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<div type="image" title="For the unversed, trading in futures and options can be akin to setting their hard-earned money on fire" height="900" width="1200" msid="114064202" hostid="261" caption="&amp;lt;p&amp;gt;For the unversed, trading in futures and options can be akin to setting their hard-earned money on fire&amp;lt;/p&amp;gt;"></div> Once upon a time, there thrived a wild, wild land. Here, it was all about super high monetary stakes, lightning-fast trade deals, and bucketloads of money shifting hands every single second. This wilderness lured millions of individuals with the promise of super duper high returns. But, at what cost? Welcome to the unforgiving, ultra-risky wild west of <keyword id="19991165" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Indian-equity-markets" source="keywords">Indian equity markets</keyword> called the <keyword id="145718" type="General" weightage="100" keywordseo="Futures-and-Options" source="Orion">futures and options</keyword>. Here, everyone seems to just fly right through the bright red-flagged warnings of financial risks to earn even a fraction of these promised returns. Most burn themselves in the process, but carry on nevertheless, as if nothing ever happened. <h2>Chasing the cloudy profits</h2>The data conclusively proves that every 9 out of 10 individuals only lost their hard-earned money in this land. But hey, what do the numbers know? Some hide their losses out of shame, some out of fear. The proponents, meanwhile, proudly boast unusually high returns on their investments, some open social media channels while others encourage their friends and family to take the plunge. Naturally, news of this unstoppable and humongous en-masse migration to the F&amp;O (futures and options) town has reached sheriff <keyword id="19901201" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="SEBI" source="keywords" meta.keywordsubtype="org" meta.entityname="SEBI" meta.hostid="261" meta.entityid="SEBI">SEBI</keyword>, galvanising them into action. After all, it was time to put a leash on this madness and save the common man. The inhabitants of this town doubled in the last 2 years, from 51 lakh in FY22 to 96 lakh in FY24—99.8% of whom were small and mid-income traders. But profits? Well, that's a different, rather completely absent story. <h2>Que Sera Sera, much?</h2>A recent report by SEBI (Securities and Exchange Board of India) that studied profits and losses made by traders in the equity derivatives segment between FY22-24 exposed the mad mania of futures and options trading in India, especially since the pandemic. Per the report, 91.1% of individual traders, or about 73 lakh traders had only lost money trading in futures and options in FY24. Between FY 22-24, over 1 crore traders, or about 92.8% of individual traders, had lost Rs 2 lakh each. But once bitten, twice shy? Well, not in this case. More than 75% of individuals, who had only made losses trading in F&amp;O in FY22 and FY23, continued to trade vigorously in FY24 as well, without any changes in the bottom line, which remained deep in red and negative. So, then all these traders must be uber-rich, with tons of cash and not much care to spare? Nope. 76% of traders in the F&amp;O space in FY24 had an annual income of less than Rs 5 lakh. 2 years ago, their share stood at 71%. And their choice of poison? Options! In FY24, 60% of traders made losses trading in futures, but a whopping 91.5% burnt their funds trading in options. Mind you, futures are riskier than options. With futures, which require significant capital investment, the buyer and seller both are contractually bound to adhere to the pre-determined strike price of the futures or options contract, irrespective of whether the prevailing prices are higher or lower (and thus, resulting in losses for either the buyer or seller). With options, since this adherence ain't necessary, individuals end up taking debt to take highly leveraged positions while trading here. <h2>Scale of the explosion</h2>Anyone who trades even infrequently will tell you that a demat account is the mitochondria or powerhouse of the trading cell. As of August 2024, India had over 17.1 crore <keyword id="20957284" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="demat-accounts" source="keywords">demat accounts</keyword>, which are a prerequisite for trading in the markets. India is the 9th biggest country in the world, in terms of total demat accounts. Did you know that our demat accounts are at par with the entire population of Bangladesh? Talk about scale! Just 4 years ago, in March 2020, this number was a mere 4 crore. Naturally, the total F&amp;O turnover on both <keyword id="20004725" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="NSE" source="keywords" meta.keywordsubtype="org" meta.entityname="NSE" meta.hostid="261" meta.entityid="NSE">NSE</keyword> and BSE has hit the roof, and also broken it. As of October 4, 2024, the total futures and options turnover on NSE stood at a massive Rs 4,78,27,27,750.30 crore. Good luck counting the thousands! <table style="border-width: initial; border-style: none;" class="redcator-table-advance"></colgroup><tbody><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Year </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Total Turnover (Both Futures and Options) (In Rs Crore) </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">2020-21 </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">64,36,03,951.51 </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">2021-22 </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">1,69,52,33,134.47 </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">2022-23 </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">3,82,23,26,468.06 </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">2023-24 </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">7,99,27,67,152.43 </td></tr></tbody><tbody></tbody><tbody></tbody><tbody></tbody></table>Source : NSE Another metric that underlines the meteoric growth of trading in India is the collection of STT or <keyword id="20930760" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Securities-Transaction-Tax" source="keywords">Securities Transaction Tax</keyword>. As of September 2024, India's STT mop-up had gone past Rs 26,000 crore. Traders have to pay STT whenever they buy or sell any security in the market. So, more trading brings in more STT, and hence, more revenue for the government, so they're not really complaining. After all, this is certainly what they'd call enviable growth. As of August 2023, our STT collection stood at about Rs 21,599 crores. And in FY20-21, India's STT collection had been Rs 16,000 crore. If only our salaries also managed to grow at this rate! <h2>So, what's happening?</h2>Two things. One, it's the big bulls who are raking in all the moolah. And it's the younger lot (those aged under 30) who are propping them up for this. In FY24, 43% of individual traders in the market were less than 30 years of age. In just one year, this number has swelled by 12 percentage points from just 31% of individual traders. But who says ageing is bad? Wrinkles and silver hair seemingly have a propensity of incurring lesser losses in the market. In FY24, only 79% of traders aged above 60 years made losses, as compared to 93% of those aged below 30. Small and mid-income traders, which make up 98% of the total trader base, witnessed average losses per person of Rs 65,000 and Rs 1.5 lakh in FY24 in futures and options, respectively. The winner here? Clearly, the big bulls, who declared an annual income of over Rs 1 crore, ended up with average profits of Rs 96,000 per person this year. <h2>What’s the sheriff up to?</h2>The government has finally swung into action, hiking the STT rate for F&amp;O during this year’s budget. Effective October 1, 2024, the STT on futures stands at 0.02%, up from 0.0125%. For options, it was upped to 0.1% versus 0.0625% previously. Small margins, but huge impact oncoming. Says Puneet Sharma- CEO and Fund Manager at Whitespace Alpha, “SEBI aims to enhance market stability while safeguarding investor interests, reflecting the regulator's intent to balance risk management with market participation”. But this might come with its own share of challenges, too. “Stricter norms around leverage, transparency, and capital adequacy could limit the ability of investors to determine their own risk appetite, thereby stifling innovation in trading strategies. Over-regulation in an environment that thrives on strategic flexibility and creativity could dampen the market’s dynamism, affecting India's competitiveness in the global derivatives landscape”, he observes. SEBI recently came out with a set of guidelines that aim to thwart <keyword id="19972907" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="retail-investors" source="keywords">retail investors</keyword>' participation in futures and options and hinder them from taking undue risks. Here's a quick recap of what's to come for the residents of the F&amp;O town Margin Requirements: To battle the high volatility and chaos which is generally seen on expiry days(i.e the last mandated date, post which an option becomes invalid), SEBI will put in place an extreme loss margin (ELM) of 2% for all open short options on the day of expiry. Translation? Traders will need to pony up more cash upfront, leaving them with fewer funds to take on risky bets. It ain't a choice: No more of one expiry every single day! Going ahead, an exchange like BSE or NSE will just be able to offer weekly expiries, that too, only on one benchmark index, as opposed to an entire buffet it currently offers. At present, NSE offers weekly options contracts for its financial index, bank and midcap indices. But say goodbye to this, and hello to derivatives on only 1 index per exchange. Raising the bar: Effective November 30, 2024, the minimum contract value for index derivatives will be upped to Rs 15 lakh, from the present Rs 5-10 lakh. The hope is that by making it ultra-expensive to enter these trades, investors will be dissuaded from taking on risky trades. Pay upfront: Starting February 2025, those trading in options will have to pay the entire options premium upfront, even before their trades are executed. This is because options generally carry very high leverage, and paying a significant sum upfront can force traders to think twice. Invigilation Pro Max: Starting April 1 2025, to make sure that the number of positions for equity index derivatives does not slyly slip over the mandated limit, especially on expiry days when trade volumes are huge, the exchanges will have to take a minimum of 4 position snapshots randomly. The question is, will these injections of sobriety be enough to calm down the steroid-fed bull of the futures and options market in India? Well, only time and market turnover will tell! For more insights into the financial markets and business news, stay tuned to our site and social media handles. And don’t forget to subscribe to Business Insider India’s newsletters for your weekly dose of Simply Put! Disclaimer: The content on this website is for informational purposes only and should not be construed as investment advice. We recommend readers consult certified, qualified and registered advisors for professional and personalised financial advice.

