection found that Ayushi Chauksey’s process for risk profiling was not structured or reliable enough to meet regulatory standards.
At the time of inspection, it was not clear whether the risk profiling forms were actually being filled in by the clients themselves.
There was no signature on the forms, and there was no evidence that the completed risk assessment was being sent or communicated back to clients.
However, SEBI confirmed that at the time of the inspection, the system was not functioning in a way that could be verified, and the violation was upheld.
Violation 5: Failure to Comply with Suitability Norms
Closely connected to risk profiling is the obligation of suitability.
Under Regulation 17 of the IA Regulations, an investment adviser must ensure that every recommendation they give is appropriate to the specific risk profile of that specific client.
The advice given to a conservative investor saving for retirement must look very different from the advice given to an experienced trader comfortable with high risk.
Offering the same advice to all clients without tailoring it to individual circumstances is not compliant with SEBI’s suitability norms.
SEBI found that since the risk profiling process itself had gaps, the suitability framework built on top of it was consequently also deficient.
Violation 6: Non-Cooperation with SEBI Inspection Team
Under Regulations 24 and 25 of the IA Regulations, investment advisers are required to fully cooperate with SEBI inspection teams and furnish all requested documents and information promptly.
SEBI found instances where the inspection team faced difficulty obtaining required documents and information from Ayushi Chauksey within the expected timelines during the inspection conducted in September 2019.
While she submitted a detailed response to the Show Cause Notice later, the inspection period itself saw lapses in timely cooperation and documentation submission.
Total Penalty: Rs 7,00,000
Ayushi Chauksey was restrained from taking up any new assignment or contract, i.e., from onboarding new clients, for a period of one month from the date of the order.
The regulator’s approach here was proportionate: address the compliance gaps through a temporary business restriction rather than cancellation, while signalling to the adviser and the market that such violations carry regulatory consequences.
How to File a Complaint Against a SEBI Registered Investment Adviser?
Since Ayushi Chauksey is a SEBI-registered Investment Adviser and Research Analyst, investors who have faced issues with her services have a formal, structured path available to them.
Here is how to use it step by step:
Step 1: Gather All Your Documentation
Start by collecting everything related to your engagement: the signed client agreement, payment receipts, all advisory communications received via SMS, email, WhatsApp, or any other channel, and records of any losses you incurred while following the advice.
Arrange everything in date order.
Step 2: Write to the Adviser’s Compliance Officer First
Before escalating to SEBI, send a formal written complaint to Ayushi Chauksey’s compliance officer.
You can expect a response within 10 business days as per her disclosed grievance policy. Keep a copy of everything you send and receive.
Step 3: File a Complaint in SCORES
If the firm does not respond satisfactorily within a reasonable time, file a formal complaint at SEBI’s official website.
Select “Investment Adviser” as the intermediary category, enter the registration number, and describe your concern clearly with supporting documents attached.
Step 4: Report in SMART ODR
If your SCORES complaint does not result in a satisfactory resolution, move the matter to SEBI’s Online Dispute Resolution (SMART ODR) platform.
This provides a structured mediation pathway that is faster than conventional proceedings and does not require a lawyer to initiate.
Step 5: Arbitration in Stock Market
If all the above steps are exhausted without resolution, formal arbitration is the final option available. An independent arbitrator reviews all the evidence and delivers a binding decision.
This step is especially relevant if you have suffered a documentable financial loss.
Act as early as possible. The more time passes, the more difficult it becomes to establish a clear evidence trail.
If you are unsure how to structure your complaint or navigate any of the above steps, professional guidance can make a real difference.
Register with us, and we will assist you through every stage, from organising your documentation to formally filing your case.
Conclusion
To answer the central question directly: Yes, Ayushi Chauksey is SEBI registered, currently holding a valid Investment Adviser registration and a Research Analyst registration through her entity, Ayushi Chauksey Adviser Private Limited.
However, the documented SEBI orders from 2022 and 2023 are part of the public record and cannot be ignored.
Multiple violations were found during SEBI’s inspection, including operating without valid NISM certifications for over three years, gaps in risk profiling and suitability processes, inconsistent fee practices, and non-compliant client communications.
SEBI chose a corrective approach, which tells you that the violations were taken seriously but not considered irreparable.
The adviser has since restructured into a private limited company and updated her registration.
The lesson here is one that applies to every investment adviser you consider: SEBI registration tells you that an entity is authorised to operate. It does not tell you how they have operated.
For that, you need to check SEBI’s enforcement database, read the public orders, and understand what they found.
Your money deserves that level of diligence. Always verify independently, always read the fine print on fees and risk profiling, and always know that you have formal channels available to you if something goes wrong.
