Whalesbook
Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) research, using detailed depository and Reserve Bank of India data, confirms a notable change in how Indian investors are managing their money. Households are moving away from trading stocks directly, showing a more measured approach to investing.
Retail Investors Sell Stocks
From fiscal year 2023 to 2025, Indian households consistently sold more stocks than they bought. In FY23, they were net sellers of Rs 27,684 crore in stocks. This number rose to Rs 69,329 crore in FY24 and was Rs 54,786 crore in FY25. This trend occurred even though the main stock index, the Sensex, gained nearly 33% from early FY23 to the end of FY25, reaching 77,767 points and peaking near 86,000 in September 2024.
Mutual Funds Attract More Investment
At the same time, mutual funds saw strong investor inflows. In FY25, about 80% of the Rs 6.9 lakh crore that households invested in the securities market went into mutual funds. A similar pattern emerged in FY24, when mutual funds received 82% of the Rs 3.6 lakh crore invested. Jimeet Modi, Founder & CEO of SAMCO Group, pointed out that households were net sellers of direct stocks in FY24 and FY25, while also being record buyers of mutual funds during the same periods.