SIMPLY PUT: SEBI is on a mission to take on the wild, wild west of futures and options in India. Here’s why, what, and how

<div type="image" title="In 2024, India has seen around $12.2 billion worth of IPOs, including mainboard and SMEs" msid="113878163" hostid="261" sizebytes="45300" caption="&amp;lt;p&amp;gt;In 2024, India has seen around $12.2 billion worth of IPOs, including mainboard and SMEs&amp;lt;/p&amp;gt;"></div> Missing some action, adrenaline rush, and thrill in your life? Are the good old, albeit mundane money investment avenues like mutual funds and fixed deposits not making the cut for you? Want to experience a heart-pounding, financial rollercoaster that will constantly keep you and your portfolio on tenterhooks? Well then, welcome to the world of initial public offers (IPOs), especially those brought to you by SMEs, or <keyword id="6375845" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Small-and-Medium-Enterprises" source="Orion">small and medium enterprises</keyword>. Truth be told, <keyword id="19938687" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="sme" source="keywords">SME</keyword> IPOs have been all over the bourses this year. So far, 2024 has seen 206 SMEs debuting on both BSE and NSE, out of which 146 listed in gains and 46 listed in losses. Odds seem good, right? In contrast, the year has only seen 63 IPOs from the elder brother i.e. mainboard, only 48 of which managed to post any listing gains. And getting an allotment has also been a major uncertainty, given the unusually high demand this year. <h2 style="margin-bottom: 0.7em; line-height: 1.3; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-size: 24px; background: 0px 0px; text-rendering: optimizelegibility;">So, what's an <keyword id="5559702" type="General" weightage="100" keywordseo="SME-IPO" source="Orion">SME IPO</keyword>, you ask?</h2>Think of a mainboard company as Shah Rukh or Salman Khan—well-established, financially stable, strong legacy of profitability, and fairly well-known. On the other hand, SMEs are your Prateek Gandhi (Harshad Mehta, Scam 1992), Siddhant Chaturvedi (MC Sher, Gully Boy) or Avinash Tiwary (Majnu, Laila Majnu). While they are doing super well, they are yet to make it big like the Khans. They’re currently underdogs, lesser known, but who knows? They can be the next big thing in the future! And SME IPOs are getting a stellar reception. In 2023, 182 such IPOs had raised a substantial Rs 4,967 crore. In 2024, more than 200 companies have already raised over Rs 7,500 crore, and we have four months to go. This, with one quarter of the year still remaining. <div type="image" title="In 2024, India leads IPO activity in the Asia-Pacific region" height="900" width="1200" msid="113875643" hostid="261" caption="&amp;lt;p&amp;gt;In 2024, India leads IPO activity in the Asia-Pacific region&amp;lt;/p&amp;gt;"></div> But what does it take for a company to be classified as a small enterprise? The company has to have an annual turnover/income of up to Rs 50 crore, and for a medium enterprise to be called so, its annual income has to be up to Rs 250 crore. When such companies go public, in a bid to raise funds from investors and expand their operations, they launch an <keyword id="19898327" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="ipo" source="keywords">IPO</keyword>, but not on the main exchange, but separately, on NSE’s Emerge and BSE’s SME platform. As of September 2024, <keyword id="4484133" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="NSE-Emerge" source="Orion">NSE Emerge</keyword> has 147 listed participants, while <keyword id="1885131" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="BSE-SME" source="Orion">BSE SME</keyword> has 155 market makers. Mounting an SME’s IPO is comparatively less stringent than their mainboard counterparts, as far as regulations are concerned since their DRHPs (draft red herring prospectus) are not filed with SEBI. So, wouldn’t a lenient treatment make them inherently riskier? Why are they so appealing, you ask? <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/stock-market/news/a-company-with-8-employees-looking-to-raise-12-crore-ended-up-getting-applications-worth-over-4700-crore/articleshow/112824522.cms">Delhi firm with just 8 employees seeks ₹12 crore via IPO, gets ₹4,700 crore worth of investor applications!</a> Well, for one, some of them have delivered exceptional returns—we’re talking 100%, 200%. Consider this—Owais Metal and Mineral Processing, which launched its IPO in February this year, delivered a whopping listing gain of 201%. Another SME, Maxposure, whose IPO was out in January 2024, had earned its investors listing gains worth 317.40%! Apparently, higher risks also mean higher returns, and also super high investment. Most SME IPOs need a minimum investment of Rs 1,00,000 or more, as opposed to mainboard IPOs, where you can buy one lot of shares for anywhere between Rs 14,000-15,000. Even the minimum trading lot size for SME shares is about 10,000. In short, you’d have to potentially empty your pockets to invest in an SME IPO. And still, there’s no guarantee that the listing will fill your wallets. For all you know, your pockets before and after the IPO is listed might stay the same - EMPTY! There's also the question of whether or not these SMEs are able to maintain their listing day mojo, or do they just fizzle out thereafter? Data from Prime Database highlights more instances of the latter. As of August 2024, about 166 SME IPOs had made it to the exchanges. Around 72 of them, or close to 50%, could not sustain their momentum going ahead, and were trading below their listing day prices. Consider this. The post listing gains of Medicamen Organics, whose