Motilal Oswal group gets SEBI custodian licence to start operations from Q4

Motilal Oswal Custodial Services Private Limited (MOCSPL), a wholly owned subsidiary of Motilal Oswal Financial Services Limited (MOFSL), has received approval from the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) to act as a Custodian of Securities under the SEBI (Custodian) Regulations, 1996.

The approval will allow MOCSPL to provide securities safekeeping, trade settlement, corporate action processing and regulatory reporting services to institutional clients. These will include alternative investment funds (AIFs), portfolio management services (PMS), mutual funds, insurance companies and pension funds, among others.

The custodian business requires substantial net worth, independent systems and audited operational controls and is among the regulated activities in India's securities market. With the approval, MOCSPL is authorised to hold and service institutional assets in India.


The new business will add custody services to the group's existing institutional offerings, which include institutional equities, wealth management, asset management, private wealth, investment banking, alternatives and home finance. The group said clients will be able to access execution, custody and post-trade servicing within a single institutional relationship.

Motilal Oswal, Group CEO and Co-founder of Motilal Oswal Financial Services, said institutional asset pools in India are expanding, with alternative investment funds, portfolio managers and foreign investors increasing their presence in the markets. He said custody is a key part of this growth and that the group's entry into the sector is based on the need for domestic market infrastructure that meets global standards.

The company said it will focus on expanding its service offerings, with institutional clients requiring precision, responsiveness and transparency in daily operations. It also said technology will be central to the business, with teams focused on the requirements of alternative funds, offshore investors and domestic institutions.

MOCSPL will commence operations in the last quarter of 2026, subject to completion of operational readiness requirements.

Disclaimer: This article has been written by Veer Sharma, who is not a SEBI-registered Research Analyst or an Investment Adviser. Veer Sharma and his/her ‘relative(s)’ (as defined under Section 2(77) of the Companies Act, 2013) do not hold any financial interest in the companies mentioned in this article as of the date of publication. The views/recommendations mentioned in this article, wherever applicable, are those of the respective SEBI-registered Research Analyst/brokerage and have been reproduced/reported with due attribution. They should not be construed as the views or recommendations of The Economic Times Digital or the journalist. Readers are advised to consider the original research report and make their investment decisions based on their own assessment. Brokerage disclaimers here.