3 lessons from SEBI's new investor awareness videos on corporate bonds

Recently, the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI), in collaboration with Market Infrastructure Institutions (MIIs) and other market intermediaries, organised a programme for expanding the corporate bond market via investor awareness, issuer outreach and stakeholder engagement.

On the occasion, two new investor awareness videos were launched by Amarjeet Singh, Whole Time Member (WTM), SEBI and K.V. R. Murthy,Whole Time Member (WTM), SEBI.

“Under this initiative, 4 investor awareness videos were launched during the inaugural programme on February 4, 2026, followed by 2 additional videos during the Issuer Outreach Programme held in Mumbai on June 12, 2026. With today's launch of 2 new videos, the initiative now comprises 8 investor awareness videos dedicated to the corporate bond market,” SEBI said in a release.

Here are the 3 key lessons from SEBI's new investor awareness videos on corporate bonds:

1. Invest in bonds based on your risk-appetite: Bonds carry a risk element and for assessing it, investors need to develop a clear understanding of credit rating. Different credit rating agencies, including the likes of ICRA, Crisil and Brickworks Rating among others, rate these fixed income instruments. ‘AAA’ is the highest credit rating for bonds in India, reflecting the highest degree of safety and the lowest credit risk.

Higher return may mean lower rating, which in turn may correspond to higher risk, pointed out the video.

2. Invest through SEBI-regulated Online Bond Provider Platforms or OBPP: The bond market in India has seen an unprecedented growth. Investors now can invest in the instrument at the click of a button via platforms like Online Bond Provider Platform (OBPP)

3. Always verify if the platform is SEBI-verified: For checking the authenticity of the platform, you need to visit the official website of SEBi. Under that click on Intermediaries or Market Infrastructure Institutions, you can verify the institution under Recognised Intermediaries or OBPP. You need to look for their registration code and check if they are registered with any of the stock exchanges.

The videos explain the importance of understanding credit rating and demystifying ‘dirty price’ versus ‘clean price’ concept of corporate bonds, the release said.