Good time to follow this advice. Over the next 10 days, there are only 4 trading days. It’s not a bad idea to take a break from trading and recharge. Judging by what’s happening, you’re going to need it. 😬

“Trading profitably requires that you monitor the market moods and your psychological moods. When either one is not conducive to trading, it’s best to stand aside and wait for the situation to change. Don’t make the mistake of thinking you should trade even in these potentially debilitating conditions. By staying out of the markets, you can survive to trade another day, when you’re in a peak performance mental state and the market conditions are optimal.”

Btw, Innerworth articles on Varsity are about trading psychology, and they are a goldmine.

Link to the full post here.

The Indian markets peaked in September 2024. Since then, the Nifty Multicap index is down 16%. However, a simple diversified portfolio of 60% Nifty Multicap, 20% debt, and 20% gold is down only 5%.

If you are diversified and disciplined, all this market drama means nothing.

Here’s some historical context on what’s happening in the markets and what you should do.

Indians have lost over Rs 2000 crores to digital arrest frauds this year. These scams work by creating fear in people. They take advantage of people’s tendency to make mistakes when they are afraid.

Here’s how the scam works:

You get a call from a person claiming to be a police officer. They tell you that a courier parcel in your name has been seized because it contains illegal items like drugs or other contraband.

Then you get a WhatsApp video call with a scamster wearing a police uniform. They threaten to arrest you, take you to court, and then ask you to transfer money to their account to “close the case.”

Those of us who are educated may think that no one will fall for such obvious scams, but crores of educated Indians have fallen victim to these frauds.

I’ve shared this earlier as well: Never react in a hurry when you get such calls. At the very least, speak to someone knowledgeable, to your lawyer, or just walk into the nearest police station. The fraud works because we instinctively become afraid and will do whatever it takes to avoid trouble. Don’t react in a hurry. Also, block or don’t receive calls and messages from unknown numbers.

Some important updates on Kite by Zerodha.

Order slicing – You can now easily place large orders without having to worry about exchange freeze limits.

Available margin – Instantly know your available funds on the Kite order window.

Market depth – Now easily access market depth on the order window itself.

Remember F&O quantity – Kite remembers the quantity you entered for a contract and automatically fill it in when you open the order window next time.

Market Protection – Makes your market orders safer, preventing them from executing at unexpected prices during volatile market conditions.

The new Basket icon lets you quickly build and execute multi-instrument orders from anywhere in the Kite platform with just a few clicks.

Read this post for more.

It’s been around 10 years since we waived off brokerage for equity delivery. Even though there is extreme pressure to change the stance, given option trading volumes are down significantly, we’ve stuck with this so far.

Over the 10 years of being free, our clients have saved between Rs 2000 and 20,000 crores as equity delivery brokerage.

And yeah, Zerodha = Zero + Barriers (Sanskrit), not Zero + brokerage. 😬

Link to the post

Coming soon: The Capital Markets Yearbook 2024, a collaboration between Zerodha and IndiaDataHub. Capturing India’s extraordinary market transformation through data-driven insights and visualizations.

From equity to debt, forex to commodities—all the data that matters in one definitive resource.

In all my time as a trader and a broker, I’ve interacted with hundreds of successful traders, both large and small. The one common element to their success and longevity is risk management. This has become all the more important in markets like these when fear takes over and having an objective mindset becomes harder.

I wanted to share a few insightful tips from an old Jerry Parker podcast:

On living to play another day.

“This is a Turtle Rule. That when you have a drawdown, you reduce your positions twice as fast as the drawdown. So, if you’re down 10%, you should reduce your positions by 20% and so on. And that’s a different day when we were trading really large, very few markets, very short-term. But I think it still kind of applies that you want to have that one rule that always works. It’s always going to work. It’s going to keep you from losing too much. And that is just to reduce your positions and live to play another day.”

On cutting your losers and letting your winners ride.

“I used to say, when you have a loss, you’re thinking, I’m hopeful that it’s going to come back and turn into a winner, but that’s when you should be fearful that the loss is going to get bigger. And then the biggest mistake is when we have big profits, we’re very fearful. We’re fearful it’s going to turn into a smaller profit, but that’s when we should be very hopeful that it’s going to be a big, huge winner. So, I think that, you know, we’re always going against the way we’re wired.”

On mistakes.

“But most of that has come from, honestly, from over-trading and not following my systems to a T, as a 100%, as much as I could have. Yeah. So, most of that was all self-induced anxiety. The markets I can kind of get over, I can turn it into a game, I love the game. I love playing and I love competing. But, yeah, that’s the two most important things. And I got that from Rich. I asked him, like, one day, what’s the two biggest mistakes we make? Or what are the biggest mistakes we’re going to make? And he’s like, oh, over trading and not following your system.”

Check out the link to the interview here.

The first thing you should do when you are starting your personal finance journey is to ensure you have sufficient life and health insurance. If you have dependents, not having life insurance is a bad idea.

