JioBlackRock may challenge top discount brokers

Focus should be on expanding total addressable market: Experts

- NESIL STANEY

INDIA'S TOP DISCOUNT brokers such as Groww, Zerodha and AngelOne, which grew massively over more than a decade, have been facing tough times of late. Top brokers have lost more than 2 million active users in the first-half of 2025. But their job to get back on track became even more difficult late last month, with India's numero uno price warrior making its debut in their turf.

JioBlackRock, a 50:50 joint venture between Reliance Industries owned Jio Financial Services and US-based giant BlackRock got the regulatory approval to enter stock broking and clearing operations in the last week of June this year. Though the stated objective of the firm is to build a tech-first platform, it's well known that Reliance's biggest advantage in any business has been its ability to outdo its competitors on price. That's what will hurt the discount brokerages, experts said.