Top 10 NRI Full-Service Brokers in India

Stock brokers offering NRI services in India can be categorized into NRI full-service brokers and NRI discount brokers. While they both offer stock broking services, there are many dissimilarities between the two.

NRI full-service share brokers like ICICI Direct, SBI Capital, HDFC Securities, Axis Direct, Motilal Oswal and Sharekhan, are also called traditional brokers as they follow the old school model of offering their services. These share brokers offer entire trading and investment services offline as well as online including PMS, wealth management, research, and stock recommendations, etc. NRI full-service brokerage companies have offices across India where customers can get services.

NRI discount brokers work on the online business model. They are known for their low brokerage plans or flat fee brokerage plans wherein they charge a fixed fee per order as against the percentage-based brokerage plans of full-service brokers. These companies offer their services online, operate from their head offices with little physical presence. The discount brokers rely on technology to provide their services. Popular NRI discount stock brokers include Zerodha, Prostocks, Tradeplus, and Tradejini. Here's the complete list of NRI full-service brokers in India by active clients.

The brokerage charged by NRI full-service brokers is percentage-based, however, some of them have also started offering flat fee brokerage to their customers. The brokerage fee charged by them may look higher but if you consider the additional services like branch services, research, and advisory, dedicated Relationship Managers, etc., it looks reasonable.

NRI share brokers like ICICIDirect, SBI Capital and Axis Direct, etc., also have offices in many foreign locations. This helps NRIs living in those locations to visit these offices and get instant redressal to their issues.

1. 1. Why you should open NRI trading account with a full-service broker?

   1. Offers a complete range of trading and investment services including PMS, research and advisory services.
   2. Offers online and offline services.
   3. Provides dedicated Relationship Managers for expert trading assistance.
   4. Branch offices across India and in some foreign countries.

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2. 2. Who should open an NRI trading account with a full-service broker?

   1. NRIs who are new to stock market trading and need expert trading assistance.
   2. Those who don't have time or expertise for market research and need recommendations on picking stocks.
   3. NRIs who need services such as Call n Trade.
   4. NRIs who want to invest in a variety of investment instruments like Mutual Funds, IPO shares, and bonds, etc.

   Note-

   1. Some discount brokers in India do not offer their services to US and Canada based NRIs due to FATCA and CRS regulations. These regulations require additional compliance from the brokers. NRI traders of the US and Canada, therefore, must check before applying for the account opening with the brokers.
   2. Some full-service brokers don't allow NRIs to trade online. With such brokers, NRIs need to contact their Relationship Managers who will place orders on their instructions.

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3. 3. What should an NRI ask for while opening a Demat account?

   An NRI should ask for below important details while opening a Demat account:

   • Type of broker (discount or full service)
   • Brokerage fee and other charges
   • Online trading platform
   • Support via WhatsApp and Email
   • Integrated services
   • Depository

   Note that an NRI Demat account is one of the mandatory requirements to invest in the Indian market. A Demat account is opened through depository participants with NSDL and/or CDSL. But, you cannot approach depositories directly to open a Demat account. Thus, while opening a Demat account, it is necessary to know a few important details about the services offered by the stockbroker.

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