SEBI must name 'big players' profiteering at expense of small traders in F&O trading: Rahul Gandhi

More than 91 per cent, or 73 lakh, individual traders lost money in the F&O segment in FY24 with an average net loss of Rs 1.2 lakh per person, a study conducted by markets regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) revealed on Monday.

New Delhi: Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi claimed on Tuesday that 90 per cent of small investors have lost Rs 1.8 lakh in in Futures and Option (F&O) trading in three years and demanded that market regulator SEBI reveal the names of the "so-called big players" who were minting money at their expense.

His comments came as SEBI released a study on Monday in which it said 91 per cent or 73 lakh individual traders lost money in the F&O segment in 2023-24 with an average net loss of Rs 1.2 lakh per person.

The study also said 93 per cent of over 1 crore individual F&O traders incurred average losses of about Rs 2 lakh per trader (inclusive of transaction cost between 2021-22 and 2023-24 while the aggregate losses of such traders were pegged at over Rs 1.8 lakh crore.

"Uncontrolled F&O trading has grown 45x (45 times) in 5 years. 90 per cent of small investors have lost Rs 1.8 lakh crore in 3 years. SEBI must reveal the names of the so-called “Big Players“ making a killing at their expense," Rahul posted on 'X'.

According to the study, individuals incurred about Rs 75,000 crore in net losses in 2023-24 alone. The top 3.5 per cent of loss-makers -- about 4 lakh traders -- faced an average loss of Rs 28 lakh per person over the same period, inclusive of transaction costs.

On the other hand, the study said, only 7.2 per cent of individual F&O traders made a profit over the period of three years and only 1 per cent of individual traders managed to earn profits exceeding Rs 1 lakh, after adjusting for transaction costs.

Moreover, the number of retail traders, or individual traders, has almost doubled in two years to about 96 lakh in 2023-24 from about 51 lakh in 2021-22, it added.

(With PTI inputs)