'T+0 settlement will be a watershed moment'

Retail investors have taken to equity markets like never before, with the dematerialised (demat) account tally hitting the 132 million mark recently. GURPREET SIDANA, chief executive officer at Religare Broking, tells Puneet Wadhwa in an email interview that the successful players going ahead may not be the ones who charge zero brokerage, provide additional limits to their users, or offer intraday calls resulting in more turnover or trades. Instead, the successful ones will be those who create a moat or an edge for investors. Edited excerpts:

How do you see the broking industry's fortunes shaping up in 2024 and beyond?

While 2023 was the year of inclusion, we believe 2024 will be a year of consolidation and transition.

The number of demat accounts has trebled since 2018-19 (FY19) and crossed 132 million during November 2023. The retail brokerage sector's revenue has already doubled, from ₹14,000 crore in FY19 to ₹27,000 crore in the last financial year, according to a recent report.

The differentiator for 2024 and beyond lies in the exhaustiveness of services that brokerages offer. New players will emerge as leaders, and the market opportunity is too big for each one to have a fair share.

How big a threat are discount brokerages?