Who is Avadhut Sathe? All about the finfluencer against whom SEBI ordered impounding of Rs 546 crore

SEBI has issued an ex-parte interim order-cum-show cause notice against Avadhut Sathe Trading Academy (ASTAPL), its founder and finfluencer Avadhut Sathe and director Gouri Avadhut Sathe. The market regulator alleged that the academy carried out unregistered investment advisory and research analyst activities while presenting them as stock market education.

SEBI has banned Sathe from the securities market and ordered the impounding of Rs 546 crore from him and his wife. SEBI said that this was the "total unlawful gain earned prima facie from the alleged unregistered investment advisory and research analyst business".

Who is Avadhut Sathe?

Avadhut Sathe is a finfluencer, dabbling in the markets since 1991. He grew up in a modest chawl in Dadar, central Mumbai, before moving to Mulund in the northern suburbs. With an engineering degree, he was able to begin his career on a strong footing. After spending time working in the US, Singapore, and Australia, he decided to return to India. After finding success in investing and trading, he decided to quit his job to train students full-time from 2008.

Established in 2008 with one location, the Avadhut Sathe Training Academy today has 17 branches across the nation, from Mumbai, Delhi, and Bengaluru to smaller cities such as Bhubaneshwar, Kochi, and Nagpur. Online classes are also taught for students from international locations such as the UAE and the United States; courses are offered in a variety of languages, English, Hindi, Tamil, Marathi and Telugu.

In 2023, Sathe went viral. He was recorded dancing in a large hall in his Pune academy, in front of a screen flashing with live tickers. Netizens joked about the unusual method of teaching, but the students present joined in on the celebration. The training academy has developed a dedicated social media following over the years. Its YouTube presence boasts of nearly one million subscribers, while its Instagram following count clocks in at 2,37,000 accounts. Students were found through ads, personal testimonials and relentless social media campaigns. The first introductory courses were free to pique their interest.

Sathe's credibility was waning even before the SEBI crackdown. In 2023, Ritesh Gulrajani, a SEBI Registered Investment Advisor (RIA), had informally reported Sathe. An investigating officer visited his house during a routine check-up, following which, Gulrajani flagged Sathe’s flagrant videos, stating that “people like Avadhut Sathe are making a mockery of the system.”