Groww Leads Active Client Additions In February Despite Derivatives Curbs, Peers See Modest Growth

Discount brokerages recorded a surge in active clients for the second straight month on the National Stock Exchange (NSE). This comes amid continued volatility and geopolitical tensions in Indian markets.

According to Moneycontrol, the total number of active investors on the NSE increased by 3.56 lakh in February compared to a 3 lakh increase in January. The NSE defines active investors as those who have traded at least once in the previous 12 months.

The majority of the increase was attributed to Groww, the largest broker in the nation by active investors. In February, the broking added approximately 2.66 lakh active clients, accounting for about 75% of all discount broking additions. Even though the total number of accounts added across discount brokerages in January was approximately 3 lakh, Groww had added approximately 3.5 lakh active investors.

The number of active clients increased more slowly at other brokerages. During the month, the active investor bases of Mumbai-based Angel One and Zerodha, the nation's largest broker by revenue, both grew by roughly 10,000.

On the other hand, some brokerages have experienced drops in the number of active investors over a longer time frame. Angel One's active investor base dropped by roughly 10 lakh in 2025, while Zerodha, based in Bengaluru, saw a decline of roughly 11 lakh over the previous year. ICICI Securities, a full-service broker, added roughly 29,830 investors in February, bringing its total number of active investors to 20.75 lakh.

Together, the leading broking companies brought in almost one crore new active investors in 2024; the 2025 drop only makes up a small portion of their total user base.

Stricter regulations are blamed by market participants for the slowdown in the growth of active clients. Tighter margin requirements, lower weekly expenses, higher capital thresholds, and higher taxes are some of the factors that have made trading derivatives less appealing to individual investors. It is anticipated that the recent hike in the securities transaction tax (STT) will discourage speculative futures and options trading.

Regulatory Changes Impact

The Securities and Exchange Board of India noted that stricter regulations in the derivatives market are intended to prevent retail investors from engaging in excessively speculative trading.

According to market analysts, trading short-term futures and options has become less appealing due to stricter risk controls, higher margin requirements, and an increase in securities transaction tax, reported the Economic Times.