Retail participation in the equity markets appears to be reviving after a brief slowdown, with the number of active investors on the National Stock Exchange (NSE) increasing for the second consecutive month in February likely from the market correction amid geopolitical tensions.
Active investors on the exchange rose by 3.56 lakh in February, higher than the 3 lakh increase recorded in January, according to exchange data. The NSE considers investors active if they have traded at least once in the past 12 months.
Market participants say the uptick may partly reflect investors returning during the recent market correction, as well as the longer-term shift in India from traditional savings to market-linked investments.
“The spectacular bull run after the Covid crash attracted lots of investors into the market and the total number of unique investors (PAN based) shot up from around 30 million in April 2020 to around 130 million now. The young generation prefers investing in the market rather than depositing money in bank FDs,” said VK Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist at Geojit Investments Ltd.
“This transition from ‘savers to investors’ appears to be a long-term trend. The equity cult is becoming deeply ingrained in India. This is reflecting in the steady flow of money into SIPs also. It appears that the market correction is encouraging investors to invest more.”
After a moderation last year, retail participation seems to be reviving possibly due to the recent market correction, he added.
Groww surge
A significant portion of the February increase was driven by discount brokerage Groww, which added about 2.66 lakh active clients, accounting for nearly three-fourths of the total additions among discount brokers. The platform had also led additions in January, adding around 3.5 lakh active investors during the month.
Other major brokerages saw relatively modest increases. Zerodha, the country’s largest brokerage by revenue, and Angel One added around 10,000 active investors each in February.
Among full-service brokers, ICICI Securities added 29,830 investors, taking its total active investor base to 20.75 lakh.
Investor drop
Over a longer period, however, some brokerages have seen declines in active investor counts. Zerodha’s active client base has fallen by about 11 lakh over the past year, while Angel One’s active investor base declined by around 10 lakh in 2025.
Meanwhile, Upstox reported a decline of about 27,535 clients, while HDFC Securities saw its active client base fall by around 14,276 in February.
Market participants attribute the moderation in active client growth over the past year to tighter regulatory measures affecting derivatives trading. These include stricter margin requirements, reduced weekly expiries, higher capital thresholds and increased taxation, which have made speculative trading less attractive for retail investors. The recent increase in securities transaction tax (STT) is also expected to discourage futures and options trading.
Despite the slowdown, the broader retail base remained large. The top broking firms collectively added nearly one crore new active investors in 2024, and the declines seen in 2025 represent a relatively small share of their overall client base.
Brokerages such as Motilal Oswal Financial Services, IIFL Capital Services, 5Paisa Capital, Mirae Asset Capital Markets, Choice Equity Broking and PhonePe Wealth Broking also reported declines in active clients.
In contrast, Kotak Securities, SBI Securities, Raise Securities (formerly Moneylicious Securities), Paytm Money, Indstocks and Axis Securities reported increases in active client additions during the month.
Published on March 12, 2026
