Mukesh Ambani’s business empire stretches from oil to media, and phones to footwear.
Now, his financial juggernaut, Jio Financial Services, is diving headfirst into stock broking — with global asset-management giant BlackRock riding shotgun.
Their new venture, Jio BlackRock Broking, has industry rivals sweating.
Motilal Oswal shares have plunged 11%, while Angel One has dropped more than 6% over the last two days in Mumbai. (Zerodha, still unlisted, is probably sighing with relief.)
India’s retail investing boom is no secret. The number of demat accounts had skyrocketed to 170 million in August 2024, up from just 41 million pre-COVID-19.
No wonder that profits for the top five listed brokerages jumped between 30% and 120% last year.
That’s a massive opportunity out in the open — and Reliance is hungry.
Read more: Reliance missed the beat in 2024. Can it dance its way back to the top?
The Reliance way?
Reliance and Jio are the best in the business when it comes to wrecking a shop like a pro. The latter’s disruption playbook is legendary.
Remember 2015? Free calls and dirt-cheap data turned India’s telecom market upside down. It’s now India’s no. 1 telecoms provider.
Then came retail and, more recently, a Disney-backed streaming power move. Stock broking is next on the hit list.
Discount brokers like Zerodha, Groww and Angel One have already broken the old guard by slashing fees. They charge almost nothing for investing in mutual funds or equities. For intraday hustles, they charge as little as 20 rupees ($0.23) or less.
What if Jio BlackRock goes even lower, or free? It’s not far-fetched.
Jio Financial and BlackRock did not respond to MONIIFY’s request for further comments on their partnership.
Read more: India’s Jio is eyeing a blockbuster IPO
Playing the players
For those in the business of investing in the investing theme, at the moment, Motilal and Angel One, trading at just 17x forward profit, look cheap. But only if Jio doesn’t wreck the game.
On the face of it, with Reliance’s clout and BlackRock’s global chops, Jio BlackRock has the firepower to lure retail investors and rewrite India’s broking landscape.
But Shivaji Thapliyal of Yes Securities notes that discount brokers like Zerodha, Groww and Angel One dominate the market, forming an oligopoly. Breaking through won’t be easy, even with Reliance’s muscle and BlackRock’s expertise.
But whether it’s another Jio-style disruption or a slower climb, the industry is bracing for impact. Game on.
Edited by Ankush Chibber. If you have any tips, ideas or feedback, please get in touch: talk-to-us@moniify.com
