Next decade will unlock growth in retail investing: Angel One CMD Thakkar

Angel One CMD Dinesh Thakkar outlines how the company reached the No 3 spot in active clients, the structural changes shaping India's broking landscape, and why he foresees another wave of growth

Angel One, a three-decade-old brokerage, has maintained its edge in an industry transformed by technology (tech) and shifting investor behaviour. Chairman and Managing Director Dinesh Thakkar, in a conversation with Samie Modak in Mumbai, outlines how the company reached the No. 3 spot in active clients, the structural changes shaping India’s broking landscape, and why he foresees another wave of growth. Edited excerpts:

 

What drives India’s capital markets growth? 

Demography and digital adoption. India’s population dynamics are fundamental. After 2015, controlling inflation made equities more attractive than other assets. India’s digital public infrastructure — Aadhaar-based authentication, Unified Payments Interface (UPI), and eKYC — made markets accessible across Tier-II cities, benefiting tech-driven players like us.

 

How has Angel One remained fiercely competitive against tech-driven rivals? 

It’s not about ‘new age’ versus ‘old age’. It’s about understanding and serving user needs. Tech only matters when it solves real problems. Competitor analysis is secondary to delivering the best user experience. That mindset has kept us agile and scalable.

 

What helped Angel One get the tech right when traditional players lagged? 

Capital markets have long been tech-forward. Even in the 1990s, we shifted to screen-based trading and expanded very small aperture terminals nationwide. The real differentiator was pricing — using tech to cut costs in acquiring and servicing customers. The 2019 move from percentage-based commissions to fixed per-order pricing was transformative. Digital acquisition outweighed short-term revenue drops, growing clients from 1.29 million in 2019 to over 31 million in 2024-25.

 

Was the low-cost pricing strategy risky?

  Yes. Dropping prices risked revenue per customer. But our calculation: losing 65 per cent per customer yet acquiring 100x more clients would boost profitability. That leap of faith set us up for explosive growth, which accelerated during the pandemic.

 

Did growth rely more on organic expansion or active marketing? 

Not entirely organic. Competitive pricing needed heavy advertising via Google, Play Store, and Android, plus financial education and regional engagement, which deepened engagement beyond metros.

 

What influences a new customer to choose Angel One?

  Cost matters, but platform experience — intelligence, personalisation — matters just as much. Once onboarded, users stay. Pre-2019 customers — 1.5–1.8 million — remain, while half of the clients acquired between 2020-21 and 2022-23 continue transacting, reflecting strong stickiness.

 

Has UPI changed client behaviour and blunted the bank-broker account appeal? 

Absolutely. UPI levels the playing field — payments on broker apps are as easy as banking platforms, reducing the relevance of ‘3-in-1’ bundled accounts.

 

Is market penetration plateauing?

  Not yet. Of 210 million accounts, many are inactive. Retail participation remains underpenetrated. The next decade will see this base expand multifold as incomes rise and awareness grows.

 

Has the Securities and Exchange Board of India’s (Sebi’s) action on derivatives affected business volume trends? 

Regulation cools excesses. Weekly expiry cuts gave scope for new instruments. Volumes may have dropped from last year’s peaks but remain higher than 2020–2022, strengthening market stability and credibility.

 

Should India impose financial or knowledge checks for derivatives?

  Education is key, but all shareholders should access all instruments. Restricting by wealth or knowledge isn’t ideal; focus should be on user education.

 

Have flat returns changed investor behaviour? 

Not really. Systematic investment plan (SIP) investments remain robust, showing long-term retail faith. Investors understand equities fluctuate; volatility is expected, and the investor base is evolving.

 

What should the government or Sebi do to support the industry? 

Focus on a vibrant cash market. Retail equity participation drives capital formation and economic growth. Policies could reduce long-term capital gains tax on smaller ticket sizes, encouraging entrepreneurship, efficient capital allocation, and a virtuous cycle for the economy.

 

What are Angel One’s new product areas? 

Having started as a digital broker, we’ve expanded into mutual funds (now No. 2 in incremental SIP adoption), provide loans to customers in Tier-II and Tier-III cities, and offer advisory through Ionic, fully owned by Angel One, with ₹6,100 crore in assets in one year. Angel One Asset Management Company focuses on passive investing, enabling broader financial inclusion. Wherever tech can simplify investing, we use it.

 

Is the broking industry still open to disruption? 

Disruption is constant. Innovations like fractionalisation, tokenisation, and digitised asset transfer are just the start. Market penetration is far from complete. The next wave will come from artificial intelligence-driven personalisation and predictive insights — an area where Angel One is investing heavily.