PhonePe takes on Zerodha, Upstox, Groww, unveils stock broking platform
Fintech giant PhonePe said it has forayed into stock broking with Share(dot)Market, under its subsidiary PhonePe Wealth Broking Pvt Ltd. The move is expected to help Walmart-owned PhonePe take on players such as Zerodha, Upstox, Groww, and ICICI Direct.
PhonePe said what differentiates ‘Share.Market’ is that it elevates discount broking by providing market intelligence and quantitative research-based WealthBaskets, a scalable technology platform, and great customer experience for investors and traders alike.
“There are a lot of platforms like Zerodha, Groww, and Upstox. But I think each platform is distinct not only because of its pricing but also parameters such as product, content, and quant,” said Sameer Nigam, PhonePe chief executive officer and founder. “I think we will also differentiate and our hope is that we will find the right match.”
Share(dot)Market is available as a mobile app and a dedicated web platform, enabling retail investors to buy stocks, do intraday trades, buy curated WealthBaskets, and mutual funds.
Rahul Chari, chief technology officer and co-founder of PhonePe, said the firm would patiently grow the market and see the benefits over the next 10 years as the participation of investors is expected to go up significantly.
Initiatives by the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi), like easy onboarding through Aadhaar and Video Know Your Customer (KYC), faster settlement times, and regulatory interventions safeguarding customer funds, have resulted in explosive growth of retail investors believing in the power of stock markets to grow their wealth. This is also evidenced by the steady growth in demat accounts and mutual fund Systematic Investment Plans (SIPs).
Sundararaman Ramamurthy, managing director and chief executive officer of leading stock exchange BSE, who was also present at the PhonePe event, said the increase in individual investors or unique client codes was just 18 per cent from 2020 to 2023. From 2020 to 2023, this increased by 176 per cent. He said that BSE had around 5 crore unique client codes (UCC) till 2020 and today it is 14 crore. He said the 9 crore increase happened in the recent past aided by the KYC registration process being simplified and digitised. He said a big chunk of these users are in the age group of 20-30 years. He also said growth is also coming from the remotest parts of the country.
PhonePe said Share(dot)Market will bring a new dimension to stock broking by providing quantitative research along with a proven technology platform, at a competitive discount broking price. This will help in creating an investing journey focused on wealth creation on a sustained basis, by taking a customer-first approach.
Ujjwal Jain, chief executive officer, Share(dot)Market, said that there is vibrant growth in the active trading community which trades with different objectives. “We believe Share(dot)Market will propel this growth with the backing of our technological prowess, reach, seamless onboarding, and superior product experience,” said Jain.
Share(dot)Market offers stocks (intraday and delivery), mutual funds, Exchange-Traded Funds (ETFs), and WealthBaskets. WealthBaskets are curated collections of stocks/investment products by Sebi-registered intermediaries that align with specific themes, sectors, or market trends. The aim is to enable active equity portfolio building with great convenience and at low costs.
Sujit Modi, chief investment officer, Share(dot)Market, said that Share(dot)Market will bring newer demographics into broking, helping them get started on their investing journey with off-the-shelf quant research-led offerings including WealthBaskets.
India is set to become the world’s third-largest economy and stock market by the end of this decade, according to global brokerage house Morgan Stanley. It expects the Indian stock market to nearly treble its market capitalisation to grow 11 per cent annually to $10 trillion by the end of the ongoing decade (2030), on the back of strong economic growth.
Pricing Details:
?-? Zero brokerage up to INR 400 on trades
?-? Zero Platform fee for in-house and Third Party WealthBaskets
?-? Zero Brokerage on WealthBasket transactions across both in-house and Third Party WealthBaskets