SEBI Weighs Custodians to Shield Retail Investors Worried over vanishing share portfolios, regulator also plans tighter rules for trading settlement Defaulting brokers and vanishing share portfolios have prompted the capital market regulator to consider ways to protect the interests of retail investors who are often at the mercy of unscrupulous brokers misusing clientsā shares without consent. The Securities and Exchange Board of India plans to tighten rules for trading settlement and introduce custodians for retail investors, said two people familiar with the matter.These proposals were discussed in the Sebiās Secondary Market Advisory Committee meeting recently. The details could not be ascertained because the plan is still on the drawing board. Sebiās plan is to ensure brokers do not misuse clientsā accounts and sell their shares without nod unless the client has defaulted.The market regulator is considering the introduction of custodians for retail investors ā akin to int...