SEBI notifies a new Common Advertisement Code for brokers, mutual funds and celebrity endorsers

SEBI has notified the SEBI (Intermediaries) (Second Amendment) Regulations, 2026, inserting an entirely new Chapter IIID — a 'Common Advertisement Code' — into the SEBI (Intermediaries) Regulations, 2008, covering advertisements by every category of SEBI-regulated entity: stockbrokers, depository participants, online bond platforms, investment advisers, research analysts, mutual funds/AMCs and portfolio managers. Notified on 8 October 2026 under Section 30 of the SEBI Act, 1992, the new Chapter IIID (Regulations 16G to 16Q) comes into force 180 days later, around April 2027. It defines 'advertisement' broadly across print, broadcast, digital and outdoor media, and separately defines 'celebrity' in detail — from top-ranked celebrities and social-media influencers above a defined-reach threshold to national-level sportspersons and reality-show winners.

Any advertisement featuring a celebrity now needs prior approval from the relevant supervisory body; celebrities may only endorse at the brand level, not push specific products with return claims, and endorsement costs can never be passed on to clients or charged to a mutual fund scheme. The Code also bans 'dark patterns' (per the Central Consumer Protection Authority's 2023 guidelines), incentives or vouchers to induce trading, guaranteed- or fixed-return claims (except for online bond platforms), and unauthorised use of SEBI's or exchanges' logos. A related consequential amendment to the SEBI (Mutual Funds) Regulations, 2026 omits their own old advertisement schedule in favour of this new centralised Code.