Sharekhan to enter insurance products distribution business

Leading online broking company Sharekhan is planning to enter the business of distribution of insurance products from next year, a company official said.

Sharekhan, a subsidiary of BNP Paribas, is also a leading distributor of mutual funds with assets under management (AUM) exceeding Rs 20,000 crore.

CEO of Sharekhan Jaideep Arora told reporters that following the acquisition by BNP Paribas, the company was reinforcing the digital platform with the aim to double its customer base by 2021 from 1.5 million at present.

He said the company was in talks with few insurance companies for distribution through the online mode, which would be mainly term policies. Sharekhan, which had set up an online trading academy (OTA) to train professionals in stock trading in Ahmedabad, Mumbai and Bangalore, was also contemplating to set up a similar facility in Kolkata, Arora said. Arora said Sharekhan was also having a strong research team located in Mumbai.

According to the company's research, corporate earnings in the coming months were likely to revive strongly owing to a low base and expected a recovery in economic growth. Earnings of Sensex companies were expected to grow, aided by strong performance of the automobile, banking and energy sectors.