Recently, as of 7th September 2022, total Demat accounts in India touched the 10 crore mark. This is a staggering increase from 4 crore Demat accounts in Mach 2020. This alone is a testimony of increased participation and inclusion of individuals in Indian markets.

More and more Indians, especially youngsters, are taking to investing in equities enabled by their smartphones - digital broking, increased information access, and social media influence.

The whole securities (stock) market ecosystem has evolved immensely over the past decade and deserves a lot of credit for the recent growth in the participation of new investors. At the helm of the ecosystem sits our regulators who are responsible to enable, guide, protect and watch the market participants to ensure that we have a fair and thriving market.

In this episode, Deepak and Shray talk about the role SEBI can play in shaping the future of the markets. They talk about data warehousing, data accessibility, regulatory enhancements, bond markets, disclosures & reporting, and a lot more that would make our markets more accessible. 

02:00 - As low as only 3% of household income is directed towards stock markets. Why are people so scared of investing in stocks?

04:00 - Game changers - Digital public goods in our financial system

09:00 - Data warehousing framework at RBI and its US counterpart

16:00 - Does an average investor even use the granular data that we’re expecting the regulators to build for?

24:00 - What company data should a centralized database ideally have?

32:00 - The way Indian companies play with stock tickers

34:30 - How will this organized information make things better for all participants?

39:30 - Better information access makes our markets more accessible to FIIs

43:00 - Crazy things that mutual funds & companies do with disclosures

48:00 - PMS & AIF returns should be cross-verified and shouldn’t be based on self disclosures

“The more developed you are, the more signages you see on the road”

55:00 - SEBI is a far better regulator than many western counterparts. What do you still wish they should improve

59:00 - Would information disclosures will be a hassle for smaller companies?

1:03:30 - AMFI - the Self Regulatory Organization (SRO) recognized by SEBI

1:11:00 - What can SEBI do less to make space for things you wish it should do?

1:15:00 - How much impact can SEBI have on increasing household participation in the markets?