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The growing clout of retail investors is hard to ignore, and so are their bets. In the March quarter, individual investors–those holding shares worth up to ₹2 lakh– doubled down on financial services, auto and depository firms. These stocks faced steep corrections—some falling as much as 30%—yet they collectively attracted over a million new individual shareholders, on a sequential basis, defying the broader market sentiment.

The ones that saw this investor surge include Central Depository Services (India) Ltd (CDSL), Jio Financial Services, Tata Motors, and Eternal, each witnessing a steady rise in retail participation despite their declining share prices.

Also read Shareholdings moves in Q4: Mutual funds load up on 5 mid- & small-cap laggards

CDSL, a key player in India’s demat ecosystem, added nearly 350,000 new retail investors during the quarter despite its stock plunging 30% sequentially in January-March. With this, the retail shareholding in the company jumped from 40.1% in December to 49.3% in March. The company’s essential role in servicing over 152.89 million demat accounts—with 37.3 million new accounts opened in FY25—kept investor interest alive. However, weak IPO activity and declining transaction revenues dragged earnings, prompting brokerages like JM Financial to cut price targets but maintain a "hold" rating.

Jio Financial, the Reliance Industries spin-off, followed closely, attracting 270,000 new shareholders even as its stock fell 23% sequentially. Individual investors’ stakes in this company have risen around 180 basis points, quarter-on-quarter. The company’s rapid expansion in retail lending, insurance, and payments—supported by AI-driven solutions—boosted assets under management (AUM) to ₹100.5 billion. Yet, KRChoksey retained a cautious "hold" stance, citing near-term earnings uncertainty despite long-term potential.

Both Tata Motors and Eternal added around 260,000 individual investors each during the quarter. Tata Motors, in particular, sustained retail interest after a massive 730,000 investor additions in the December quarter, despite a 9% price drop in Q4. Analysts at Elara Capital cited strong JLR margins but flagged a cautious outlook on commercial vehicles.

Meanwhile, Eternal saw a 27% price decline, but maintained investor interest. JP Morgan flagged short-term cost pressures and competitive intensity but remained “overweight" on the stock, citing long-term growth in quick-commerce and food delivery.

“This surge in retail participation contrasts with the institutional playbook. While foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) focused on large-cap names amid geopolitical uncertainty and macro risks, retail investors appeared to chase value in beaten-down counters," Harshal Dasani, portfolio manager at INVasset PMS, said.

“Retail is showing signs of maturing, taking contrarian positions. But some of this seems anchored to past narratives rather than current earnings visibility," he added.

Also read Shareholdings moves in Q4: FPIs make bold bets on small-caps and a troubled bank

Among other gainers, Kalyan Jewellers added 210,000 investors despite a 39% fall in its stock. IndusInd Bank attracted 130,000 new shareholders even though it has been embroiled in regulatory and financial turbulence. Ola Electric and SBI also drew one lakh new investors each.

While some companies gained investor traction, others saw significant pullback in retail ownership. Power utility NTPC recorded the sharpest drop, with 216,000 individual investors exiting even as the stock gained over 7% in the quarter. Notably, this followed after a strong December quarter when the firm had added 7.8 lakh new investors.

Vishal Mega Mart saw their investor base falling by 2 lakhs, while its stock slipped 1.5%. In Tata Steel, 130,000 investors exited while the stock rose 11% during the quarter. Ajax Engineering lost 1.25 lakh retail investors during the quarter while its stock price fell 5.6% during this period.

Other notable exits in terms of drop in their investor count include HDFC Bank (-93,103 investors), SBI Cards (-87,725), Bajaj Finance (-85,853), and NHPC (-73,067). These stocks have posted gains ranging from 2% to 33% during the quarter.

This is the ninth part of a series of data stories on the latest shareholding pattern. Read previous parts of our shareholding serieshere. We will resume our earnings data series next week.

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