Stock Brokers in India (Top Share Brokers / Best Stock Broker Comparison)

Purpose of this article:

• Understand basics of Online Stock Market Trading in India.
• Provide detail about Top Stock Trading Companies in India.
• Compare and discuss about stock broker websites, product offerings, services, fees, brokerage and reviews.

Brief Introduction of Online Stock Market Trading

1. Stock Exchange

   Stocks (Shares, equity) are traded in stock exchange. India has two big stock exchanges (Bombay Stock Exchange - BSE and National Stock Exchange - NSE) and few small exchanges like Jaipur Stock Exchange etc. Click here to see the list of Stock Exchanges in India

   Investor can trade stocks in any of the stock exchange in India.

2. Stock Broker

   Investor requires a Stock Broker to buy and sell shares in stock exchanges (BSE, NSE etc.). Stock Broker are registered member of stock exchange.

   Only stock brokers can directly buy and sell shares in Stock Market. An investor must contact a stock broker to trade stocks on behalf of him. Broker charge commissions (brokerages) for their service. Brokerage is usually a percent of total amount of trade and varies from broker to broker. In recent days the idea of flat fee share broker is picking up. In flat fee stock trading, a fixed amount is charged (i.e. Rs 20 per trade) irrespective to the size of the order.

3. Online Stock Trading

   Traditionally stock trading is done through stock brokers, personally or through telephones. As number of people trading in stock market increase enormously in last few years, some issues like location constrains, busy phone lines, miss communication etc start growing in stock broker offices. Information technology (Stock Market Software) helps stock brokers in solving these problems with Online Stock Trading.

   Online Stock Market Trading is an internet based stock trading facility. Investor can trade shares through a website without any manual intervention from Stock Broker.

   In this case these Online Stock Trading companies are stock broker for the investor. They are registered with one or more Stock Exchanges. Mostly Online Trading Websites in India trades in BSE and NSE.

   There are two different type of trading platforms available for online equity trading.

   1. Installable software based Stock Trading Terminals
      

      These trading environment requires software to be installed on investors computer. These software are provided by the stock broker. These softwares require high speed internet connection. This kind of trading terminals are used by high volume intra day equity traders.

      Advantages:

      • Orders directly send to stock exchanges rather then stock broker. This makes order execution very fast.
      • It provides almost each and every information which is required to a trader on a single screen including stock market charts, live data, alerts, stock market news etc.

      Disadvantages:

      • Location constrain - You cannot trade if you are not on the computer where you have installed trading terminal software.
      • It requires high speed internet connection.
      • These trading terminals are not easily available for low volumn share traders.

   2. Web (Internet) based trading application
      

      These kind of trading environment doesn't require any additional software installation. They are like other internet websites which investor can access from around the world through normal internet connection.

      Below are few advantages and disadvantages of Online Stock Market Trading :-

      Advantages of Online Stock Trading (Website based):

      • Real time stock trading without calling or visiting broker's office.
      • Display real time market watch, historical datas, graphs etc.
      • Investment in IPOs, Mutual Funds and Bonds.
      • Check the trading history; demat account balance and bank account balance at any time.
      • Provide online tools like market watch, graphs and recommendations to do analysis of stocks.
      • Place offline orders for buying or selling stocks.
      • Set alert to inform you certain activity on the stock through email or sms.
      • Customer service through Email or Chat.
      • Secure transactions.

      Disadvantages of Online Stock Trading (Website based):

      • Website performance - sometime the website is too slow or not enough user friendly.
      • Little long learning curve especially for people who doesn't know much about computer and internet.
      • Brokerages are little high.

Type of Brokers (by services they provide)

Brokers in India can be categories by the type of services they provide. There are two popular types of broker; full-service broker and discount broker. Both of them have their own pros and cons.

1. Full-service broker (Full Service Brokerage)

   Full-service (Full-price) brokers are the traditional broker's who offers almost kind of investment options and advisory to its customers.

   This includes trading in stock (equity), Future & Options, commodities and currency derivatives, Investment in Mutual Funds, IPO's, Fixed Deposits and Bonds, Life Insurance and General Insurance. They also provide Wealth Management and Investment Planning services to individual as well as corporate customers.

   Full Service Brokers have their own research teams which helps the customer in their financial planning. They regularly publish newsletters like market watch where they provide research reports, stock tips and recommendations to their customers.

   The service they offer comes at a cost. There services charges, fees and brokerages are higher from discount brokers. They charges brokerage based on a certain % of the trade value.

