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

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."