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Milan Parikh, MD and Chairman of Jainam Broking, believes that while expanding the retail investor base is deepening capital markets, market strength will depend on the quality of engagement, investor awareness, and consistency. In an interview with Mint, Parikh said broader participation enhances liquidity and market depth, but also raises the risk of market swings. Edited excerpts:

Equity markets move in cycles, and over time, both expansion and consolidation phases have played a significant role in long-term wealth creation.

Rather than sitting on the fence during challenging phases, we believe that a disciplined approach to participation would help investors generate long-term wealth.

Investors who operate with clearly defined discipline frameworks, around asset allocation, risk limits, and investment horizon, are better equipped to stay consistent through changing, as well as challenging, market conditions.

The focus, however, should remain on aligning decisions with one’s risk-taking capacity rather than reacting to short-term movements.

Sector attractiveness is a story for the medium- to long-term, which requires an investor’s faith and conviction before investing.

While stocks within sectors may be reviewed or adjusted from time to time, shifting sector preferences often requires a deeper understanding and a more considered approach, as market outcomes are influenced by multiple variables, both within and beyond an investor’s control, which can shift sector preferences over time.

In this context, maintaining consistency in approach, along with alignment to one’s financial goals, risk appetite, and investment horizon, becomes more important than taking concentrated sector calls.

The expanding retail investor base is deepening capital markets and supporting India’s journey towards Viksit Bharat, with a new generation of investors likely to stay invested longer and explore emerging sectors, innovations, and AI-led investing.

However, this cohort, shaped by recent market cycles, will require greater guidance to navigate volatility and avoid impulsive decision-making.

While broader participation enhances liquidity and market depth, it also raises the risk of amplified market swings if not guided by discipline.

Over the long term, market strength will depend not just on the scale of participation but on the quality of engagement, making investor awareness, structured thinking, and consistency critical to sustainable growth.

The broking industry is entering a phase in which its role will extend well beyond providing access to markets. The next phase of growth will be defined by the quality of guidance and the ability to enable responsible participation.

As the investor base expands, there will be a greater need for mentorship, structured education, and support systems that help investors understand risk and remain disciplined across market cycles.

The role of the broker will increasingly evolve from mere trade execution to facilitation of informed decision-making. At the same time, given the regulatory framework within which the broking industry operates, advisory-led engagement will become more prominent.

The long-term direction of the industry will depend on how effectively it builds trust, encourages discipline, and supports sustainable participation.

The rise in investor participation has fundamentally reshaped the broking landscape. The National Stock Exchange of India has seen a sharp surge in the number of registered investors, with over 4 times growth from 31 million in FY20 to 127.84 million in FY26 (until February 2026), which is primarily driven by digitisation and rising financial awareness.

The industry has evolved from execution-led to engagement-led, where success is defined not just by transactions, but by the depth of investor relationships.

Technology has gone beyond enabling access; it now delivers transparency, real-time insights, and data-driven decision- making. Investing and trading are as much an art as they are a science.

Technology increasingly strengthens the scientific side, enabling more informed decisions and improving investors’ right to win. Technology has been playing a disruptive role as a force multiplier, and there is no exception in the broking industry, which has benefited from the democratisation of access.

As retail participation expands market depth, it also increases the need for guidance and discipline.

The broker-client relationship is evolving from a transactional to an advisory-led model, with investors seeking clarity, education, and continuous support.

Going forward, differentiation will depend on how effectively firms leverage technology and data to drive informed, responsible, and long-term investing behaviour.

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stories by Nishant Kumar

Disclaimer: This story is for educational purposes only. The views and recommendations expressed are those of the expert, not Mint. We advise investors to consult with certified experts before making any investment decisions, as market conditions can change rapidly and circumstances may vary.Nishant is a market reporter at Mint, where he holds the official designation of Principal Correspondent – Markets. He has been closely tracking the Indian stock market as well as major global stock markets along with the broader macroeconomic trends for a decade.

He is obsessed with breaking down complex financial and economic concepts into clear and engaging stories. He focuses not only on what is happening in the markets, but also why it matters.

His coverage includes stock market trends, sector rotations, monetary and fiscal policy developments, inflation, growth data, and personal finance strategies.

With nearly 10 years of experience in covering financial markets, Nishant has covered bull markets, corrections, policy transitions, and macro developments that has equipped him with a deep understanding of how domestic and global forces shape markets and affect investments.

He regularly interviews market veterans, fund managers, economists, policymakers, and corporate leaders to provide readers with a 360-degree view of market dynamics and the broader economic landscape.

Before joining Mint, Nishant worked with some of India’s most respected business newsrooms, including The Economic Times and Moneycontrol, where he reported extensively on the stock market, corporate earnings, macroeconomic trends, GDP, inflation, monetary policies of the RBI and the US Federal Reserve, bonds, and currencies.

Apart from economics and investing, he has interests in geopolitics and emerging technologies, such as AI.

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