From Walkie-Talkies To Voice AI, Angel One Bets On India’s Next Investor Boom

Angel One’s transformation from a traditional broker into a digital financial services platform reflects the wider evolution of India’s capital markets. In a conversation with The Free Press Journal’s Sheryll D’Souza, Amit Majumdar, Group Chief Strategy Officer at Angel One, explains how young investors and customers beyond metros are driving growth. He also discusses cybersecurity, derivatives risks, regulation, artificial intelligence and the company’s efforts to build a safer and more intuitive investment platform.

How has Angel One evolved during its 30-year journey?

Our founder, Dinesh Thakkar, started Angel One with limited capital and a desire to help retail customers understand equities. The market was then dominated by large institutions and traders.

We began during the open-outcry era, when prices were relayed from the exchange floor through walkie-talkies. The business later moved from branches to a completely digital platform, with online referrals and organic channels becoming important acquisition engines.

How has the profile of your customers changed?

More than 70 percent of our customers are new to the market and have little knowledge of equities when they join. Around half are below 25, while more than 80 percent come from places beyond metros, particularly tier-II and tier-III cities.

Our platform was earlier dominated by experienced metropolitan traders. Today’s customers are younger and approach financial products differently. We therefore built a platform that learns from their behaviour.

What will differentiate investment platforms in the future?

Technology will remain a significant differentiator, with AI becoming increasingly important. Customer data can help us understand behaviour, improve engagement and guide people towards suitable investments.

Cybersecurity is equally important. We continuously assess our architecture, identify vulnerabilities and respond to threats. We have also discussed common cybersecurity practices with regulators.

How are customers beyond metros changing the business?

We recognised early that the next stage of growth would come from smaller cities. Initially, we expected customers there to invest smaller amounts, so we made the platform efficient enough to serve lower-ticket users.

Investment behaviour in metros and non-metros is now broadly similar. Average ticket sizes are also fairly consistent. The median customer age has fallen to about 28 from 35 to 40 a decade ago.

How does Angel One retain these young customers?

Young customers spend about six-and-a-half hours daily on mobile devices. Our platform must therefore remain relevant beyond market hours. We have expanded from broking into mutual funds, insurance, lending, wealth management and asset management.

Angel One has around 3.9 crore customers, with nearly 1.8 crore participating in equities. About 40 percent of customers beginning mutual fund investments had not previously participated in equities. Customers may join for one service but discover another suitable product.

Has volatility discouraged investors?

Volatility often attracts traders seeking opportunities, while many customers also eventually begin investing in equities for the long term.

Can retail investors consistently profit from derivatives?

Derivatives have never been an easy source of profits for retail investors. They compete against sophisticated institutions and high-frequency traders using advanced algorithms, faster infrastructure and exchange co-location. Retail traders cannot easily match those advantages.

People remain attracted to quick money, particularly when online posts highlight profits while ignoring later losses. Regulatory changes have reduced the last-minute expiry-day frenzy, but people will continue trading. The positive development is that many also build long-term equity holdings.

What is Angel One doing to protect derivatives traders?

Customers make their own choices, but platforms must act responsibly. Users see warnings that most individual derivatives traders lose money. Our 'safe exit' feature also prompts customers when they attempt a derivatives trade without a stop-loss.

We provide digital education on charts, trading patterns, strategies and risk management. Some users may trust friends or online percentalities more than a platform, but we must continue offering warnings and education.

Why is active regulation necessary?

Regulators have a wider view of the ecosystem than any individual platform and must intervene when excesses emerge. One serious incident can damage confidence and set the market back several years, particularly when millions of first-time investors are joining.

The retail algorithmic-trading framework shows regulation evolving with technology. It cannot guarantee profits, but can provide better tools and stronger guardrails.

What innovations is Angel One developing?

We have established an innovation laboratory, separate from teams maintaining the core platform, to study how customer interaction may change.

AI and voice technology are important areas of focus. People increasingly use spoken commands to search, navigate and complete tasks. In future, customers may not need to navigate multiple screens. They could simply speak to the platform for information or financial transactions, making investing simpler, more accessible and intuitive.