Based on my interactions with folks, perhaps the biggest reason why they don’t have life insurance is because the policies are a nightmare to understand with all sorts of jargon and hidden clauses.

Then there’s the fact that insurers keep changing things. For example, I didn’t know underwriting rules had become much tougher and rejections had gone up.

So, I asked Shrehith Karkera from Ditto to write a post on things you should know before buying life insurance in 2025. Check out the link here.

You can now track all your investments in stocks, ETFs, bonds and mutual funds in a single view on Kite web. 

Check out this post for more information.

This is what the top of the bull market looks like with a lag 😬. A broker winning the EY Entrepreneur of the Year 2024.

And there can’t be a more apt song than Zindagi Kaisi Yeh Paheli in the background. 

🚨Important NSE update

Starting April 4, 2025, all derivatives expiry days change from Thursday to Monday. NIFTY weekly contracts will now expire on Monday of each week instead of Thursday.

All monthly and quarterly contracts (NIFTY, BANKNIFTY, and stocks) will expire on the last Monday of the month instead of the last Thursday. Plan your trades accordingly.

For investors who started investing after the pandemic, this is the first real market correction. Markets are cyclical, and given the way our markets went up from late 2020, this fall was inevitable. I don’t know how good the data is, but it seems like the number of investors stopping their SIPs has gone up. This is the wrong thing to do. What an SIP helps you do is to average your investments across different market cycles.

You averaged on your way up from 2021; now, you get to average on the way down. In 2020, large, mid, and small caps fell by 25-40% but then rose by 200-400%. If you had panicked, you would have missed the rebound. As long as you invest regularly in the right funds, diversify, and stay disciplined, your chances of long-term success are high.

The other mistake to avoid is leverage. There’s no shortage of businesses triggering you to borrow money to invest etc., but that’s a bad idea. I’ve no idea where the markets go from here, and neither does anyone. What I do know is panicking now is the wrong thing to do, and you can get pushed to panic if you have borrowed.

You are better off just investing every month and doing something useful in life than getting carried away by the doom and gloom. If you are new to the markets and are feeling nervous, watching this Zero1 by Zerodha video.

We just launched the all-new options chain on Kite. It has pretty much everything you need to trade options from a single screen from order placement to tracking positions.

You can also check the blog post for more information.

I first met Abid Hassan 12 years ago when he and his friends were building the first version of Sensibull. The original idea was to help traders and investors make better decisions, like helping them avoid going against the trend, being diversified, etc. In many ways, they were well ahead of their time. We couldn’t figure out how to make the platform work while complying with regulations.

Abid went back to trading options for a trading desk, but I continued peddling him the idea that he should start something related to the markets.

In 2018, he finally decided to start Sensibull. This time, the idea was to help option traders do better. The problem was extremely close to our hearts, and we backed it through Rainmatter. The idea was to nudge customers to think of strategies versus trading naked and avoid other obvious mistakes.

Today, after being around for 7+ years, I don’t think we are successful yet in our mission to help traders 😬. But that said, Abid and the team have come a long way in helping traders do better.

Considering a lot of traders might not know about Sensibull, we thought of making a quick video explaining Sensibull in 2 minutes. 😃

30% of term life insurance applications get rejected!

Here’s a guide by Ditto Insurance on how you can avoid it.

Picture this: You applied for a term insurance plan, underwent the required medical tests, and the results returned normal. But then, out of nowhere, your insurer rejects your application.

No warning, no clarity, just a cold, hard no.

But why?

Insurers don’t just focus on your current health; they’re also trying to predict your future health risks. If their models suggest you could develop serious conditions down the line, they may reject your application. But here’s what you can do to reduce those chances:

Test Yourself Before They Test You: You’ll likely need to undergo medical tests when applying. But here’s a tip: Get these tests done yourself first. Check cholesterol, diabetes, blood pressure, etc. If any markers are off, work on improving them before applying. It could save you from rejection or sky-high premiums.

Bonus Tips: If you opt for a policy with a higher sum insured (like ₹2+ Cr), insurers may require additional tests, such as a treadmill test. It’s a good idea to prepare for these in advance.

Also, if you’ve recently been hospitalized or had a fever, it’s best to wait 1–3 months before applying. This ensures that all your blood work is back to normal, increasing the chances of a smooth approval process.

Sweat Now, Save Later: Adopt a fitness routine like jogging or regular workouts. Improving your overall health reduces your risk profile and can increase your chances of approval (or even lower your premiums).

Quit Lying, Even If You Don’t Quit Smoking: Smokers pay higher premiums – it’s a fact. But lying about it? A disaster waiting to happen.

Insurers use cotinine tests to detect nicotine (even from months ago). If caught lying, your application could be rejected. Moreover, insurers share information, which could lead to rejections from other insurers.

What if you start smoking after buying a policy? Usually, it won’t affect claims. But it’s best to inform your insurer to avoid scrutiny later.

