{"id":317602,"date":"2023-11-01T05:27:17","date_gmt":"2023-11-01T05:27:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/popularindinews.com\/?p=317602"},"modified":"2023-11-01T05:27:17","modified_gmt":"2023-11-01T05:27:17","slug":"looking-for-a-broker-read-this","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/popularindinews.com\/celebrity\/looking-for-a-broker-read-this\/","title":{"rendered":"Looking For A Broker? Read This!"},"content":{"rendered":"

‘The stockbroker should have a good balance sheet to support its scale of operations.’
‘It should also have proper risk management in terms of margins so that it doesn’t go bankrupt during extreme market movements.’
‘The broker must have a track record of navigating several market cycles in an ethical and transparent manner.’<\/strong><\/p>\n

The stock market has been witnessing a massive influx of new investors in recent months with more than three million demat accounts being opened in both August and September.<\/p>\n

How should these new investors select a stockbroker at a time when the broking landscape is witnessing a churn, with Groww displacing Zerodha<\/strong> as the country’s largest stockbroker?<\/p>\n

Experts say that while selecting a broker whose size is below a threshold level could be counter-productive, size alone should not govern a customer’s choice.<\/p>\n

Says Vikas Singhania, CEO, Trade Smart Online: “In the case of some brokers, the quality of their customer support has been known to dip as they became bigger.”<\/p>\n

Essential filters for optimal choice<\/strong><\/p>\n

Financial stability<\/strong>: Examine the broker’s financials.<\/p>\n

Says Mohit Mehra, vice president, primary markets & payments, Zerodha: “Your stockbroker must have an adequate net worth. Regulators and exchanges do stipulate a minimum net worth requirement.<\/p>\n

“However, a larger net worth can indicate a more financially stable entity.”<\/p>\n

Jatin Khemani, managing partner and chief investment officer, Stalwart Investment Advisors LLP, a New Delhi-based Sebi (Securities and Exchange Board of India)-registered Portfolio Management Services firm, too, underlines the importance of financials.<\/p>\n

“The stockbroker should have a good balance sheet to support its scale of operations. It should also have proper risk management in terms of margins so that it doesn’t go bankrupt during extreme market movements.”<\/p>\n

Clean track record<\/strong>: Go with a broker that complies with regulations.<\/p>\n

Says Tejas Khoday, co-founder and CEO, FYERS: “The broker must have a track record of navigating several market cycles in an ethical and transparent manner.”<\/p>\n

High-quality customer support<\/strong>: Unlike positional traders, who may not mind if the broker’s customer support team responds in a few hours, professional traders need immediate help.<\/p>\n

Says Shrey Jain, founder and CEO, SAS Online: “If they face issues like order rejection, they need immediate attention.”<\/p>\n

Khoday emphasises that the personnel manning customer support must be knowledgeable.<\/p>\n

Quality of platform<\/strong>: The platform should be easy to navigate and must have a track record for robustness.<\/p>\n

Says Khoday: “It should have served enough customers so that one can be sure it is stable and scalable. A trader could lose his entire capital in a day if the platform is not reliable,” he says.<\/p>\n

Traders prioritise reliability<\/strong><\/p>\n

Professional traders place a large number of trades every day.<\/p>\n

“Positional traders, who place up to 10 to 20 orders per day, may be comfortable trading via an app or a web platform. But professional traders need downloadable software, which tends to be more stable,” says Jain.<\/p>\n

Traders also have specific requirements for managing risks.<\/p>\n

Says Jain: “The broker must offer scrips, such as out-of-the-money options, which traders use to hedge their positions.”<\/p>\n

Singhania adds that traders who rely on technical analysis would prefer a platform that offers related tools.<\/p>\n

An algo trader would want a broker that provides an application programming interface (API) into which they can easily plug in their algorithms.<\/p>\n

Says Rajesh Ganesh, founder and CEO, Tripleint.com: “The API should be usable with multiple programming languages.<\/p>\n

“The speed at which requests are executed is another key consideration. And the API must be operational throughout market hours.”<\/p>\n