New Delhi: Nithin Kamath, the chief executive officer of India’s largest online brokerage, estimates that his platform handles 10 to 12 million orders on the average day.
India’s benchmark S&P BSE Sensex Index rose over 20% in the first 10 months of this year, aided by the central bank’s efforts to pump liquidity into the economy.
Meanwhile, a poor debut for the nation’s largest ever initial public offering, from digital payments pioneer Paytm, has already left many retail investors with losses.
Rathore’s portfolio of stocks is now worth Rs 1.15 crore after doubling in value from March 2020.
Some analysts see reason for caution.
Earlier this year, Devashish Pahwa, a 31-year-old entrepreneur in New Delhi’s apparel industry, invested about Rs 200,000 from his own and his family’s accounts in One 97 Communications Ltd., the operator of Paytm.
He also says he will buy into any company that he expects to do well in the coming years, especially when shares are falling since that would make them cheaper.
From Vietnam to South Korea, more families are pumping money into stock markets, but the pace at which India is adding new investors is unprecedented.
In early 2020, India was adding 400,000 investor accounts every month, according to its market regulator.
Despite the pullback in the Sensex, November was one of the best months for brokerages.
Indian households invest 7% of financial assets in equities versus an average 30% for other major emerging markets, according to Gaurav Patankar, an analyst at Bloomberg Intelligence.