Sebi’s stringent norms on client funding and defaults by several small brokers have prompted market participants to shift their accounts to larger stock brokers. Top 10 brokers contributed 37 per cent to stock market volume in November compared to 22 per cent in 2014, according to a study by ICICI Direct. In terms of the number of active clients, top 10 brokers had 63 per cent to the industry. Online broker Zerodha has the highest number of active clients with a 12.3 per cent market share, followed by ICICI Securities at 10.3 per cent, HDFC Securities at 7.1 per cent and Sharekhan at 5.4 per cent. In June 2019, Sebi tightened rules for usage of clients’ funds by brokers.
