ANGEL ONE: MASTERING DIGITAL BROKING

The company sees 42.4% rise in profit as its early bet on digitisation pays off.

- Rajiv Ranjan Singh

ANGEL ONE encapsulates the story of digitisation of the stock market in India and its cascading effect on financial inclusion of smalltown India that followed. Demat accounts grew from less than 3.5 crore in 2018 to about 13.93 crore by end of 2023. On an average, about 1.5 million demat accounts were added every month, and Angel One prepared well in advance for the avalanche of digital natives who entered the market with low-value transactions, high aspirations and expectations of good service. In three years, Angel One’s clients tripled from 65 lakh to 1.94 crore while market share in the Futures & Options segment increased from 3.3% to 27.2%. Angel One stock has delivered 1,100% returns since listing in October 2020, a record by any initial public offer (IPO) in last three years.

Even though Angel One operates in the financial sector, its foundations are rooted in use of technology. Founder Dinesh Thakkar had, in fact, started setting up an IT business and entered the stock market to raise funds. Losses and multiple other stumbling blocks made Thakkar realise the gaps in the market for small investors like himself. Angel was born in 1996.