New investor registrations decrease 18% in August after five months of gains

Data from NSE's Market Pulse report further shows that in the first five months of FY26 (April to August), 99.8 lakh new investors joined the exchange, lower than the 1.6 crore added during the comparable period of FY25.

New investor sign-ups decreased 18.3 per cent in August when compared to the previous month, ending a four-month run of steady growth, according to the latest edition of NSE Market Pulse report. Experts attribute the slowdown to the current volatile market behaviour while highlighting the fact that the total number of clients is still on the rise.

According to the monthly report, fresh account openings on NSE fell to 12.3 lakh, down from 15.1 lakh in July and nearly 37 per cent lower than the 19.5 lakh recorded in August 2024. However, NSE’s total registered investor base still climbed to 11.9 crore in August even as the pace of additions eased.

Ventura's Juzer Gabajiwala believes that the slowdown is linked to the ongoing downward bias in the market. "Small caps and other segments are going down, which is where retail investors are more active. The number of active users overall hasn’t decreased significantly; it’s just a slight slowdown, largely reflecting market conditions," he said, adding that there could be a possibility that the slowdown could extend into next month due to the market conditions and festival season.

In a similar context, Fisdom’s Nirav Karkera says, "Regulatory changes and subdued market conditions have reduced trading volumes, while many potential investors have already joined the market. This naturally slows growth, but participation will continue to fluctuate with market conditions."

Also read: Groww, Zerodha, Angel One, Upstox lead client decline in August

Data from NSE's Market Pulse report further shows that in the first five months of FY26 (April to August), 99.8 lakh new investors joined the exchange, lower than the 1.6 crore added during the comparable period of FY25.

State trends

The decline in August was spread across states and regions. Market Pulse reported that the five largest contributors, Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, Gujarat, Tamil Nadu and West Bengal, together accounted for 46 percent of new accounts but registered a combined 17.5 per cent drop from July.

Uttar Pradesh remained the single largest contributor with 1.7 lakh new investors, though this represented a 13.4 percent fall from July and a 40.1 per cent decline from a year earlier. Maharashtra followed with 1.4 lakh registrations, down 24.1 percent month-on-month, while Gujarat added 1.1 lakh, a decrease of 18.5 per cent.

Tamil Nadu recorded 0.9 lakh, down 17.2 percent, and West Bengal 0.6 lakh, down 20.7 per cent.

Disclaimer: The views and investment tips expressed by investment experts on Moneycontrol.com are their own and not those of the website or its management. Moneycontrol.com advises users to check with certified experts before taking any investment decisions.