“I started trading in May 2020. I came across this video of CA Rachna Ranade on YouTube while looking for some investment plans. Her video inspired me to take up trading in the stock market, because I believe it is important to be financially independent,” says Deepika, one of the few million retail investors who took to trading and investing during the lockdown.
As per SEBI (Securities and Exchange Board of India) data, the total number of new demat accounts opened during 2019-2020 were the highest in the last 10 years, rising more than 22% from the 4 million accounts that were opened in 2018-2019.
Since the pandemic induced lockdown in March-end, around 12 lakh new demat accounts were opened in the months of March and April with CDSL (Central Depository Services Limited) alone. In total, close to 6 million demat accounts were opened between March-October 2020.
Women faring better than men
An interesting trend observed during this time has been the steep rise in the number of women entering the trading space. According to Zerodha, more than 2,35,000 new women investors joined their platform during the pandemic.
This is a significant departure from the usual trading trends, a space predominantly occupied by men. As per an industry estimate, less than 10% of day traders in India are women.
Shradha Nanchahil, a professional trader and an instructor in Ludhiana, Punjab says that she often comes across several women who ask her if trading is something that a woman can do. “I feel women perform better than men when it comes to trading because of their emotional control, consistency and better ability to manage risks.”
Deepika and Shruti, members of a trading community called Havenspire have been determined to make it work in the stock market. Shruti, all of 17 years, talks about how she started trading with a capital of Rs 2,000 and continues to trade in between her classes, assignments and work.
“My capital was down to Rs 600 after I incurred a significant loss. But I am determined to learn. Even in the midst of my classes, I look for trades I can place. “
Deepika, another Havenspire fellow, lost her entire capital of Rs 1 lakh to stock market trading. “I’ve started again, with Rs 5,000. I wish to learn and reinvest in the market, but this time, with logic,” says the confident lady.
In fact, homemakers make up a large portion of Nanchahil’s students. “They are ambitious, productive and have time in their hands. Turns out, they were quick learners and made great profits. New mothers, retired individuals formed the second largest part of her clientele.”
With more than one-third of women day-traders of India being homemakers and 15% of such women traders being more than 60 years of age, trading is increasingly capturing the fascination of men and women in this country.
Nanchahil recounts how she never met a female trading instructor during a career span of more than 10 years. Now she feels, more and more women are coming to the fore.
In agreement with this, another stock market operator Anil Upadhyay feels that trading during this lockdown has brought about an “equity culture” in Indian homes. He though points out that women have it harder than men, because of an unsupportive family environment, traditional perceptions around trading as a gamble and family reluctance to support women through capital.
Upadhyay believes trading to be a great way for many women to make it back to the mainstream, but cautions against jumping straight into trading. “It is advisable to practise paper trading for the first 5-6 months, so that you have a fair idea of your risks and rewards,” he noted.