Coronavirus impact: Retail investors see Rs 3 trillion hit on investments

Experts say such investors build large positions when markets are at historical peaks

The sharp sell-off in the markets has taken a heavy toll on direct equity investments of retail investors, who have seen the value of their investments erode by nearly Rs 3 trillion in CY20 so far.

Data from Capitaline shows that at the end of December, retail investors (those with up to Rs 200,000 of investment in individual capacity), held Rs 9.84 trillion worth of investments in over 3,000 listed firms on the exchanges. The value had shrunk to Rs 6.87 trillion as on April 3, 2020. Only actively-traded stocks were considered for the analysis.

“Retail investors have seen investments