Most retail traders in Futures and options earn less than Rs 5 lakh a year, are under 30

The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has reported that most retail traders in India's futures and options (F&O) market earn less than Rs 5 lakh annually and are predominantly under the age of 30. A decline in the number of retail traders participated in this segment occurred in 2025-26, with those earning under Rs 5 lakh making up 73% of retail F&O traders, down slightly from 75% in 2024-25. This highlights that derivatives participation remains concentrated among lower-income individuals.

In 2025-26, the number of retail traders decreased by 20% to 78.6 lakh from 98.1 lakh in 2024-25. However, the net losses dropped 18% to Rs 91,685 crore compared to Rs 1.12 lakh crore in 2024-25. Despite the higher number of losses, the losses of youth or GenZ (those under 30 years) were lower at Rs 19,287 crore, accounting for 20% of the total retail net losses.

Interestingly, women have increasingly participated in the F&O segment, making up 17.1% of retail traders in 2025-26, up from 15.6% in 2024-25. However, the proportion of women making losses remains high at 85%, down slightly from 88% in the previous year.