IPO came out in June 2024, earned its investors massive listing gains of over 300%, by listing at Rs 137.85, significantly higher than its price issue price, which was set between Rs 32-34. But as of October 1, 2024, the stock was trading at Rs 64.2. Talk about falls. Additionally, risks of pump-and-dump, and illiquidity, among others makes SME IPOs dangerous See, you're largely venturing into unknown, pitch-dark territories, without much light to guide you. For starters, SME IPOs face less scrutiny from market watchdog SEBI. This also means they are able to list quickly, just 3-4 months. On the other hand, mainboard IPOs can take upto a year before they are cleared for listing. Also, there is far less information and disclosures available about their financials, fundamentals and performance to investors for making an informed decision, as compared to mainboard stocks. Then there’s the issue of illiquidity. Once purchased, you might find it hard to sell off your SME stocks, since they are not traded as frequently in the market, which means lower liquidity. Trivesh D, COO, Tradejini explains that liquidity is a major concern for such stocks. “These stocks typically have a smaller free float, and are traded in lots, which can lead to volatility and sharp price swings. This means it can be challenging for investors to buy or sell shares without significantly impacting prices. Additionally, speculative trading practices, like 'pump-and-dump' schemes, can inflate stock prices, leaving retail investors vulnerable to sudden drops”. Recently, SME IPOs have gained notoriety for price manipulation via showing fictitious sales and revenue in their books of accounts, selling of promoter holdings at inflated prices, and being the facade for many infamous pump and dump schemes. This is where select people create frenzy, or mass euphoria over a particular stock or company, causing its prices to soar, and then dumping them, or selling their shares at this massive price to make a killing! Infact, it's not just the promoters, but also the investment banks floating these IPOs. At present, SEBI is investigating around 6 investment banks which have allegedly charged SMEs a staggering 15% of funds raised via IPOs as fee, as opposed to the standard 1-3%. In March 2024, SEBI chairperson Madhabi Puri Buch had also highlighted witnessing signs of manipulation in the SME space. “We do see signs of manipulation in the SME segment. We are able to see certain patterns.” Buch had observed back then. Adds Kresha Gupta, Founder &amp; Director, StepTrade Share Services, “Investing in SME IPO comes with significant risks, despite their impressive returns in recent years. Limited participation from institutional investors and public in some SME IPOs also mean that those companies may lack the support and stability that comes with larger-scale investments” “Additionally, many SMEs may not have strong fundamentals to justify their valuations. High P/E ratios can be misleading, and while some IPOs have delivered impressive returns, they often come with significant volatility, continues D of Tradejini. <h2 style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; margin: 0px 0px 0.7em; font-family: &quot;Open Sans&quot;, sans-serif; font-weight: 700; line-height: 1.3; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-size: 24px; list-style: none; background: 0px 0px; text-rendering: optimizelegibility; text-transform: none; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; white-space: normal; text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial;">So, should I stay away?</h2>Yes, and No. Yes, if you don't want to do your homework of researching the company thoroughly beforehand. Anand K. Rathi, Co-Founder of MIRA Money suggests asking a couple of questions before investing your hard earned money: <ul><li>What is the company's financial performance over the past 3-4 years?</li><li>What is the company's governance structure?</li><li>Is the financial success driven by the IPO, or is it a result of consistent performance?</li><li>Does the company have what it takes to scale its operations to the next level?</li><li>Are the company’s promoters trustworthy, capable and experienced?</li><li>What is the level of participation by large, institutional investors?</li></ul> But staying away completely? Not necessary. Gupta adds that retail investors, in particular, should avoid viewing SME IPOs as quick money-makers based on their short-term performance, as this can certainly lead to poor investment decisions. “To mitigate risks, investors should always focus on long-term fundamentals rather than just short-term price movements. Key indicators include the participation of institutional investors like DIIs and FIIs. This often signals confidence in the stock”, she continues. A red flag you should look out for is if a company is only offering OFS, or Offer for Sale. This can indicate early investors looking to exit, potentially signaling weaker future growth. That's why it is better to look for companies which are raising capital for expansion purposes. This is a sign of healthy business growth prospects and improving fundamentals. In conclusion, backing the underdog, or SMEs, is not a bad proposition, but not without its risks. Investing in SME IPOs is like riding a unicorn—but you don't know whether you're riding it to rags or riches! So, take your pick.

SIMPLY PUT: Why investing in SME IPOs should not be on top of your adventure to-do list!

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SIMPLY PUT: SEBI is on a mission to take on the wild, wild west of futures and options in India. Here’s why, what, and how

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