Derivatives trading may need more guardrails, says Sebi WTM Murty

At the BFSI Insight Summit 2026, Sebi's KVR Murty said retail derivatives trading may need more guardrails amid expiry-day hyperactivity, stressing investor protection and market integrity.

K V R Murty, whole-time member of the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi), said on Tuesday that there was a need for guardrails in the derivatives segment for retail investors, given the increase in activity on expiry days. 

Murty added that safeguarding investors’ interests and market integrity was the priority for the regulator. Speaking at the Business Standard BFSI Insight Summit, Murty said Sebi’s approach is to bring greater transparency by making risks clear so that investors can make informed decisions. Two recent studies on derivatives conducted by Sebi were meant to serve that purpose, he added. 

On the closing auction session, which had led to some turbulence in the markets, Murty said Sebi had listened to all stakeholders and had received responses from around 20,000 participants. He lauded the capital markets regulator as one of the country’s most forward-looking organisations on technology, with first-grade tech capabilities, near-real-time surveillance capability, and in-house artificial intelligence (AI) tools.