Options trader PR Sundar under SEBI scanner
Options trader and trainer PR Sundar, who has been facing a social media backlash for the 'most vulgar tweet' of the year, is now under the scanner of the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) – for different reasons.
According to the SEBI website, his firm Mansun Consultancy Pvt Ltd has been listed under the Cause List pertaining to the 'examination of unregistered investment advisory'.
The regulatory body strictly monitors the advisory space to protect investors' interests.
"If any person found to be engaged in providing investment advisory services without getting registered with SEBI, appropriate action as deemed fit, under SEBI Act, 1992, may be initiated," according to its website.
Directors of Mansun Consultancy Pvt Ltd are Marimuthu Ramalingam, Mangaiyarkarasi Sundar, and Purisairajamani Sundar, according to Zauba Corp, a website that tracks businesses. Mansun Consultancy’s registered address is in Chennai, Tamil Nadu.
Invest In High Yield AAA Corporate Bonds
golden
Weaving A Network Against Human Trafficking
Our Better World
Speaking exclusively to Moneycontrol, Sundar clarified that two years ago a SEBI-registered advisory firm, Zebu Wealth Management, asked him to provide research analysis for their clients. Sundar is a research analyst with a National Institute of Securities Market (NISM) certification. NISM is the educational arm of SEBI.
“I provided my services to Zebu and demanded a fee. However, the brokerage firm wanted to avoid additional operational costs like GST, input credit, TDS, etc. So, they asked me to collect the advisory fee directly,” Sundar said.
When his firm Mansun Consultancy Pvt Ltd, which is not SEBI-registered, received the fees, the firm received an enquiry from the regulator. “We stopped everything then and there. This is a procedural violation as per SEBI for which they are seeking clarification,” he added.
MTM screenshots
Sundar has also been accused by Twitterati of posting screenshots of only his profitable positions and faking/deleting screenshots when trades go against him.
According to Abid Hassan, co-founder of Sensibull.com, "Fake P&L (profit & loss) screenshot sharing is one of the biggest scams in India."
When Hassan launched ‘verified by Sensibull’ screenshots earlier in November, Sundar tweeted: You want to see verified MTM (mark-to-market) screenshot, verified by 3rd party? I can show you verified MTM and also I can show you how it can be manipulated.”
'Most vulgar tweet of the year'
The celebrated options trader has been in the limelight recently for his choice of language while responding to another user over profits made on his recent trades.
Several users branded his tweet as ‘distasteful’, ‘poor’, and ‘unacceptable’. Following the backlash, Sundar wrote, "My intention was not to offend anyone.”