According to the Sebi report, over 75 per cent of these traders are from the low income category and despite consecutive years of losses continue trading in F&O.
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday demanded the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) to reveal the names of “big players” profited in the futures and options (F&O) trading what he described as “making a killing at the expense of ordinary investors” in the stock market. The comments come a day after the market regulator, in a report, said that nine out of 10 individual investors suffered losses in the F&O segment in the last three years.
In an X post, Gandhi wrote: “Uncontrolled F&O trading has grown 45x in 5 years. 90% of small investors have lost ₹1.8 lakh Cr in 3 years. SEBI must reveal the names of the so-called “Big Players” making a killing at their expense.”
Following his comments on X, many users responded; some backed him, while others quickly rejected the remarks or mocked him. One user by the handle Amock@y0geshtweets, wrote: “SEBI Chairperson Madhuri Puri has not resigned yet, even after serious corruption allegations."
Another user by the handle Brutal Truth@sarkarstix wrote, “Uncontrolled F&O trading has grown 45x in 5 years means people’s disposable income has risen dramatically. This goes against your propaganda tropes that India has been struggling economically under PM Modi. Don’t weigh in on topics that you have no idea about.”
Gandhi’s comments come after the market regulator on Monday, in a report said that 90 per cent of retail investors incurred losses in F&O trading over the past three years, while proprietary traders and foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) made huge profits in the market.
According to the Sebi report, over 75 per cent of retail traders are from the low income category and despite consecutive years of losses continue trading in F&O.
The report also said that each retail trader spent Rs 26,000 on F&O transaction costs in FY24, but it is going to get costlier from October 1. Collectively, the report said, they spent Rs 50,000 crore on transaction costs in the past three years. After adjusting for this cost, the report said, only 1 per cent of retail traders earned profits exceeding Rs 1 lakh.
Who Profited
Interestingly, proprietary traders and FPIs earned profits of Rs 33,000 crore and Rs 28,000 crore, respectively, in FY24 alone (before accounting for transaction costs). In contrast, individual traders and others lost over Rs 61,000 crore in FY24 (before accounting for transaction costs).
It is not the first time that Rahul Gandhi has attacked Sebi. He and his party raised serious allegations against Sebi chief Madhabi Puri Buch over alleged conflicts of interest regarding her role as Sebi chief as the regulator probed companies where she or her family may have invested. In June this year, the opposition leader in Lok Sabha had also demanded a parliamentary probe into sharp stock market moves during the national elections.
The exit polls’ landslide forecast a day before the vote count sent stock markets surging with the NSE Nifty 50 and S&P BSE Sensex jumping 3.3 per cent and 3.4 per cent, respectively. During campaigning, some BJP ministers had also said that markets would surge on the counting day.