Popular Brokers in India

Published on Thursday, April 11, 2019 by Chittorgarh.com Team | Modified on Sunday, August 9, 2020

With so many popular broking firms in India, it is not that difficult to find the best stock broker in India perfectly catering to your needs. This article discusses stockbroking in India, the choices available and then lists best and popular broking firms in India.

Stock broking in India has evolved over the years. The market today offers a wide range of choices to a trader or an investor when it comes to choosing a stock broker. From full-service stock brokers to online discount brokers, you can find a top stock broker in India that charges low brokerages, provides good trading experience and offers other required services.

Types of Broking Firms in India

Based on the range of the services provided by the stock brokers in India, they can be categorized into full-service and discount stock brokers. Before picking the best and popular broking firm in India, it is important to understand the difference between full-service stock brokers and discount stock brokers.

1. Full-Service Stock Brokers

Full-service brokers (also called traditional stock brokers) are brokers who provide a complete range of trading services. Their services include trading services in equity, commodities, currencies and derivatives. In addition, they also provide other services like research, Portfolio Management Services (PMS), HNI services and investment services in IPOs, Mutual Funds and Bonds etc. The other distinctive feature of full-service stock brokers is that they provide both online and offline services. Online savvy customers can trade using the online trading software provided by the broker while those who can't trade online can use the branch offices for trading. ICICIDirect, ShareKhan and Kotak Securities etc., are some of the popular broking firms in India who are full-service stock brokers.

2. Discount Stock Brokers

Also called online discount brokers, these are a new breed of stock brokers in India who are fast gaining popularity among the traders because of their low brokerage charges. They offer their services online with no or little physical infrastructure. They don't have branch office services for the customers. Everything from account opening, trading to customer support is provided online. Online discount brokers also offer very limited services. They provide online trading software for trading with no research services. The brokerage charged by some of the top discount brokers in India like Zerodha, 5paisa etc., is Rs 10 to Rs 20 per trade irrespective of the trade value. Instant, paperless account opening, low brokerage and advanced trading tools have put many of these discount brokers in the best and popular broking firms in India.

Now, let's compare full-service and discount stock brokers-

How to choose best and popular broking firms in India

As evident, there are hundreds of stock brokers in India. To find the best stock broker for yourself is a no mean task. However, it's worth the time and efforts. Here's how to find the best and popular stock broker in India-

Know your needs

Begin with creating a list of needs by answering the following questions:

• Are you a day trader?
• Are you a trader who invests for short-term or an investor who invests for the long term?
• What are the segments (equity, derivatives, commodities and currencies) you want to trade?
• Do you need research and recommendation calls for picking trades or can you do it on your known?
• Do you want to trade online or need assistance or want both?
• Do you also want to invest in other investment options like IPOs, Bonds, Mutual Funds etc?

Answers to the above question will help you create a list of your trading needs. Now you need to find the top stock broker in India who best meets these needs.

Finding the best broking firm in India

This part takes time. To pick a top broking firm in India, you need to know about the stock brokers in India. To make your task easier, you can check the list of your trading needs and match it with the full-service vs discount brokers comparison table given above. This will help you know whether you need a full-service stock broker or the services of an online discount broker will suffice your trading requirements. Once you know the type of broker you need then you can use our following lists:

From the list, shortlist 3 to 4 brokers and compare these brokers side-by-side. This will help you find the best and popular broking firm in India.

Key Take Aways

• The stock broking industry in India offers plentiful choice. So finding the best and popular stock broker needs some efforts.
• There are two types of stock brokers- Full-Service and Discount brokers. (Comparison of Full-service and discount brokers is given above)
• Understanding your trading requirements is key to finding the best stock broker in India.
• Compare the brokers before picking the best broker.