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Discount broking platform Groww, run by Nextbillion Technology Private Limited, has surpassed Zerodha to become India’s largest brokerage in terms of number of active investors, according to the data released by the National Stock Exchange (NSE). 

As per the exchange, Bengaluru-based Groww has 6.63 million active investors while the number for Zerodha is 6.48 million, as of September-end—up from 6.2 million and 6.4 million, respectively, last month.

While Groww managed to grow its active use base of retail investors by almost 7% in September, Zerodha grew by only 1.25% month-on-month. 

Of the total 32.56 million active user investor base in India, Groww now holds a 20.35% share of this base while Zerodha commands 19.9%. This is followed by other brokerages including Angle One, Upstox, ICICI Securities, HDFC Securities, and so on.

However, Zerodha continues to command a higher chunk of revenue and profit. For FY23, the company reported a revenue of Rs 6,875 crore, 39% higher than the previous fiscal. It also reported an identical growth in profits, which stood at Rs 2,907 crore during the last fiscal.

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On the other hand, Groww reported Rs 1,294 crore in revenue. While this was 5X less than Zerodha’s numbers, it was a massive jump of 252% from the previous financial year wherein it clocked Rs 367 crore, according to the information shared with credit rating agency ICRA.

Groww’s net profit jumped to Rs 73 crore from Rs 6.8 crore. Almost 90% of its revenue comes from retail broking. 

“NBT has, under the brand ‘Groww’, emerged as one of the leading discount brokers in India as it made substantial client additions during FY2022-FY2023 amid industry tailwinds and record retail investor participation, especially in FY2022,” the report added.

One of the major reasons for the rapid growth in Groww’s user base, despite an overall decline in demat account openings in the country over the last 18 months, is the platform’s fee structure besides its heavy marketing spends. While Zerodha charges for demat account opening as well as maintenance, Groww does not, which has helped it acquire customers at a faster rate.

Meanwhile, Groww is diversifying its revenue basket. It has already started operating in UPI payments and credit products. 

According to ICRA, the Tiger Global and Peak XV Partners-backed company is looking to enter into margin trading funding (MTF) business, which allows customers to buy stock worth more than they can pay upfront. The broker, Groww, would loan the money to traders and charge interest on top of it.

The report also added that Groww’s ability to maintain the momentum of client additions while improving its revenues and profitability and maintaining comfortable capitalisation would remain critical from a credit perspective.