SEBI Publishing Investor Charter and Disclosure of complaints by AIFs

Last updated: 11 December 2021

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The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has issued a new circular requiring all Alternative Investment Funds (AIFs) to publish an Investor Charter. This document will provide investors with clear information on services, grievance redressal, and investor responsibilities. Additionally, AIFs must now disclose data on investor complaints and their resolution status, enhancing transparency in the grievance redressal mechanism. These new disclosure requirements come into effect from January 1, 2022.

Securities and Exchange Board of India

CIRCULAR

SEBI/HO/IMD/IMD-I/DOF9/P/CIR/2021/682

December 10, 2021

To,

All SEBI registered Alternative Investment Funds (AIFs)

Dear Sir/Madam,

Subject: Publishing Investor Charter and Disclosure of complaints by AIFs

1. With a view to providing relevant information to investors about the various activities pertaining to AIFs, an Investor Charter has been prepared by SEBI.

2. This Investor Charter is a brief document containing details of services provided to investors, details of grievance redressal mechanism, responsibilities of the investors etc., at one single place, in lucid language for ease of reference.

3. In this regard, all AIFs are advised to take necessary steps to bring the Investor Charter, as per ‘Annexure – X’, to the notice of their investors in the following manner:

a) In case of new schemes, disclose Investor Charter in the Private Placement Memorandum (PPM);

b) In case of existing schemes, as a one time measure, disclose Investor Charter to the investors on their registered e-mail.

4. Additionally, in order to bring about further transparency in the Investor Grievance Redressal Mechanism, it has been decided that data on investor complaints received against AIFs and each of their schemes and redressal status thereof shall be disclosed by all AIFs as per format at ‘Annexure Y’, in the following manner:

a) For new schemes, as a separate chapter in the PPM;

b) For existing schemes, by way of updating the PPM within one month of end of each financial year in terms of SEBI Circular No. SEBI/HO/IMD/IMD-I/DOF6/CIR/2021/549 dated April 7, 2021.

5. For effective monitoring, AIFs shall maintain data on investor complaints as per Annexure Y, which shall be compiled latest within 7 days from the end of quarter.

6. These disclosure requirements are in addition to the existing requirements pertaining to the investor grievance handling mechanism under various Regulations, circulars and directions, issued by SEBI.

7. The provisions of this circular shall come into effect from January 01, 2022.

Please refer to the attached file for full notification.

8. his circular is issued in exercise of powers conferred under Section 11(1) of the Securities and Exchange Board of India Act, 1992, to protect the interests of investors in securities market and to promote the development of, and to regulate the securities market.

9. The circular is available on SEBI website at sebi.gov.in under the category “Legal Framework-Circulars” and “Info for – Alternative Investment Funds”.

Yours faithfully,

Deepti Agrawal
General Manager
+91-22-26449616
deeptiv@sebi.gov.in

FAQ :

The Investor Charter provides investors with relevant information about AIFs, including details of services, the grievance redressal mechanism, and investor responsibilities, all in one place.

For new schemes, the Charter should be disclosed in the Private Placement Memorandum (PPM). For existing schemes, it should be sent to investors via their registered email as a one-time measure.

AIFs are now required to disclose data on investor complaints received against them and their schemes, along with the redressal status, to enhance transparency.

The provisions of this circular, including the Investor Charter and complaint disclosure, come into effect from January 01, 2022.

The full notification can be found on the SEBI website at sebi.gov.in under the category 'Legal Framework-Circulars' and 'Info for – Alternative Investment Funds'.