Retail investors stayed away as market gained over 25% in '12
break even, said experts. “Those who had invested in realty, infra and PSU banks have not even recovered 50% of their money. While many stocks have rallied 100% since their 2011 lows, they are still 40-60% below their 2007 highs,” said AK Prabhakar, senior VP, equity research, Anand Rathi. Inflation had eroded the savings of retail investors even as real wage increases remained flat in most sectors in the past three years, he added.
To be sure, retail participation has been subdued for nearly three years now. Brokers have tried to woo back retail investors by introducing products such as equity SIPs, but in vain. “We have tried to handhold retail investors, improved our research coverage and bettered our techology offerings,” said Gopkumar.
The good news is that delivery volumes picked up somewhat in the last quarter of calendar year 2012 and crossed the R1,000 crore mark in October and December. Experts, however, say the improvement is marginal and doesn’t indicate a return of retail investors to equities. “After October, we have seen a healthier participation from HNIs (high net worth individuals) but retail investors remain sceptical,” said Vineet Arora, the executive vice-president, ICICI Direct.
The rally after September has been largely driven by Nifty and Sensex stocks and midcaps have seen a proportionate rise, Arora added. “Retail investors will enter market only if they see a midcap rally,” he said.
Be the first to comment.
