Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday (September 24, 2024) said 90% of small investors have lost ₹1.8 lakh crore in Futures and Option (F&O) trading in three years and asked the SEBI to reveal the names of the "so called big players" profiteering at their expense.
More than 91%, or 73 lakh, individual traders lost money in the F&O segment in FY24 with an average net loss of ₹1.2 lakh per person, a study conducted by markets regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) revealed on Monday (September 23, 2024).
Further, 93% of over 1 crore individual F&O traders incurred average losses of about ₹2 lakh per trader (inclusive of transaction costs) during the three years from FY22 to FY24. The aggregate losses of such traders exceeded ₹1.8 lakh crore during the period.
Mr. Gandhi, who is the leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, said on X, "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," the former Congress chief said.
The study said in FY24 alone, individuals incurred about ₹75,000 crore in net losses.
It found the top 3.5% of loss-makers — about 4 lakh traders — faced an average loss of ₹28 lakh per person over the same period, inclusive of transaction costs.
On the other hand, only 7.2% of individual F&O traders made a profit over the period of three years and only 1% of individual traders managed to earn profits exceeding Rs 1 lakh, after adjusting for transaction costs.
Moreover, the number of retail traders, or individual traders, has almost doubled in two years to about 96 lakh in FY24 from about 51 lakh in FY22.
Although such investors contributed about 30 per cent to the total turnover in FY24, they are a clear majority in number terms, as 99.8% of total traders in the equity F&O segment are individuals.
"The availability of sophisticated trading platforms and lower transaction costs have enabled retail investors to actively trade in options and futures contracts, contributing to the surge in market liquidity," SEBI said.
The regulator said rapid growth in F&O trading activity has highlighted the need for investor education and risk management practices, as a significant proportion of retail traders continued to incur losses in the market.
Published - September 24, 2024 06:48 pm IST
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