MONEY
SEBI moots new norms to make nomination a default choice and ease the process
- IBJ Bureau
- Mar 18, 2026
The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has issued a consultation paper to modify norms for nomination of demat accounts and mutual fund folios.
The new rules are aimed at simplifying investors’ on-boarding and aligning processes with banking standards.
The proposal seeks to address operational challenges identified after issuance of a previous circular in January.
The regulator has invited public comments on these suggestions until April 7, 2026.
The SEBI has proposed to make nomination the default choice for all single accounts or folios opened after a specified date.
Under this framework, any investor who does not wish to nominate will be specifically required to choose ‘opt out of nomination’. This move is intended to prevent creation of unclaimed assets.
If an investor chooses to opt out, a pop-up message explaining the benefits of nomination and a declaration will be displayed, and the investor must “provide consent in this pop-up message to opt out from nomination”.
The SEBI has also suggested reducing the mandatory information required for a nominee to only their name and the nature of the relationship with the investor.
Other details, such as address, mobile number, email and the percentage of share of each nominee, are proposed to be optional.
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