Smaller states boost presence in equity-investing arena, shows data

Investors from relatively small states — such as Assam and Arunachal Pradesh — are entering the stock market arena in droves. In the past year, these eastern states, along with Bihar, Madhya Pradesh and Odisha, have seen their investor count double.

Last week, the BSE crossed the 100-million investor mark. The overall growth in investor count in the past year is 58 per cent. Among larger states, Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan have seen their investor count increase at a much faster pace. Even Maharashtra with a large investor base has seen nearly 50 per cent jump in the number of investors.

“This shows robust growth in retail participation in the domestic capital market. The technology penetration, improved financial awareness, advanced online trading tools, and easy access to real-time price movements has contributed towards this achievement. With the growing influence of social media and digital infrastructure, we expect this rise to continue,” says Ravi Singh, head of research, Share India.

Experts also say with returns for other asset classes, such as fixed income, gold and real estate, remaining muted in the past year, investors are pinning hopes on the equity markets to generate inflation-beating returns.