Top 10 Full-Service Brokers in India 2013

There are two types of brokers in India based on the services and fees:

1. Full-service Broker
2. Discount Broker (Top 10 Discount Brokers)

A full-service broker offers a range of add-ons in addition to trading at stock exchanges. This includes research reports, advisory and a relationship manager apart from helping you buy and sell shares. They also offer a wide range of products including Mutual Funds, IPO, Debt, Insurance and Loans.

On the other side, a Discount Broker leverages technology to reduce the operation cost and offer low-cost online brokerage services. Discount brokers do not offer add-ons usually offered by a full service broker.

A full-service broker is good for following investors/traders:

1. A beginner investors need to have their hand held by some in initial days of trading.
2. Traders who are looking for higher margin or margin funding. A trader can get significantly higher margin based on his personal relationship with the broker or sub-broker.
3. Traders planning to use Call & Trade a lot or visit the branch in person. Most discount brokers charge extra for call & trade and do not have local branches.
4. Investors looking for a verity of financial products for investment through the broker i.e. Mutual Funds, IPO, Debt, Insurance, FD etc.

The most popular full-service brokers include ICICI, HDFC and Sharekhan.

The 3-in-1 account (a combination of bank saving account, a trading account and a demat account) is one the best offering by the top full service brokerage firms. The 3-in-1 account helps in the seamless transaction between these 3 accounts. It is the most convenient way to trade online.

Apart from the standard % based brokerage structure, most traditional brokerages also offer volume-based plans where the brokerage varies according to the size of transactions on a periodic basis. At higher turnovers, the brokerage can come down to as low as 0.05-0.15%.

ICICI is the 2^nd largest and most famous full-service broker with over 10 lakh customers.

Note:

• The data for this report is compiled from BSE and NSE stock exchanges.
• The best broker ranking is updated every month.
• Click on the broker name to read broker review.