Quick Summary
Smart Money Financial Services is the trade name of Santosh Kumar Sahu, an individual SEBI registered investment adviser, INA000004427, valid since 21 March 2016 and perpetual. His annual table shows 2 complaints, one each in FY 2024-25 and FY 2025-26, both resolved. The monthly disclosure for July to September 2026 is blank. The Services page shows no services and no fees, and the terms contradict each other on responsibility. We found no SEBI order against him as of 17 October 2026, which is not a clean certificate.
You may have found an Indore based adviser offering calls in cash, futures, options and commodities, and the website talks about analysts with high accuracy. This blog looks at one of such firm, Smart Money Financial Services, claiming that through its own disclosures and website terms.
A claim like that deserves a slow read, because the same site says very little about what you would receive or pay.
We cover the registration, the complaint tables, the blank Services page and the clauses that do not agree with each other, then turn the gaps into questions you can send in writing.
What Is Smart Money Financial Services and How Does It Operate?
Smart Money Financial Services is an investment advisory run by Santosh Kumar Sahu as proprietor.
The office is in Indore, Madhya Pradesh.
The website says it gives recommendations for stocks in the cash and futures and options segments on NSE and BSE, and for commodities on MCX and NCDEX.
It describes a team of highly qualified analysts.
Who the Analysts Are
The About page gives no analyst names, qualifications or experience.
It lists a vision, mission and values, and a prompt to download the application.
Ask who prepares the calls, what their qualifications are and which of them will advise you.
An adviser should be able to answer that.
How Recommendations are Made
The site does not describe an advisory process or research method.
It does not say how a call is formed, how risk is measured or how you are told about changes.
Ask for the process in writing, in plain steps, including how a stop loss or exit is communicated.
The Mission Line
The stated mission is to boost the profit generating skills of customers.
Learning can improve skills, but profit in markets is never certain.
Read the line as an aim, and keep in mind that SEBI does not allow assured or guaranteed returns.
Segments Covered
Futures and options, and commodities, are among the riskiest segments for individual investors.
SEBI’s own studies on individual derivatives traders have found that most lose money over time, and that is general context and not a statement about this adviser’s results.
Ask how the adviser decides whether such products suit your profile.
Is Smart Money Financial Services SEBI Registered?
The research shows the entity listed as a registered investment adviser.
Each point below is what the listing shows, and you should confirm it yourself before relying on this page.
- Registration number is INA000004427. The INA prefix marks an investment adviser, unlike INH for a research analyst or INP for a portfolio manager.
- Registered name is Santosh Kumar Sahu, Proprietor, Smart Money Financial Services. This is a proprietorship, so the person who advises you is the same person who answers for the advice.
- Validity runs from 21 March 2016 and is listed as perpetual. The registration is about ten years old.
- BASL membership is stated on the website as certificate number BASL1586. BASL is the administration and supervisory body for investment advisers.
- Addresses differ. The registered address is Plot No. 10/1, 2nd Floor, Radha Krishna Apartment, M.G. Road, Indore, and the correspondence address is in Diamond Colony, New Palasia, Indore.
- Email on the listing is a Yahoo address, and no phone number appears in the research.
You can check all this in a few minutes.
A SEBI IA registration number check lets you enter INA000004427, compare the name, category and addresses, and see whether the registration is active.
A SEBI registration check online on the regulator’s own pages does the same job.
Do it before you pay anyone, and save a dated screenshot.
Registration shows that a person may give investment advice.
It does not describe the quality of advice or the fee.
What Smart Money Financial Services’s Complaints Data Tell Investors
The firm publishes an annual table. We read it and added the totals again.
|
Financial year |
Carried forward | Received | Resolved | Pending |
|
2025-26 |
0 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
|
2024-25 |
0 | 1 | 1 |
0 |
| 2023-24 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
0 |
| Grand total | 0 | 2 | 2 |
0 |
The sums match, two received, two resolved and none pending.
Is It An Increase?
The research doc calls this an increase in complaints.
One complaint in each of two years is the same count twice, so we read it as steady and small, not as a rise.
The tables do not say what the complaints were about or how they ended. Ask the adviser for general categories.
