The Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) has been actively encouraging brokerage firms to join its Past Risk and Return Verification Agency (PaRRVA) platform, as participation from the broking side remains tepid despite the platform's operationalisation in May. According to latest reports, only four qualified stock brokers (QSBs) have enrolled on the platform so far, with Groww, HDFC Securities, Angel One and SMC Global being the current participants. The platform was approved last year and has been operationalised with Care Ratings as the verification agency and the National Stock Exchange (NSE) as the PaRRVA data centre. With adoption remaining tepid since the platform's operationalisation, Sebi has been encouraging brokerages to participate more actively, with algo-providers also yet to enroll on PaRRVA.
Industry players have raised significant concerns over the platform's high costs, which may be deterring wider participation. As reported by sources, the platform requires nearly ₹1 crore payment annually for QSBs offering investment advisory or research analyst services, or ₹40 lakh annually for trading members. For usage-based pricing, QSBs pay ₹12.5 lakh for one recommendation each in portfolio, rebalance, single stocks, derivatives and intraday calls. A domestic brokerage head stated that while everything about the platform is great, the cost is the primary concern, making the industry hesitant to participate. An industry participant noted that "We believe everything about this platform is great, except its cost. The platform requires high amounts to be paid for these services every year, which may make the industry hesitant to participate."
According to latest reports, total participation across intermediaries is around 360, including over 250 research analysts and around 110 investment advisers. This represents a small fraction of the total market intermediaries, with approximately 2,270 registered research analysts and 1,048 investment advisers according to Sebi's website data as of October 11. The platform was operationalised in May, with commercial reporting rolled out in September, and algo providers are yet to enrol on PaRRVA.
In a circular issued in late April, Sebi mandated that investment advisers (IAs) and research analysts (RAs) wishing to communicate certified past performance data to clients must enrol with PaRRVA within three months of its operationalisation. As reported by sources, those who fail to comply would not be permitted to communicate certified past performance data to clients after the three-month period. The regulator has also stipulated that two years after PaRRVA's operationalisation, IAs and RAs will be permitted to communicate only PaRRVA-verified risk and return metrics, with no use of past performance data relating to the period before the platform's operationalisation. This framework ensures that verified performance metrics can be displayed on the platform as well as on the advisers' and analysts' own platforms.
Under the framework, advisers and analysts are required to register on the platform and route their investment calls through it during a 90-day cooling-off period. According to Pankaj D Prasade, Director and Head of PaRRVA at CARE Ratings, since the commercial launch on May 4, 2026, onboarding has remained robust and Sebi has been highly supportive of the industry's efforts to join the platform. The agency is tasked with independently verifying historical risk and return metrics of market intermediaries, enabling them to show verified performance to clients once verified. Given that brokerages have multiple analysts making recommendations across intraday, short-term and long-term trading strategies, as well as fundamental, technical and derivatives-based calls, their participation in PaRRVA could help improve transparency in the equity markets.
