brokers

Hi,
I have studied bout 10 brokerage houses. Following are the merits and demerits as per my views.

INDIABULLS:
Software is free, no amc, you get upto 75% leverage on ‘A’ category stocks. Intraday you get 8 times and delivery upto 4 times leverage. You can hold the shares in delivery upto 7 days (without paying for it)after that they will square off whatever they get in their system. They may sell your long term shares also. Intraday charting is good, but EOD charts you have to depend on web. Placing offline orders is through Relationship manager(you have one to one contact so you can ask his opnion before ordering)

ANANDRATHI:
Exposure upto 5 times, 60% of leverage on ‘A’ category stocks. No leverage for delivery. So no problem if the shares you buy fall. They charge you for the software but it has no charting facility. I think, it’s very difficult to trade without chart. Placing offline order through RM.

GEOJIT:
Only brokerage is low. Especially for futures and options. They charge only 75/- per lot in F&O only for online trading. Different structure for offline. Software is not good. Minimum brokerage of Rs2000/- has be generated to use their terminal. No advise for clients on stocks.

MOTILAL OSWAL:
You get 5 times leverage for intraday. No exposure for delivery. No exposure on your stocks. Brokerage is low, delivery advice is excellent. Intraday advice is only 20% correct. (So can’t follow intraday advise) but the greatest problem is with their software. I have seen people suffering because of their problematic software. You don’t get the exposure; even after transferring funds, shares are not transferred to your account on time, squaring off your holdings without your knowledge etc.

SHAREKHAN:
You get up to 60% exposure on your stocks, no particular time for intraday square off. You can square off at the nth moment (i.e. at 3.29pm also). Their software is excellent. You can view the intraday chart the moment you click on the scrip. You can also see the order book together with chart. Viewing EOD chart is with in the software. So taking decision on spot (for technical traders) is very easy. But, there are not many indicators available in the software, no chart studies available (like fan line, trend line, V & H line). They have an excellent report on all the companies. Their delivery calls are ok (better is motilal). You can also place offline orders through relationship managers. You get support and information through yahoo messenger and also SMS.

VENTURA:
I recently enquired about them. They have the same software as sharekhan. So you have all the merits and demerits of sharekhan terminal (software). But they have a chatting facility inside the terminal so you can make enquiry bout the scrip you are interested in. since they are new, they are offering low brokerage next to reliance money.

RELIANCE MONEY:
They don’t provide you any software. You have to call helpline to place offline orders. You have to use web site to place online order. No exposure on your holdings. They have a killing brokerage structure. Rs500 brokerage for 1crore transaction. That is a very attractive brokerage for heavy traders in futures and options. But I have not heard any good recommendation from reliance money clients regarding service. If you are an investor, I don’t ask you to go for this. Don’t go for delivery (cash segment)in reliance money. The security system to login is excellent. No one can hack your account.

ICICI DIRECT:
They don’t provide you software. If you want a terminal, you have to invest minimum 5lakh. You get a whopping 20-30 times exposure for intraday under margin+. So you can double or triple your money in a day or lose everything in a day. So got to be careful trading in margin+. under margin you get up to 4 times. But, I have not heard ppl making money in margin+, some how, your stop loss will trigger. The catch is you can’t place orders till 10.15am (sometimes till 10.30)and they square off your position at 2.45pm. Markets make big movements only after 2.45 or before 10.30 most of the times. Their website is too good. You get almost everything their investment, company etc. The major problem with their site is, if you don’t use their site for 10 mins, it will log you out automatically. So you have to login again. At times it’s so irritating that by the time you login, the price would have moved against you. Their delivery calls are also very good.

RELIGARE:
Their brokerage is high, they say if your turnover is good, they will reduce the brokerage. Not heard good bout their recommendations. Their software is not upto the mark. You can place offline order’s through dealer. No charges for ordering offline. Donno much bout intraday leverage.

KOTAK SECURITIES:
Offline order is not charged. On some scrips you get upto 10-15 times for intraday. For delivery you can carry double the amount you have in the margin (if you have 1lakh, you can buy up to 2lakh for any period) their research report is also good. Terminal is ok. Again, there is no charting facility inside the software.

STOCK HOLDING CORPORATION OF INDIA (SHCIL):
They have an excellent demat service. But don’t ask for anything else. They have also opened a trading platform, have no idea about it.

CONCLUSION:
As we know every1’s requirements are different. I think the above study will help you take decisions on where to open a demat account. For eg.
If you are a long term investor, kotak securities is better coz you get double the exposure, can build your capital faster.
If you are F&O trader reliance money, geojit are better
If you are heavily in intraday with a lot of care, you can go for ICICIdirect.
If you would like to do all the studies yourself and don’t want to listen to others Sharekhan and Ventura are good.
You can also enquire about India infoline, HDFC securities, Apollo Sindhuri, 5paisa.com, IL&FS, Karvy(after December) to name a few.