Zerodha, Angel One, Upstox lead discount brokerage investor account losses in FY26
Discount brokerages saw a sharp fall in active investor accounts in FY26, with Zerodha, Angel One and Upstox leading the decline amid continued volatility in Indian markets.
Among the biggest losers, Zerodha saw the steepest fall, losing 9.95 lakh active investors during FY26. Its active client base fell to 68.94 lakh from 78.89 lakh in the previous fiscal. Angel One followed, losing 8.15 lakh active clients to end the year at 67.63 lakh, while Upstox lost 7.6 lakh active accounts, taking its total to 19.88 lakh.
Overall, the National Stock Exchange of India’s active investor base fell 7 percent year-on-year to 4.58 crore accounts in FY26 from 4.92 crore in FY25.
Other brokerages also reported declines in active investors. Mirae Asset Capital Markets lost nearly 2.72 lakh accounts, while HDFC Securities and Sharekhan each lost around 1.3 lakh accounts. Motilal Oswal Financial Services, Kotak Securities and 5paisa Capital also reported losses of 1.13 lakh, 1.1 lakh and more than 90,000 investors, respectively.
The decline reflect prolonged volatility in Indian markets through FY26. Concerns over expensive valuations, subdued corporate earnings and sustained foreign institutional investor selling weighed on sentiment. Geopolitical tensions, including the trade war and the recent US-Iran-Israel conflict, further dented investor confidence.
The weak market environment also hit the primary market, with several IPO listings delivering muted gains thus reducing retail participation. Rising crude oil prices at above $100 per barrel added to concerns over inflation, fiscal pressures and macroeconomic stability. Analysts also said India’s lack of large-scale artificial intelligence-related investment themes limited foreign investor interest.
Global brokerages such as Nomura, Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley have downgraded Indian equities to neutral or underweight in early 2026, citing rising oil prices, high valuations and AI-related disadvantages. Nomura has also lowered its Nifty 50 target to 24,500–24,900.
Despite the broader weakness, a few mid-sized brokerages continued to attract investors. Paytm Money emerged as the biggest gainer, adding 2.12 lakh active investors during FY26. SBICAP Securities and ICICI Securities followed, adding 1.82 lakh and 1.41 lakh investors, respectively.
Other brokerages that saw modest gains included Moneywise Financial Services, Univest Stock Broking and Groww, which added 48,667, 24,646 and 17,917 accounts, respectively. YES Securities, Choice Equity Broking, Jainam Broking, Marketwolf Securities, Bajaj Financial Securities and Axis Securities also added nearly 10,000 accounts each during the year.