FPJ News Service mumbai

In a bid to safeguard retail investors, the Securities and Exchange Board of India is tightening its market surveillance tools, Sebi Chairman Tuhin Kanta Pandey said on Monday. The capital markets regulator does not see “many other risks” like the manipulations done by the hedge fund Jane Street. The regulator is focused on protecting retail investors and upgrading its surveillance tools to prevent market distortion.

With suggestions coming in on how having monthly expiries in the derivatives segment can help protect retail investors, Pandey said there is no such move under consideration.

The Sebi chief said whatever further steps the regulator takes to protect retail investors in the derivatives market will only be based on data.  Amid heightened speculation on whether recent interventions have its intended impact in reducing the retail losses, Pandey said Sebi may come out with detailed data on the performance of retail investors in the derivative markets over the last three months.

Speaking to reporters days after a Sebi order pointed towards gains of over Rs 4,800 crore made by Jane Street, Pandey said Sebi is mulling upgrading its surveillance systems.  "And I don't think there are very many other risks," Pandey said, replying to a specific question on whether there are other funds or investors who may have manipulated the markets in a similar way.

What happened in the Jane Street matter was "basically" a surveillance issue, and the regulator is upping its focus on the aspect just because of that, the career bureaucrat-turned-regulator said.