New Delhi, Sep 10
Top discount broking firms continued to lose their active investor base in August. Groww, Zerodha, Angel One and Upstox - India's four bigshot discount broking firms - lost around 7 lakh clients combined.
Groww had 1.23 crore active investors in July, which has fallen 2.80 per cent to 1.20 crore in August, Zerodha's investors base decreased by 1.71 per cent to 72.63 lakh from nearly 74.34 lakh in July, Angel One lost 1.51 per cent investors in the month to 70.46 lakh from 71.97 lakh in previous month, and Upstox's user based decline to 23.78 lakh from 24.74 lakh in July.
Mirae Asset Capital, Indstocks, HDFC Securities, PhonePe Wealth, Sharekhan, Kotak Securities, and Motilal Oswal Financial also saw a drop in active clients in August as a result of the slowdown in investor activity.
The decline coincided with the Securities and Exchange Board of India's (SEBI) tightening of its rules, which included higher taxes, steeper capital thresholds, fewer weekly expiries, and stricter margin requirements. Futures and options trading volumes saw a discernible decline as a result of these actions.
However, the downturn did not affect every player.
Paytm Money, SBICAP Securities, and ICICI Securities were able to defy the trend. Paytm Money saw the biggest gains with nearly 11,983 new clients, SBICAP Securities increased its clientele by almost 7,400, and ICICI Securities added roughly 6,512 active clients during the month.
Smaller brokerage houses were resilient as well. Despite the general market contraction, Aaritya Broking, Moneywise Finvest, Choice Equity Broking, Religare Broking, Jainam Broking, Yes Securities, IDBI Capital, and Bajaj Financial Securities were all able to increase the number of active clients they served.
Speculative trading has become less appealing as a result of the SEBI's stricter regulations regarding margins, derivatives expiration windows, capital limits, and taxes.
— IANS
Reader Comments
I switched from Zerodha to ICICI Securities last month. The interface isn't as slick but feels more reliable for long-term investing. Maybe others are thinking the same?
Market sentiment has been weak since July. Many small investors like me have paused trading due to increased margins. Hope things stabilize soon 🤞
Interesting that Paytm Money gained clients while others lost. Their integration with UPI and banking might be attracting users who want everything in one app.
The tax changes hit hard. Many of my friends have reduced trading frequency because the profits don't make sense after taxes and charges. SEBI should reconsider this.
This is healthy for the market. Too much speculation was happening. Now people will focus on proper investing rather than gambling on options.
We welcome thoughtful discussions from our readers. Please keep comments respectful and on-topic.