In response to the buzz surrounding Jio-BlackRock reportedly receiving a stockbroking license, Zerodha co-founder and CEO Nithin Kamath took to social media platform X (formerly Twitter) to share his views—emphasizing both optimism and caution over the new development in India’s financial services space.
“This is great news,” Kamath wrote. “The biggest issue for the Indian markets is a lack of breadth in participation. We’re largely limited to the top 10 crore Indians. If anyone can expand the markets beyond that, it’s probably Jio with all its distribution might.”
Kamath acknowledged the transformational potential of a partnership like Jio-BlackRock in bringing new retail investors into the Indian stock market ecosystem. However, he added that the real challenge would be whether those new investors actually have the financial means to participate.
In the same post, Kamath offered insights into Zerodha’s business philosophy, implicitly drawing a contrast between his firm and other fast-scaling players in the space. He reiterated that Zerodha is not focused on vanity metrics or aggressive growth at all costs.
“At the heart of our philosophy is to always do the right thing for customers,” Kamath wrote, adding that the company avoids pushing customers to trade or using manipulative design tactics like “dark patterns” or incessant notifications.
“Most of our product decisions are based on the idea that customers do better in the long run when they trade less,” he said.
On the topic of competition, Kamath remarked that he does not expect traditional incumbents to pose a major threat. Instead, he said the real challenge would come from “first-generation founders who are running, breathing, and always thinking about broking.”
He concluded with humility, saying, “But yeah, I might be wrong.”