HDFC Securities Big Review: Retail Participation and Liquidity Trends Reshape Market Structure

The expansion of retail participation in Indian equity markets continues to gather pace, with demat account growth indicating a sustained broadening of the investor base.

The number of demat accounts has risen sharply from 14.2 million in FY08 to 222.37 million in FY25, with estimates indicating a further increase to around 230 million in FY26.

This growth trajectory has been particularly steep in recent years, with accounts increasing from 55 million in FY21 to 151.4 million in FY23, and further to 192.44 million in FY24, according to HDFC Securities Big Review report which was released on Wednesday.

Active Participation Remains a Smaller Subset

Despite a registered investor base of 12.8 crore, active participation remains significantly lower.

As of February 2026:

• Active investors stood at 1.48 crore
• Of these, 1.09 crore were active only in the cash segment
• 20.89 lakhparticipated exclusively in futures and options
• 18.15 lakh were active across both segments

This indicates that while access to markets has expanded, active engagement remains concentrated within a smaller segment of investors.

SIP Flows and Mutual Fund Accounts Show Consistent Expansion

Systematic investment trends continue to reflect increasing financialisation.

Mutual fund investor accounts have grown from 4.2 crore in December 2014 to 27.06 crore in December 2025, with steady progression through key milestones such as 9 crore in December 2019, 13 crore in 2021, and 23.45 crore in 2024, according to HDFC Securities Big Review report which was released on Wednesday.

Parallelly, SIP inflows have seen a sustained rise, increasing from around ₹4,000 crore levels in earlier years to over ₹30,000 crore, with recent figures crossing ₹31,000 crore.

This steady increase suggests a structural shift towards disciplined and recurring investment behaviour.

Primary Market Activity Reaches Record Levels

According to Big Review report, primary market activity has also seen significant expansion.

IPO, FPO and OFS activity reflects both increased capital raising and heightened investor participation.

• Total issuance rose from ₹15,234 crore in FY14 to ₹2,01,442 crore in FY26
• The number of issues increased from 83 in FY14 to 153 in FY26

Notably, recent years have seen a sharp acceleration:

• ₹2,09,344 crore raised in FY25 across 104 issues
• ₹1,30,576 crore in FY22 with 76 issues

This indicates a deepening of capital markets alongside growing investor appetite.

Trading Activity Concentrated Among Larger Participants

Turnover distribution data highlights a skew towards high-value participants.

In February 2026:

• Total turnover stood at ₹24,07,595 crore, compared to ₹18,33,226 crore in February 2025
• Investors numbered 126.9 lakh, up from 111.9 lakh

However, the bulk of trading activity remains concentrated:

• Transactions above ₹10 crore accounted for 78.4 per cent of turnover but only 0.2 per cent of investors
• The ₹1 crore to ₹10 crore segment contributed 13.1 per cent of turnover with 1.8 per cent of investors

In contrast, smaller investors form a large share of participation but contribute minimally to turnover:

• Investors with turnover below ₹10,000 accounted for 37.2 per cent of investors but only 0.03 per cent of turnover

Younger Investors Drive Demographic Shift

The composition of the investor base is also evolving.

The share of investors below 30 years has increased from 22.6 per cent in March 2019 to 38.4 per cent in February 2026, indicating a strong influx of younger participants.

At the same time:

• The 30–39 age group accounts for around 30.0 per cent
• Investors aged 50 years and above have declined to nearly 15 per cent combined

This shift is reflected in age metrics:

• Median age has declined from 38.0 years to 33.0 years
• Mean age has reduced from 41.3 years to 36.1 years

Gender participation has also improved gradually, with the share of female investors rising from 22.5 per cent to 24.9 per cent.

Structural Participation Trends Continue to Strengthen Markets

The combination of rising demat accounts, increasing SIP flows, strong primary market activity and evolving investor demographics underscores a structural transformation in market participation.

While active engagement remains concentrated and trading activity skewed towards larger participants, the expanding base of retail investors continues to play a key role in supporting long-term market depth and resilience.

HDFC Securities Ltd MD & CEO, Dhiraj Relli, Chief Research Officer – Equities, Varun Lohchab, Head of Institutional Equities, Unmesh Sharma and Head of Prime Research, Devarsh Vakil shared the report and its findings with the media in an event on Wednesday.