You may not see any social media influencer endorsing a specific fund house or plan when you browse YouTube.
Details about Social media influencers with 10 lakh followers are celebrities and cannot be used to promote MF
SEBI has updated its definition of celebrity to include social media influencers with at least 10 lakh followers on any digital platform such as Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, or Twitter.
This means that finfluencers can no longer advocate mutual fund plans. However, at the industry level, SEBI authorizes celebrity endorsement.
SEBI issued criteria defining “celebrity” in communication to AMFI. Here is a full definition of celebrity:
- Anyone who appears in the top 50 of any celebrity index is published by a respectable national publication. The index should be no older than a year.
- Anyone who has starred in a major motion picture, TV series, TV show, or web series on OTT.
- Anyone who is a sportsperson who has been a member of the country’s national team or has competed in international tournaments such as the Olympics, Asian Games, Commonwealth Games, and other major sports events such as IPL, Kabaddi, and so on.
- Anyone who hosts or anchors a TV show, quiz, news station, comedy show, or another such program.
- Anyone who has won a competitive television or online television program.
- Anyone who is a virtual or fictional persona with a large following.
This will take effect on January 1, 2023.
