Why Did India’s Brokerage Industry See A Decline In Active Investors?
India’s stockbroking industry witnessed a slowdown in May as the number of active investors declined across most major brokerage platforms. According to the latest data released by the National Stock Exchange (NSE), the industry’s total active client base fell by around 1.71 lakh month-on-month, declining from 45.77 million in April to 45.59 million in May.
The drop reflects softer retail participation after months of strong growth in equity markets and increased competition among brokerage firms. However, despite the broader industry contraction, Groww continued to expand its user base, further cementing its position as India’s largest stockbroking platform.
The contrasting performance highlights a growing divergence between market leaders and the rest of the brokerage ecosystem.
How Did Groww Strengthen Its Market Leadership?
Groww emerged as one of the few major brokers to record positive growth during May.
The Bengaluru based investment platform added nearly 27,600 active clients during the month, taking its total active investor base to 13.06 million users.
As a result, Groww’s market share increased to 28.64%, extending its lead over all competitors and reinforcing its dominance in India’s retail investing landscape.
The company’s continued growth comes amid its aggressive push into equities, mutual funds, fixed-income products, and other wealth management offerings.
Groww’s ability to consistently attract first time investors has been a key factor behind its rise to the top of India’s brokerage industry.
Which Major Brokers Lost The Most Clients?
While Groww continued to grow, several leading brokerages reported a decline in active users.
Zerodha retained its position as the second-largest broker with 6.85 million active clients. However, the platform lost nearly 37,000 active users during May, representing a decline of 0.54%.
Angel One experienced the steepest drop among the top brokerage firms. The company lost approximately 60,000 active clients during the month, ending May with 6.68 million active users.
The decline narrowed the gap between Angel One and other rapidly growing competitors in the market.
Upstox also reported a significant contraction, losing more than 38,000 active clients and ending the month with 1.92 million active users.
Other traditional brokerages, including HDFC Securities, SBI Securities, Kotak Securities, and Motilal Oswal, also recorded month-on-month declines.
Which Brokers Managed To Grow?
Apart from Groww, only a handful of brokers reported growth in active users.
ICICI Securities added approximately 8,200 active clients during May, increasing its total user base to 2.11 million investors.
Meanwhile, Dhan continued its impressive growth trajectory. The platform added more than 10,000 active clients during the month, taking its active investor base beyond 1.06 million users.
With a monthly growth rate of 0.95%, Dhan emerged as the fastest-growing brokerage among the top 12 players and increased its market share to 2.33%.
The consistent growth suggests that newer digital-first platforms continue to gain traction among active traders and retail investors.
How Did New-Age Investment Platforms Perform?
Several emerging investment platforms witnessed mixed results.
Paytm Money’s active client base declined by 1.77% month-on-month, reducing its total user count to approximately 850,000 active investors.
INDmoney, on the other hand, remained largely stable, maintaining an active client base of around 690,000 users.
The two platforms accounted for 1.86% and 1.52% of the active client market, respectively.
Meanwhile, some of the sharpest declines were recorded by newer brokerage entrants. Mirae Asset backed platforms and PhonePe backed Share.Market saw their active client bases decline by 6.08% and 4.17%, respectively, during May.
What Does This Mean For The Industry?
The latest data indicates that India’s brokerage industry is entering a more competitive phase where client acquisition is becoming increasingly challenging.
While overall investor participation remains strong by historical standards, user growth is becoming concentrated among a smaller number of platforms with strong digital ecosystems and brand recognition.
Groww’s continued expansion despite industry-wide declines underscores its growing influence in India’s retail investing market, while emerging players like Dhan are steadily carving out their own niche.
As market conditions evolve, brokerages will likely focus on improving customer engagement, product innovation, and retention strategies to maintain growth momentum.