The Monthly Table is Blank
The monthly disclosure for July, August and September 2026 is blank, and not zero.
A blank is not the same as nothing received, because it simply gives no figure.
SEBI expects advisers to update complaint data by the 7th of each month.
September data should have appeared by 7 October, so ask for the current figures.
The Years Before FY 2023-24
Registration began in March 2016, but the annual table starts at FY 2023-24.
That leaves about seven years of history without a published table.
Ask whether earlier years are available elsewhere on the site, or why they are not shown.
How To Read the Record?
Two resolved complaints in three years is a small record. With a blank monthly table, the picture is not complete.
A closed status tells you the complaint was closed.
It does not tell you whether the person was satisfied.
If you ever need to raise a case, the guide on a SEBI complaint against investment advisor shows how such cases usually run, and it helps to know that before you commit money.
A search of SEBI’s public records found no SEBI order against Santosh Kumar Sahu or Smart Money Financial Services as of 17 October 2026.
That is not a clean certificate, because orders can be published later and our search was limited.
Smart Money Financial Services Fees: What Does the Website Disclose?
The website has a dedicated Services page, but in the research the page was blank. It shows no advisory services and no fees.
A visitor cannot see what is offered, what it costs or how plans compare.
That is the information most people need before they get in touch.
SEBI allows fees in a fixed fee mode and in an assets under advice mode, each with its own limit.
In the fixed fee mode the cap is ₹1,51,000 per client per family per year.
A Worked Example
Suppose a quote arrives as ₹1,78,180.
That equals the ₹1,51,000 cap plus 18 percent GST, so it would not by itself cross the cap, though the GST treatment should be confirmed in writing.
This is only a worked example and not his price.
It shows why the base fee and GST should appear on separate lines.
Before You Pay
Take these four steps first, since each costs nothing.
- Ask for the fee in rupees for each service and the period it covers.
- Ask for GST as a separate line.
- Ask for the refund terms if you stop midway.
- Ask for the payment account name and match it to the registered name.
Also Read: Rio Capital Investment Advisor review examines how repeating a ₹90,000 quarterly plan could push annual advisory fees beyond SEBI’s ₹1,51,000 cap.
Do Smart Money Financial Services’ Accuracy Claims Match the Evidence?
The website says its analysts use experience and software tools to predict market movements on time and with high accuracy.
It describes the analysts as highly qualified and their analysis as impeccable.
Nobody can predict markets with certainty, and the page offers no evidence for the claim.
SEBI also restricts advertising that suggests assured or very high accuracy.
What To Ask For
Ask for the accuracy figure the claim rests on, how it was measured, over what period and including which calls.
A figure that counts only winning calls is not a record.
Ask also whether you can see all past calls, with dates and outcomes, not a selection.
The Mission and the Gallery
The About page includes generic lines and a reference to a gallery for your glory.
Such text says little about the service, so judge the adviser on what he can show in writing.
Asked to pay before you have seen the services, the fee or the terms?
Our team reviews your payment proof and the website terms, drafts a written grievance to the adviser, and takes it to the right SEBI channel if the reply falls short. Register with us for a free consultation.
Do Smart Money Financial Services Terms and Conditions Really Protect Investors?
The terms we reviewed contain statements that pull in different directions.
The research flagged four, and each one is worth putting to the adviser.
1. Who is Responsible for Losses
One part of the terms says the adviser is not responsible for losses from recommendations, and that clients bear the risk of their decisions.
Clause 19 says the adviser is responsible for the success and accuracy of your transactions.
Those two statements cannot both be read at face value.
Ask which one applies, and how it sits with the advisory agreement.
2. Calls Despite Do Not Disturb
The terms say that by giving a mobile number in the Expert Advice Form, a user agrees to calls and SMS even if the number is on the Do Not Disturb registry.
You can ask in writing to be left off call lists, and keep the dates of any later contact.
Think before you enter your number in any form.
3. Advice or Information
The terms describe the stock tips and market information as user opinions and say the website does not give investment advice.
Elsewhere the site presents Smart Money Financial Services as a registered investment adviser.
