Zerodha CEO Nithin Kamath: First‑Gen Founders Pose Bigger Threat Than Jio-BlackRock JV

Nithin Kamath, co‑founder and CEO of Zerodha, believes that Jio Financial Services (JFS)’s entry into the stockbroking industry poses less of a threat to the company than first‑generation founders.

“I still feel our real competition is going to be more from first‑generation founders who are running, breathing and always thinking about broking. I somehow do not feel it is really going to be from incumbents. This is not a business where having deep pockets means you have a large moat,” Kamath said in a post on X.

Kamath was commenting on the JFS–BlackRock joint venture receiving a broking licence from SEBI.

Jio–BlackRock is a 50 : 50 joint venture between Jio, a telecommunications arm of Reliance Industries Ltd, and BlackRock, the world’s largest asset‑management company. The venture combines Jio’s digital reach and integrated software‑service networks with BlackRock’s Alladin Platform to provide consumers with tech‑driven insights.

Calling the entity’s debut “great news,” Kamath stated that Jio probably has the distribution to further increase its presence in the Indian retail‑investor market beyond the existing top 10 crore Indians.

“Many people asked me about Jio–BlackRock getting a stockbroking licence. Firstly, this is great news. The biggest issue for the Indian markets is a lack of breadth in participation. We are largely limited to the top 10 crore Indians. If anyone can expand the markets beyond the top 10 crore Indians, it is probably Jio with all its distribution might,” Kamath said in the post.

Kamath claimed that Zerodha is not chasing vanity metrics, and his goal is to stay profitable while adhering to the principles and philosophies that have brought the company success.

“How do we think about broking? We are not chasing vanity metrics. The idea is to stay profitable and, more importantly, ensure that we stick to the principles and philosophies that have got us this far. At the heart of our philosophy is always doing the right thing for customers,” the post said.

Zerodha is a key player in the Indian stockbroking industry. It reported an 88.95 % increase in consolidated profit after tax to Rs 5,496.3 crore in FY 24 from Rs 2,909 crore the previous year. Operating revenue for the fiscal year under review was Rs 9,372.1 crore, up 37.16 % from Rs 6,832.8 crore in FY 23.