Building a Fee-Only Advisory Career in India

Who this is for

You are in a corporate or professional role and want to move into personal finance — as a SEBI Registered Investment Adviser, a writer, or both. You have looked at the credential landscape and found it confusing: NISM levels, CFP, the RIA application, no clear sequence. Or you can see the destination but not the first three steps.

I am partway along this route, not at the end of it, and I'll be straightforward about what I have completed and what I haven't. That's precisely why the detail is current and specific rather than remembered.

What we cover

The credential map and the order that actually makes sense: which NISM certifications are required rather than merely useful, where CFP genuinely helps and where it doesn't solve the problem people expect, and what the SEBI RIA eligibility criteria are after the December 2024 relaxations, which changed the picture considerably. The registration process and realistic timelines. What running a practice actually costs each year, which is the number almost nobody publishes. Why part-time registration is usually a poor idea and what the alternatives are. How to build credibility and an audience before registration without breaching regulations, including what you may and may not publish while unregistered. And the honest economics: what the client ramp looks like, why the registered adviser count in India is falling rather than rising, and what separates the practices that survive.

What you won't get

This is career and practice guidance, not financial advice. No recommendations on any product or security, no portfolio review, no personal financial planning. Not legal or compliance advice, and not a guarantee of registration or of practice outcomes.

Career guidance only. Not investment advice, financial planning, or legal and compliance advice. I am not a SEBI Registered Investment Adviser. No product recommendations, no commissions.