From viral reels to registered firms: How Sebi rules are resetting India’s finfluencer economy

When the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) moved to bring digital-era financial advice under the regulatory fold, it effectively rewired an industry overnight and for many popular creators, a new business trajectory.

Finance content creator Shashank Udupa who recently launched Vayu Capital outlined the three possible routes available to finance creators, post-Sebi regulations — Research Analyst (RA), Registered Investment Advisor (RIA), or Mutual Fund Distributor (MFD).

“There is no other option… you have only two or three routes, if you're a financial influencer,” Udupa told Moneycontrol.

Finance content creator and Founder of Vayu Capital, Shashank Udupa.

A strategic pivot

Some influencers have opted to pivot — not away from content, but into businesses that can legally monetise the trust they’ve built. Sharan Hegde, founder of The 1% Club and a prominent finance content creator, became one of the first finfluencer-led platforms to secure an RIA licence.

Udupa’s path is similar but distinct. He chose the RA route, focusing on subscription-based, research-heavy products and planning a PMS (portfolio management services) offering next year. His first attempt was starting individual RA practice in October 2025, on Smallcase.

After Sebi mandated registration for anyone giving financial advice, Udupa secured his RA licence in June last year and began transitioning towards a more structured setup.

It has been six months since he launched Vayu Capital, after registering as a Sebi-licensed research analyst.

“We had a one-year target of around 1,000 customers… But we hit 1,000 in 30 days,” he said, adding that they are currently at 1,800 subscribers and Rs 25 crore in Assets Under Management (AUM) in less than six months.

With a 12-member team in Bengaluru's HSR, Udupa's next steps are converting from an individual RA to a corporate RA as corporate RA gives a little more flexibility. "We already have a lot of customers from the Smallcase side and next year we will also be moving into the PMS route."

Value of brand deals drop

The regulatory reset recalibrated how brands view creator partnerships. The era of “stupid money” in 2021–22 — when startups, due to heavy funding and high-growth brands, paid inflated fees for reach — is over, Udupa said. Brand demand has narrowed to established, legacy players and fewer, higher-quality deals. “Today… the number of brands have increased because the traditional guys have come in, but the cost that they used to pay before is half right now,” he added.

A video on YouTube with 40,000-50,000 views in 2021-22 would get anywhere between Rs 2 lakh for a 30 second to 45 integration.

Today, the same arrangement but with a more reputed brand, would pay not more than Rs 1.25 lakh for 5 percent less views.

He noted that even the social media views have gone down a little bit industry wide. "If I was averaging 50,000 views, I would be averaging 30,000-35,000 views."

"The audience that is currently watching is a more mature audience. The euphoric audience has reduced a lot," Udupa noted.

Regulation has tightened but the opportunity remains. Udupa describes his YouTube channel as “a real estate asset.”

"It is my best-performing asset till date. Almost six years now. Very tiring, but I would continue doing it until my fund reaches a very significant point," he said.

From sponsorships to subscriptions and products

The pivots by finance creators are not merely regulatory maneuvers — they’re strategic bets on sustainable business models. Udupa expects to hit around 3,000 subscribers with revenue estimates of Rs 2.5 to 3 crore in year one.

The business is self-funded; hence, it is a profit first, let's talk later approach for Udupa. "Our expense would not be more than a crore. So that would be a very good margin for me to play around with.

What he plans to do with the excess money? Two things. "One, we are setting up the PMS. Then I will have to operate at slightly lesser margins because it's very dependent on the market. But there's a big demand from my existing user base of 50 lakh. But I don't want to start it today because I don't think the team is ready for that. So I'm building that capability up and it'll take a year. 2027 is when we're planning to do that."

He is also going to go heavy on the research side. "We are in talks with a few people to explore an app kind of system. It's still in very early stages."

The takeaway

Sebi’s intervention has forced a market reset that should benefit investors and the credible creators who put the long game first. As Udupa puts it: “The guys who are serious and playing the long game got themselves registered.”

He also said that today, there are barely any finance influencers left in the market. "Especially, English-speaking creators in the finance space are very less. Most of them have got registered and started going into the product route. Brand deal was never a sustainable thing. It was a subset of funding error and that funding error died. Creators who got registered are still surviving," he said.