The number of new demat accounts opened with depositories have not shown any significant rise despite a turnaround in sentiment in the secondary markets as small investors have preferred the mutual fu
The number of new demat accounts opened with depositories have not shown any significant rise despite a turnaround in sentiment in the secondary markets as small investors have preferred the mutual fund route over direct participation in the domestic equity market.
India’s leading depository National Securities Depository Ltd (NSDL) has seen a 4.23 per cent growth in the number of new accounts opened in 2015, which is in line with the trend seen in past few years.
The depository added 5.77 lakh new accounts taking the total number of accounts registered with NSDL to 1.42 crore as at the end of Novemb-er 2015. The Central Deposi-tory Services Ltd (CDSL) affiliated to the BSE reported a 9.53 per cent growth in the number of new accounts opened this year taking its total tally to 1.02 crore accounts.
“The direct equity participation by small investors hasn’t grown as expected by the market. Most of the investors are opting for the mutual fund route to invest in the equity markets, reflected in the surge of assets under management of equity mutual fund schemes,” said Rakesh Somani, past president, Association of National Exchange Members of India (ANMI) and director, Eureka Stock and Share Broking Services.
According to him, retail investors would come into the market in large numbers if there were couple of quality IPOs. “We have seen such a surge in retail participation when Maruti and Coal India Ltd came out with their public offers,” he added.