The adviser should clarify which words apply to the paid advice you would receive.
Ask for the agreement and MITC, which govern the paid service.
4. Which Name Applies to Refunds
The refund policy refers to a name, Smart Investor, instead of Smart Money Financial Services.
It is unclear whether this is a drafting slip or a reference to another entity.
Ask the adviser to confirm which entity’s refund terms apply to you, and to correct the page if it is an error.
Also Read: Renaissance Smart Tech promotes portfolio growth, but its website does not clearly disclose advisory fees or substantiate its performance claims.
Are Smart Money Financial Services Reviews Available Online?
The research for this blog did not include client reviews.
We have not described any, and a missing review should not be read as a good or bad sign.
Look for dated reviews on more than one platform.
Any review you read is an individual opinion that we have not verified, and the adviser may dispute it.
Before Paying Smart Money Financial Services Ask These Questions
The gaps above can be turned into a short list.
Send these by email so you have a written reply, and wait for the answers before any money moves.
1. What do I receive, and for how much?
Ask for each service in plain words, the fee in rupees and the GST on a separate line.
2. What is the accuracy claim based on?
Ask for the method, the period and the full list of calls behind it.
3. Which terms apply to me?
Ask for the agreement and MITC, and ask which responsibility statement is correct.
4. Where is the current complaint data?
Ask for the figures for July to September 2026 and for the years before FY 2023-24.
5. How are disputes settled?
Ask whether the agreement sends disputes to arbitration. Reading about arbitration in share market cases first helps you judge what such a clause would mean for you.
Also Read: Ravi Saraogi Investment Adviser reports 13 resolved complaints for FY 2024–25, while its annual total incorrectly shows zero.
Where to Contact Smart Money Financial Services and Esclate Complaints?
The listing shows a Yahoo email address and two Indore addresses.
The research does not show a phone number or a separate grievance officer.
Write by email so you have a trail.
State your name, payment reference, the issue and the outcome you want in a reasonable time.
If the adviser does not reply or you disagree with the answer, the regulator’s online system is the usual next step.
The page on the SCORES SEBI complaint route covers what to attach and how a case moves after you file.
Keep every reply you get on that system, since they matter if the case has to go further.
For a payment disagreement that stays open, there is another route.
The SMART ODR portal brings in a neutral conciliator to go through your papers with you, so keep receipts and replies together.
Disclaimer
This blog is based on the adviser’s published disclosures, website terms and publicly available SEBI records as of 17 October 2026. It does not allege wrongdoing, and the adviser is welcome to share his side. We could not independently confirm his fee levels, the services he offers, the subject of the reported complaints, the current monthly complaint table, which clause of the terms applies, or the content of any agreement beyond what the research showed.
Conclusion
Smart Money Financial Services holds a long standing SEBI registration, and its two reported complaints are both shown as resolved.
The harder part is that the Services page is empty, the monthly table is blank and the terms disagree with each other.
Before you pay, ask for the fee with GST, a written list of services, the MITC and the agreement, and a straight answer on who is responsible for what. Keep every reply in writing.
Check the registration yourself and match the payment account to the registered name.
If the adviser answers openly and quickly, you have a better basis to decide.
If a dispute arises later, write to the adviser first and then use the escalation routes in order.
Keep your receipts, emails and screenshots in one folder.
Report. Recover. Stay Fraud Free.
Frequently Asked Questions
The research shows Santosh Kumar Sahu, proprietor, registered as an individual investment adviser under INA000004427, valid from 21 March 2016 and listed as perpetual. Confirm the details on SEBI's website before you pay.
The annual table shows two complaints, one in FY 2024-25 and one in FY 2025-26, both resolved. The monthly disclosure for July to September 2026 is blank, so ask for current figures.
The Services page in the research was blank and showed no fees or services. Ask for each fee in rupees, the GST and the refund terms in writing before you pay.
No adviser can guarantee accuracy, and SEBI does not allow assured returns. Ask for the evidence behind any accuracy claim, including every call and its outcome, before you rely on it.
The terms say a user who enters a number in the advice form agrees to calls and messages even on the Do Not Disturb registry. You can ask in writing to be removed from call lists.
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