SEBI's new accredited investor rules: who qualifies and what to submit
SEBI's circular of 5 November 2026 sets new securities-holding thresholds for accredited investors and lets fund managers certify them.
- Document
- Circulars
- Dated
- 05 Nov 2026
- Effective
- With immediate effect (para 10.1); AIF Regulations amendment notified October 15, 2026.
- Act by
- With immediate effect
This page was written by Patron Accounting’s AI from the official release and reviewed before publishing. It explains the document in plain language. It is not the document itself. Where this page and the original differ, the original governs.
The short version
- Individuals and HUFs need INR 5 crore in securities; companies need INR 20 crore.
- Fund managers can now decide accredited status themselves, as an optional route.
- A status decided by a manager lasts three years from the date of accreditation.
- Proof is an eCAS statement under six months old, or a CA certificate.
- Persons Resident Outside India are deemed accredited and need no certificate.
In short
SEBI's circular on accredited investors, dated 5 November 2026 (reference HO/19/34/11(6)2026-AFD-POD1/I/25244/2026), sets out how investors qualify to put money into Alternative Investment Funds (AIFs), Specialized Investment Funds (SIFs) and portfolio management services (PMS). It follows amendments to the AIF Regulations notified on 15 October 2026, and aims to make accreditation quicker and simpler.
What has changed
How it worked before
The circular does not describe the earlier rules or thresholds. It does confirm that accreditation through a recognised Accreditation Agency remains available, so that route was already in use.
What has changed
A fund manager can now check an investor and record accredited status directly, either when the investor joins or during a scheme. Securities holdings of INR 5 crore count for individuals, HUFs, family trusts and sole proprietors, and INR 20 crore for companies and other trusts. Accredited status is valid for three years. Each partner of a limited liability partnership (LLP) is tested separately. Persons Resident Outside India are treated as accredited without a certificate, though the manager must record why.
Who this affects
Individuals, Hindu Undivided Families (HUFs), companies, trusts and LLPs that want to invest in an AIF, SIF or PMS. It also affects the fund managers, asset management companies and portfolio managers who run those products, and anyone who is not resident in India for currency-law purposes.
An example
Meera is an individual investor with shares and mutual funds held in demat and mutual fund folios worth INR 6 crore. Her latest eCAS statement is four months old and shows the full amount. Because INR 6 crore is above the INR 5 crore threshold for individuals, her manager can record her as accredited for three years from the date of accreditation.
What you should do
If you want to invest in an AIF, SIF or PMS, check your securities holdings against the thresholds and gather an eCAS statement dated within six months, or a CA certificate. If you already hold an accreditation certificate from an Accreditation Agency, it stays valid until its own expiry. If you run a fund or portfolio service, adopt a written accreditation policy and keep records for five years.
Deadline · With immediate effectIf you do nothing
The circular does not state any penalty or interest for investors who skip these steps. Without accredited status, an investor may not be able to invest in the schemes that require it. The circular makes the manager responsible for compliance with the eligibility rules and the record-keeping duties, but it does not say what penalty applies if those duties are missed.
The terms explained
- accredited investor
- An investor who meets the eligibility test for AIFs, based on income, net worth or securities holdings. Only such investors can invest in certain schemes.
- eCAS
- An electronic Consolidated Account Statement, a summary of your securities and mutual fund holdings generated by a depository.
- Accreditation Agency
- A body recognised by SEBI that checks an investor's eligibility and issues a certificate of accreditation.
- Manager
- For this circular, the AIF manager, the asset management company of a SIF, or a portfolio manager, who can now decide an investor's accredited status.
The original document
| Issued by | SEBI |
|---|---|
| Document | Circulars |
| Full title | Review of the framework for Accredited Investors |
| Issued on | 05 November 2026 |
| Effective | With immediate effect (para 10.1); AIF Regulations amendment notified October 15, 2026. |
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