Active participation in India’s stock markets moderated over the past year amid regulatory changes, geopolitical tensions and heightened volatility, with new demat additions falling by over 20 per cent between December 2024 and November 2025.
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In a year marked by regulatory changes, global geopolitical events and periods of heightened volatility, active participation in stock markets has, unsurprisingly, moderated across the industry. New demat additions have fallen by over 20 per cent between December 2024 and November 2025, according to data from the depositories.
“Volatility impact is visible in ‘monthly active’ softness and broker-level churn even while total demat counts keep rising. Investors often pause direct equity trading during drawdowns, while systematic MF investing (SIPs) remains more resilient,” Ankit Jain, Chief Product & Technology Officer, Choice Broking.
The total number of demat accounts in the trading landscape had expanded by around 15 per cent between December 2024 and January 2025, according to data from the NSE. As of November, the total number of demat accounts stands at about 21.28 crore. The growth shows the underlying resilience of Indian markets, say experts, especially given continued FII outflows and global uncertainty.
Structural shift
“This reflects a structural shift; investors are increasingly approaching markets with a longer-term mindset rather than reacting to short-term noise,” says Ambarish Kenghe, Group CEO, Angel One, pointing out that from an activity standpoint, after touching a low around February, market order activity has shown a strong recovery, growing over 20 per cent by November. “This rebound, even amid external headwinds, indicates the depth and maturity that India’s capital markets are building over time.”
According to him, it is the early stages of habit-based wealth creation that’s taking shape across the country.
Digital onboarding and frictionless KYC have compressed a multi-day process into minutes, making market access truly mass-scale, he adds. According to Jain, growth is increasingly powered by tier‑2/3/4 and smaller towns, helped by 24×7 mobile access and local-language content.
A large share of these new accounts is driven by investors under 30, reflecting early adoption and mobile-native behaviour, he says. Kenghe points out that at Angel One, the average age of clients joining the platform is around 29, with many entering the markets within the first few years of their earning lives. “They often start with low-ticket investments or small SIPs and gradually increase participation.”
Equities remain the “attention engine,” driving high engagement around IPOs, market news, and short-term opportunities. Mutual funds are the stronger “habit + compounding engine” record; SIP contributions indicate that systematic investing is becoming the default behaviour for long-term wealth creation, Jain explains.
Growth in 2026
In 2026, the story is unlikely to be about more accounts alone, says Kenghe. “It will be about deeper, more resilient and intelligent participation. As long as India’s macro fundamentals remain strong and household savings keep shifting from physical to financial assets, demat and mutual fund penetration should continue to rise.”
But the growth slope will track market returns and IPO cadence, adds Jain. “A prolonged low-return phase can slow new demat additions and reduce actives, while strong primary market cycles can re-accelerate onboarding.”
Published on December 26, 2025
