The Securities and Exchange Board of India published an updated master circular for portfolio managers, bringing together in one document the requirements contained in SEBI circulars and related directions issued on or before March 31, 2025 and superseding the June 7, 2024 master circular. The update also rescinds the guidelines and directions in specified earlier circulars to the extent they relate to portfolio managers. The consolidated framework spans registration and post-registration processes (including change-in-control approvals via the SEBI Intermediary Portal), operating standards and client protection measures (such as the INR 50 lakh minimum first lump-sum investment, direct onboarding option, distributor oversight including mandatory Association of Portfolio Managers in India registration, dealing-room controls and audit trail requirements, and cyber security compliance), and investment and conflict-of-interest controls (including the corporate bond RFQ execution threshold, caps and consent processes for investments in associates or related parties, and minimum credit-rating restrictions). It also consolidates disclosure and reporting obligations, including standardised fee disclosures, investor charter and performance reporting and benchmarking requirements, and periodic submissions such as monthly reporting and quarterly offsite inspection data. SEBI set out transition provisions under which actions already taken, proceedings commenced, and applications pending under the rescinded circulars are treated as undertaken under the corresponding provisions of the master circular, without affecting accrued rights, obligations, liabilities or penalties. Portfolio managers are required to continue submitting the reports envisaged in the master circular on the prescribed periodic or continuous basis.

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