   Most of the stock brokers in India are full-service brokers. Some popular names are ICICI Securities Pvt Ltd, HDFC Securities Ltd, Kotak Securities Ltd, HSBC Invest Direct Ltd and SBICAP Securities Ltd.

2. Discount Broker (Discount Brokerage)

   An increasing popular discount broker's provides less number of services but at a much cheaper price. They offer no-frill services and specialized into few investment options. Discount brokers are good for 'do-it-yourself' kind of investors.

   While the services offered by them varies from broker to broker, many of the discount stock brokers do not provide services like stock research, investment in IPO's, Mutual Funds, FD's, Bonds and NCD's. They generally do not have their own research teams and thus do not provide wealth management related services.

   Discount Brokerage is a new concept in India and its picking up very quickly. There are two sub categories of discount brokers in India by the way they charge the brokerage:

   1. Brokers charging Fixed Price per Trade

      These are the brokers who charges 'fixed price brokerage per trade' irrespective to the size of trade. i.e. Zerodha, India's first discount broker, charges Rs 20 per trade.

   2. Brokers charging Fixed Monthly Fees for unlimited Trades

      These are the brokers who charge 'fixed monthly fees' and offers unlimited trading in selected segments and exchanges. R K Global Shares & Securities Ltd and RKSV Securities Ltd are two popular brokers who provide unlimited brokerage services based fixed monthly rates.

Full Service Brokers Vs Discount Brokers (major difference)

1. Full service broker charges brokerage in % of total trade value. Discount broker brokerage charges are fixed irrespective to the size of the trade.
2. Full service brokerage charges are always much higher than discount broker.
3. Full service broker charges Annual maintenance Fees (AMC) for trading account which is free with the most of the discount brokers.
4. Full service brokers have branches in almost all major cities while discount brokers have limited branches mainly located in metro cities.
5. Full service brokers provide training programs, research reports and many other add on services to its customers, which are helpful for beginners.
6. Most full service brokers provide 3-in-1 account which includes trading account, demat account and bank account. This makes it very easy for customers as all the transactions between these accounts are seamless.
7. Most discount brokers do not provide 24 hours phone support while most of the full-service brokers provide 24 hours phone support.

Online Stock Trading Companies in India

Some of the popular stock brokers in India Financial Market are:

1. ICICI Securities Pvt Ltd.

ICICIdirect is an online trading and investment platform on ICICI Securities, the largest stock broker firm in India providing a wide range of investment options to the retail and institutional customers. ICICI Securities is part of ICICI Group, Indi...

2. Sharekhan

Incorporated in February 2000, Sharekhan is India's 2nd largest stock broker providing brokerage services through its online trading website Sharekhan.com and 1950 Share shops which includes branches & Franchises in more than 575 cities across India....

3. Indiabulls Securities Ltd

Indiabulls Securities (ISL) is the India-based Stock Broker. ISL is part of Indiabulls Group, a leading business house in India with businesses spread across many sectors including Infrastructure, Power, Real Estate and Financial Services. Indiabu...

4. India Infoline Limited

Incorporated in 1995, India Infoline (IIFL) is the brokerage firm of India Infoline Group, a fastest growing financial services solution provider in India. India Infoline is listed on BSE (532636) and NSE (INDIAINFO) for securities trading. IIFL off...

5. Motilal Oswal Securities Ltd

Incorporated in 1987, Motilal Oswal Securities Ltd is a well diversified financial services firm offering a range of financial products and services such as Wealth Management, Broking & Distribution, Commodity Broking, Portfolio Management Services, ...

6. HDFC Securities Ltd

HDFC Securities(HDFCsec) is Equity Trading Company of HDFC Bank. HDFC Securities provide both online trading and trading on phone. The HDFC Securities trading account has a unique 3-in-1 feature that integrates your HDFC Securities trading account wi...

7. Reliance Securities Limited

Reliance Securities, A Reliance Capital Limited Company, is the financial services division of Reliance Anil Dhirubhai Ambani (ADA) Group. Reliance ADA group is among top 3 business houses in India with wide range of presence across various sectors. ...

8. IDBI Capital

Idbipaisabuilder.in is a multi purpose online stock trading website from IDBI Capital Market Services Ltd., a leading provider of financial services in India and is a 100% subsidiary of Industrial Development Bank of India (IDBI). Idbipaisabuilder...

9. Religare

Religare is an emerging markets financial services group with a presence across Asia, Africa, Middle East, Europe, and the Americas. In India, Religare’s largest market, the group offers a wide array of products and services including broking, insur...

