Kotak's Nilesh Shah prefers a ban on weekly expiry, which 'does not serve much purpose'

“We're living in a not-so-ideal world”: Nilesh Shah on relevance of weekly F&O expiries rather than a ban

Veteran money manager Nilesh Shah's 'preference' is to ban weekly F&O expiries as there's no real purpose being served through these, but the MD and CEO of Kotak AMC added, “we are living in a not-so-ideal world.”

The remark comes in the backdrop of Sebi's tightening of the derivatives framework this year, including standardising expiry days for equity derivatives, and introducing stricter position limits to curb speculative excesses.

Speaking at Network18’s Reforms Reloaded event in New Delhi on September 22, Nilesh Shah said, "My preference as a purist will be to ban weekly expiry. (Because it) doesn't serve much purpose. But then, we are living in a not-so-ideal world." His comments come at a time when the regulator has taken several steps to rein in the multiple expiries of options contract, and a consultation paper on ending weekly F&O contracts could be expected soon.

Nilesh Shah's comments reflect that view the weekly expiry has deepened speculative activity in Indian markets. “Trading is a very difficult way to make money. While investment is far simpler," Shah said, cautioning retail participants who have turned to F&O trading over the past two years: “If Nobel laureates couldn’t succeed in trading, how can an individual speculator succeed?”

Citing Sebi's recent study, Nilesh Shah reminded that nine out of 10 individual traders in F&O segments lose money, with aggregate losses topping Rs 1 lakh crore in recent years. “The profit of Jane Street is real. The profit of retail speculators might just be a show-off,” he added. In the regulator's view, India’s retail-driven F&O frenzy which took off during the pandemic years may be distorting market behaviour and causing wealth erosion.

Sebi's investigation into US-based trading giant Jane Street has revealed allegedly manipulation in Indian options market to profit from equity derivatives, a charge contested by the algo trader before an appellate tribunal.

In July 2025, Sebi had barred Jane Street from Indian markets and froze $567 million of its assets, citing unlawful gains through systematic market manipulation. The firm has since placed the contested funds in an escrow account while reserving the right to challenge Sebi's order.

Nilesh Shah's argument is that a ban on weekly expiries would reduce the scope for manipulation. “The solution could be to let weekly expiry be only among individual traders. Let no institution play into it, and no mutual funds either. We'll be fine with it then,” he added.

Nilesh Shah's stance underscores a broader debate over whether weekly F&O contracts serve a meaningful purpose or simply fuel short-term speculation in an already turbulent market.

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