Groww, Zerodha see big drop as 2 million active investors exit top brokers

Despite a rally in the market, top brokers including Groww and Zerodha lost two million active investors in H1 2025 as Sebi's stricter F&O norms dampen retail trading interest and client growth

India’s top four brokerage firms — Groww, Zerodha, Angel One, and Upstox — together lost nearly two million active investors in the first half of 2025, even as the stock markets posted gains for four straight months, Moneycontrol reported. The month of June alone saw a drop of nearly 600,000 active users from these platforms. 

This decline follows a strong performance in 2024, during which discount brokers added nearly 10 million active investors. The drop in 2025, however, represents only a small fraction of their total user base, according to Moneycontrol.

  -Groww, the largest broker by active clients, lost 600,000 users since January 2025.

-Zerodha followed with a decline of 550,000 users.

-Angel One saw a reduction of 450,000 active clients.

-Upstox lost just over 300,000 active users. 

Sebi’s F&O norms hit retail participation

This drop is reportedly linked to stricter regulations on futures and options (F&O) trading introduced by the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi). These include tighter margin rules, fewer weekly expiries, increased taxes, and higher capital requirements — all of which have made derivatives trading less appealing to retail investors, the news report said.

 

Traditional and emerging brokers gain ground

While top platforms struggle, traditional bank-backed brokers like HDFC Securities, ICICI Securities, and Kotak Securities have managed to grow their active user base. Smaller players like INDMoney, Dhan, and PhonePe’s Share.Market have also attracted new investors in the past six months, the news report said. 

Despite a rally since March and over ₹29,600 crore raised through 15 IPOs this quarter, investor sentiment remains low. Demat account additions slowed to 6.91 million in Q1 FY26 — the weakest in eight quarters. Experts cite global uncertainties, a narrow market rally, and weak earnings as key factors behind the sluggish investor activity, the news report stated.