Retail investors throng capital markets during lockdown period, says Reliance Securities CEO

While Covid-19 has been a painful period for all and the lockdown a pressure for most who have been busy and active, it seems to have drawn people to the capital market.

Lav Chaturvedi, Executive Director and Chief Executive Officer of Reliance Securities, told BusinessLine that the number of individuals trading on mobile platforms has swelled 50 per cent, while there’s been a 20 per cent growth in account opening in the last couple of months.

“Financialisation of savings has increased during this period (referring to the lockdown), and retail participation, particularly from the southern part of the country, is on the rise,” the ED of the decade-old broking firm observed.

Reliance Securities is looking at a consistent 25 to 30 per cent year-on-year growth across markets.

Asserting that this would be the most opportune time to invest, he said, “There could be a 10 per cent correction followed by growth in the next two to three years.”

Investors seem to have understood equity markets well as compared to the commodities, currency or bullion markets, he observed.

“We do extensive outreach initiatives, be it in the form of investor education or financial learning via offline and digital modes, in a systematic way. The focus is on educating retail participants to enable them take informed investment decisions on their own,” he said.