Of one looks back at the last 35 years of Indian broking since liberalization, there have been 3 distinct phases. The first phase was all about research, ideas, and leveraging knowledge to trade. Second phase started post 2000 and was about expanding the customer base, through IPOs, distribution, demat, net broking and so on. The third phase was largely about the advent of low-cost broking as a potent and viable business model, and that largely changed broking in India. 

The fourth phase, which could extend over the next decade or more, would be more integrated. That will be unlike the previous trends, which were largely like stand-alone trends. The next 10 years will see a new set of brokers coming out trumps. The last round saw new leaders like Zerodha, Groww, and Angel One get to dominate the market with the sheer force of numbers. The fourth phase will be a lot more complex as it will combine the slickness of customer experience, the way stickiness is built, the way a 360-degree solution is offered, the way the broker constantly adds value to the customer. That will make the difference! 

If the Indian stock broking industry has to really reinvent itself for the next 10 years, it must take the cue from the Q-Commerce industry. Here is why. The actual product must be a knowledge-based financial solution, based on a combination of research, tech, big data etc. This solution must be usable across platforms and client categories. One more thing quick commerce has taught us is that speed matters in any service industry. The third idea to learn from the quick commerce segment, is that if your core offering is solid, it can be just extended to all kinds of product and all category of customers. Finally, like the quick commerce players, brokers must focus on transparency and consistency. 

The first phase saw the rise of brokers like DSP, Enam, JM, and Kotak. They were the original research-based names. In the second-phase came the customer acquisition strategists like Motilal Oswal, IIFL, Edelweiss, Angel, HDFC Securities, ICICI Sec, Kotak Securities etc. Then came, the third phase of growth with strong focus on execution, costs, and technology. This phase made leaders of Zerodha, Groww, and Angel One. The interesting part is that some players have managed to seamlessly move to a new phase. That will decide if leaders remain the same or new market leaders will emerge to replace the old boys!