In Conversation With Sidhavelayutham Mohanamoorthy Founder & CEO, Alice Blue

In Conversation With Sidhavelayutham Mohanamoorthy Founder & CEO, Alice Blue

Sidhavelayutham Mohanamoorthy Founder & CEO, Alice Blue

How a Brokerage Firm Made Rapid Strides in the World of Trading

Here's the fascinating growth story of Alice Blue


Overview — The equity culture in India is growing with small retail investors entering the market in a big way. The temptation to participate in India’s growth story and get a piece of the action is making retailers not only purchase stocks in cash but also trade in the derivatives segment. Trading in the stock market involves commission to the broker and transaction taxes. The brokerage commission is generally calculated as a percentage of the total trade value. 

Disruptors Rewrite Rules — Industry disruptors like Alice Blue have turned this rule on its head. They charge a very low flat fee per trade or per month with no brokerage on equity deliveries. This is a great benefit to small traders

No Conflict of Interest — Most brokerage houses offer trading advice to clients and pay their relationship managers based on business generated. This can create a dangerous situation where the investor’s risk may not be protected. Alice Blue does not offer any trading tips or advisory services which can create a conflict of interest. Not only does this bring down operational costs; but it also avoids unnecessary clashes of interest that can be detrimental to clients. 

The Shift of Retail Traders to the Online Model — The traditional broker model involved calling the broker to place a trade. Then came the online model where banks offered online trading accounts that could be used on desktops/ laptops. Over the last few years, smartphone apps have ruled the roost. Now traders can place their trades with a tap of their finger on their cellphones. The entire process is simple and userfriendly and 100 per cent online trading platforms like Alice Blue have become popular because of their ease of use and simplicity

One-Stop Solution — Alice Blue offers a platform to trade equities, futures, options, currencies, commodities, mutual funds and IPOs. This gives traders and investors sufficient choice and flexibility in a single account where they can manage all their investments. In the future, it expects to move to other segments as well to offer clients more diversification.

Referrals — Since its inception in 2006, Alice Blue has focused on offering a simple online trading platform at the lowest cost to retail traders and investors. Over the years it has grown due to excellent client and partner referrals. It also generates business revenue from its partners. 

Technology — Alice Blue relies on superior technology to provide an excellent customer experience. Technology improvement is a continuous process and Alice Blue believes in staying ahead of the learning curve where technology is concerned.

Marketing Strategy — In the initial phase, Alice Blue depended on community outreach, telemarketing and word-ofmouth advertising to reach out to the target audience. Later on, they used the internet to their advantage and used digital marketing to enhance brand visibility and raise awareness about their offerings. They set up a website and drove organic traffic to it using a multi-pronged approach of social media, influencer marketing, conferences, webinars, offline partner visits, public relations, paid promotions and establishment of branch offices to build a countrywide presence. Today they have 17 branches across 16 cities. The goal behind the marketing strategy was simple. It was focused on building client trust by offering an authentic platform at flat brokerage rates. The aim was to concentrate on new account openings by using client referral and partner referral schemes. Several applications were launched like ANT Web, ANT Mobi 2.0, Trade School and more. With the availability of new-age technologies, these applications added cutting-edge features like API integrations, third-party applications and more to make them more appealing and user-friendly.

How the Juggernaut Rolls — It is amazing how far Alice Blue has come since its inception in 2006. In the first year, its client base was 1000. In 2022, the client base stands at a whopping 4 lakh plus. In 2006-07, the revenue was  ₹1 crore while in 2021-22 it stands at a staggering ₹79.2 crore. The company registered consecutive growth over the period.

Future Plans — Alice Blue has ambitious plans for the future. They hope to add 10 million derivative traders by 2025. They wish to educate the retail trader base about the investment and trading opportunities available with an aim to get people to move away from traditional saving modes like FDs and Post Office savings schemes. Their aim is to have the best online trading platform that delivers impeccable customer service. They have ideas of expanding their offerings to cover other investment avenues so that clients can manage all investments under one roof. The goal remains to become India’s most preferred trading platform that has the client’s best interests in mind.

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