10. Geojit BNP Paribas

Incorporated in 1987, Geojit BNP Paribas (Geojit) is one of the major stock brokers based in India. Geojit is based in Kochi, Kerala and has the strong presence in Gulf. Geojit BNP Paribas is cash equity and derivatives broker with extensive experie...

11. Networth Stock Broking Ltd

Incorporated in 1993, Networth Stock Broking Limited (NSBL) is one of the major stock brokers in India. Networth offers premium financial services and information. NSBL is a member of the National Stock Exchange (NSE) and the Bombay Stock Exchange (B...

12. Kotak Securities Ltd

Incorporated in 1994, Kotak Securities is a full services broker part of popular India based Kotak Mahindra Bank. The bank has over 1400 branches across India servicing more than 8 lakh customers. Kotak Securities Limited is among the largest trad...

13. Standard Chartered

Standard Chartered – STCI Capital Markets Limited (formerly UTI Securities Ltd), is a leading broking company in India, provides a wide range of financial services including Investment Banking, Institutional Equity & Derivative Broking, Fixed Income,...

14. Angel Trade

Angel Group has emerged as one of the top 3 retail broking houses in India. Incorporated in 1987, it has memberships on BSE, NSE and the two leading commodity exchanges in India i.e. NCDEX & MCX. Angel is also registered as a depository participant w...

15. HSBC Invest Direct Ltd

HSBC InvestDirect (India) Limited (HIL) is one of the India's leading financial services organizations providing varied range of services through its subsidiaries to Individual and Corporate customers. HIL is listed on the Bombay Stock Exchange Limit...

16. Comfort Securities Ltd

Comfort Securities is a growing financial services provider in India. Company offers a wide range of products & services covering merchant banking, equity broking, currency derivatives and depository participants to all kinds of investors, namely, re...

17. Just Trade

Just Trade.in is the Online Investment & Stock Broking business from the house of Bajaj Capital - India's leading Financial Planning and Investment Advisory Company from last 46 years. The objective for Just Trade is to provide a seamless experien...

18. Zerodha

Zerodha is a Flat Fee Share Broker (Also known as Budget Broker or Discount Broker or Pay Per Order Brokerage) for trading in India Stock, Commodity and Forex Markets. It charges investors 0.01% or Rs. 20 per executed order, whichever is lower, irres...

19. SBICAP Securities Ltd

SBICAP Securities Ltd (SSL) is a 100% subsidiary of SBI Capital Markets Ltd. Services offered by SBICAP includes Institution Equity, Retail Equity, Derivatives, Broking, Depository Participant services and E-Broking. They also provide online trading ...

20. Ventura Securities Ltd

Incorporate in 1994, Ventura Securities Ltd is Mumbai, India based popular stock broker. Ventura also provides wide range of investment products and services though it's over 25 branches and over 500 business partners (sub brokers) located across 300...

21. R K Global Shares & Securities Ltd

Incorporated in 1995, R K Global is Mumbai, India based fastest growing Share and Commodity Broking Company. RKGlobal launched its retail brokering business in year 2004 and since then grown exponentially. Company today provides services under Equiti...

22. Composite Investments Pvt Ltd

Incorporated in 1995, Composite Investments Pvt. Ltd. is a Bangalore based stock trading brokerage firm providing 'Flat Fee Stock Trading' services through its online stock trading website compositedge.com Company charges fixed price brokerage of ...

23. RKSV Securities Ltd

Incorporate in 2009, RKSV Securities Ltd is Mumbai, India based discount broker offering multiple budget brokerage plans to India Stock Market investors. RKSV is popular for its Freedom Plan; a fixed monthly brokerage fees based trading plan for unli...

24. Trade Smart Online

Incorporated in 1994, Trade Smart Online is Mumbai, India based discount broking firm. They offer broking service in the segments including BSE Equity, NSE Equity, NSE Futures and Options, NSE Currency derivatives.

Things to do before opening Online Share Trading Account

1. Ask for Demo: Contact the broker who provide online trading service and ask him to give you a demo of product.
2. Check if the broker trades in multiple stock exchanges. Usually most of the Online Trading Websites trade in NSE and BSE in India.
3. Check the integration of Brokerage account, Demat account and Bank account.
4. Compare brokerages with other peer companies.

Documents require to open a Trading Account

1. Proof of residence (Address proof)
   • Driving license
   • Voter's ID
   • Passport
   • Photo credit card
   • Photo ration card
   • Utility Bill (Telephone, Electricity etc)
   • Bank Statement
2. Proof of identity
   • Driving license
   • Voter's ID
   • Passport
   • Photo ration card
3. PAN Card
4. Two photographs