Retail equity holdings shoot up 60% in 2021, shows data

Value of holdings rises to Rs 55 trillion as 30 mn new investors enter market

Individual investors’ equity holdings saw one of the highest-ever increases during a calendar year as droves of first-time investors flocked to the stock market in 2021. The combined value of their equity holdings rose by Rs 21 trillion, or 60 per cent, to Rs 55 trillion in the year, underpinned by an across-the-board up move in stock prices.
 
The number of active dematerialised (demat) accounts surged by a record 30.7 million to nearly 80 million, data provided by depository firms CDSL and NSDL show.
 
This growth in retail investors’ equity assets under custody (AUC) outpaced the growth in