Oversharing Kills: Declaring everything is good, but oversharing can backfire.

If an insurer asks, “Have you smoked in the last 12 months?” and the answer is no, just mark “No.” Don’t mention living with smokers or exposure to secondhand smoke, as it could raise unnecessary red flags and lead to higher premiums. The takeaway? Answer only what’s asked, truthfully and to the point.

These tips can help you avoid rejection. But remember, insurance is personal, and there’s more to consider when buying a term plan.

That’s where Ditto Insurance guides you from application to claims, so you never navigate the pitfalls alone. Book a FREE consultation today.

Did a pandemic achieve what years of financial literacy couldn’t? How did we get here in the first place and what’s next?

We uncover how historical events shaped today’s market culture, decode the psychology behind recent investing trends, and explore what this new wave of retail participation means for India’s financial future.

Whether you’re a seasoned investor or just getting started, this dive into India’s stock market story will help you understand where we came from, where we are, and most importantly – where we’re headed.

Read this post – The dramatic transformation of the Indian stock market by Bhuvan.

Why do you need a bank account?

This is the fourth video in the Zerodha Varsity junior series, in which Karthik Rangappa switches to being a kindergarten teacher to explain why we need a bank account. 😀

Have you ever handed over your phone to a stranger in need of “just one call”? This simple act of kindness could cost you your entire savings.

From intercepting your OTPs to draining your bank accounts, scammers can cause serious damage without you even realizing it. In this video, we explain how these scammers operate, who they target, and most importantly, how you can protect yourself.

This was our first year as India’s direct-only AMC, Zerodha Fund House. Our AUM has grown significantly, all without us actively pushing anything.

The good thing about being passive-only is that it aligns the incentives for both the customers and us. For the customers, it means access to good, low-cost products, and for us, it eliminates the risks that have recently made headlines.

Read this post – One year of Zerodha Fund House by Vishal Jain.

We’ve added a new module on Varsity, covering all aspects of investing in the National Pension Scheme (NPS).

The NPS is a defined contribution scheme regulated by the Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA). It’s an excellent option for building your retirement savings as it encourages investing in a diversified portfolio of equity and debt.

Along with diversification, as NPS investments are locked in until the subscriber turns 60, it also helps you remain disciplined with your investments and avoid unnecessary tinkering.

In this Varsity module, we cover all the aspects of NPS to help you understand if this suits your investment needs or not. Read the module on Varsity or watch the video on YouTube.

Companies will start reporting their quarterly earnings for the December quarter from today. You can keep track of quarterly results for the stocks in your portfolio on Console timeline powered by Tijori.

Console timeline is a feed of key events and developments related to your investments. It’s like a social media feed but for your portfolio.

Check it out here.

You can also follow @marketalertsz on X (Twitter) to get instant alerts about quarterly results.

Looking back, 2024 was probably the best year for the brokerage industry, and it’s starting to look like the best is behind us, at least for the foreseeable future. 😬

In terms of options turnover, we are back to 2022–23 levels. This is even before the impact of the increased lot sizes, which take effect in January 2025.

We just published a post reviewing 2024 at both Zerodha and across the broking industry. The link to the full post is here.

Happy New Year!

As we step into 2025, it’s a good time to take a closer look at your personal finances. And by that, we don’t just mean your investments—those are just one part of your finances. A financial plan that doesn’t consider your unique life circumstances will always be incomplete.

In this two-part post, we highlight the important aspects that you should take care of when managing your personal finances.

Part one helps gain a better understanding of your personal finances by reviewing your goals, managing debt, insurance planning, and more.

Part two focuses on managing your investments and, most importantly, understanding and improving your financial behavior.

I don’t know if it is a good time with the fall in the markets 😬, but we are finally launching MTF (margin trading facility) which allows you to buy stocks for delivery by borrowing money from us.

I haven’t been sure about this product for a long time because of obvious reasons. Customers who trade for delivery tend to ignore the impact of the cost of borrowing, and there’s always the risk of the trade going against them, which leads to a bigger loss.

But in the last 3 to 4 years, MTF has grown tremendously, with pretty much everyone offering it. Considering the number of customers asking us for the feature, it didn’t make business sense for us to not offer it.

But yeah, like with everything else, we will never push this to customers and trigger them to trade.

More here.

SEBI recently published a consultation paper on algo trading for retail investors.

My understanding of it is it should be ok for savvy traders using APIs for individual trading with some reasonable order limits. But the APIs have to be accessed through only static IPs, but this isn’t hard to get.

But platforms that offer algos or readymade strategies will need to get them approved through the broker. The broker, in turn, has to register all algos and strategies with the exchanges.

The broker also has to ensure that customers are following the same strategies that were registered. That means brokers will have to build and offer the infrastructure for people to run their algos and ensure compliance.

We wrote about the consultation paper on Markets by Zerodha recently.