Capital Markets
Exchanges, depositories, registrars, AMCs, brokers, wealth managers & rating agencies
What this is
- Exchanges, depositories and registrars earn most: near-duopolies, high margins, little capital.
- Asset managers compound with SIP flows, but every SEBI fee cut comes out of their margin.
- Brokers and exchanges ride options volumes - the most regulated, most volatile revenue.
Why now
- Monthly SIPs hit a record ₹32,490 Cr in Sep 2026; fund assets are ₹82.6L Cr (AMFI).
- NSE listed in Sep 2026 and SBI Funds in Jul 2026.
- Options volumes roughly halved in FY26 after SEBI curbs; STT on F&O rose from 1 Apr 2026.
What to watch
- Monthly AMFI data: SIP inflows, equity net flows, industry AUM
- NSE and BSE options premium turnover and BSE's share
- SEBI board meetings and F&O / mutual-fund consultation papers
- Monthly new demat accounts (CDSL, NSDL) and NSE active clients
- IPO and QIP pipeline (primary market fund-raising)
- MCX bullion options volumes and gold/silver volatility
Major areas
The map groups the anatomy into these areas before you drop into individual components.
Asset management & distribution
Fund houses that pool household savings into mutual funds, and the distributors and platforms that sell them - paid a share of assets every year.
Broking & wealth
Retail brokers, discount apps and wealth managers who bring investors to the market - paid per order, on lending, or as a share of assets advised.
Capital raising & credit
Investment banks that run IPOs, QIPs and block deals, and rating agencies that grade bonds and loans - fees tied to how much money companies raise.
Exchanges
Stock and commodity exchanges and their clearing houses - the matching engines whose per-trade charges are the chain's biggest profit pool.
Market plumbing
Depositories that hold every share in electronic form and registrars that keep fund and company records - regulated duopolies paid per account, transaction and rupee of assets.
Exchanges
Every trade in India's markets is matched, cleared and settled through an exchange. NSE, BSE and MCX earn a small charge on each trade and own the clearing houses, indices and data feeds built on top - the hub the rest of the chain plugs into.
National Stock Exchange of India (NSE)
ListedIndia's dominant stock exchange and the world's largest derivatives exchange by contracts; owns NSE Clearing, Nifty indices, data and co-location businesses
BSE
ListedAsia's oldest exchange, now a real No. 2 in index options after relaunching Sensex weekly options; also runs StAR MF (mutual-fund order platform) and India INX at GIFT City
Multi Commodity Exchange of India (MCX)
ListedIndia's commodity derivatives exchange, with near-total share in gold, silver, crude and base-metal futures and options
Potential bottlenecks
- Deal flow depends on market sentiment and SEBI approval timelinesInvestment banks & institutional equities
- Fee competition among a dozen-plus banks per large issueInvestment banks & institutional equities
- SEBI's lower mutual-fund brokerage caps (6 bps cash, from 12) shrink institutional commissionsInvestment banks & institutional equities
- Issuer-pays model invites rating-shopping; SEBI tightens disclosureRatings & research
- Bond issuance falls when yields rise (corporate bond issuance dropped in the Apr-Jun 2026 quarter)Ratings & research
- Analyst talent costsRatings & research
- SEBI's expense-ratio caps fall as a scheme grows (telescopic slabs), and the April 2026 rules cut what schemes may pay brokersAsset managers (AMCs)
- Distribution reach outside the top 30 cities still depends on banks and individual distributorsAsset managers (AMCs)
- Passive funds and direct plans squeeze fees on large-cap and index productsAsset managers (AMCs)
- Telescopic pricing - yields fall as client AUM risesRegistrars & fund admin
- AMC contract renewals are price negotiationsRegistrars & fund admin
- Fixed technology and data-security spendRegistrars & fund admin
- SEBI rules on client-fund handling, upfront margins and options lot sizesRetail brokers
- RBI's tighter bank-guarantee and lending norms for brokers (from 1 Jul 2026) raise funding costsRetail brokers
- Technology uptime and outages on expiry daysRetail brokers
- Commission rates are set inside SEBI's (and IRDAI's) expense limitsFund & insurance distribution
- Direct plans and zero-commission apps compete for self-directed investorsFund & insurance distribution
- Distributor certification and compliance limit how fast networks growFund & insurance distribution
- SEBI sets expiry days, lot sizes and approval for every new productExchanges & clearing
- Clearing and settlement guarantee funds must grow with volumesExchanges & clearing
- Technology resilience - outages draw SEBI penaltiesExchanges & clearing
- Relationship-manager talent is scarce and mobileWealth managers
- SEBI rules on distributing unlisted and structured productsWealth managers
- Trust - one mis-selling scandal hurts the whole franchiseWealth managers
- SEBI sets charges and has cut some (basic demat accounts free for small holders)Depositories
- Growth in new accounts slows when markets correctDepositories
- Cyber-security and data-protection requirementsDepositories
Companies in this theme
34 companies, 30 listed. The 3 exchanges are listed above.
SBI Funds Management (SBI Mutual Fund)
ListedIndia's largest fund house by assets - SBI's joint venture with Amundi, selling through SBI's branch network as well as distributors
Company page →ICICI Prudential Asset Management
ListedNo. 2 fund house, strong in equity and hybrid funds; ICICI Bank's joint venture with Prudential plc
Company page →HDFC Asset Management
ListedThird-largest fund house and the longest-listed pure AMC (2018), with a large equity and distributor-led book
Company page →Nippon Life India Asset Management
ListedLarge fund house owned by Japan's Nippon Life, India's biggest ETF manager and strong with retail SIP investors in smaller towns
Company page →Aditya Birla Sun Life AMC
ListedMid-sized fund house from the Aditya Birla group (with Sun Life), historically strong in debt funds
Company page →UTI Asset Management
ListedIndia's oldest fund house (from the Unit Trust of India), with large EPFO/NPS pension mandates and index funds
Company page →Canara Robeco Asset Management
ListedMid-sized, equity-focused fund house owned by Canara Bank and Orix's Robeco
Company page →Jio Financial Services
ListedReliance group's financial-services arm; its 50:50 Jio BlackRock venture launched a low-cost mutual fund in 2025 and plans broking
Company page →Prudent Corporate Advisory Services
ListedOne of India's largest independent mutual-fund distribution platforms, serving tens of thousands of distributors with tech and back office
Company page →NJ India Invest
UnlistedUnlisted - India's largest independent mutual-fund distribution network, which also runs NJ Mutual Fund
PB Fintech (PolicyBazaar, Paisabazaar)
ListedIndia's largest online insurance marketplace (PolicyBazaar) and a credit marketplace (Paisabazaar) - the distribution layer for protection products
Company page →Groww (Billionbrains Garage Ventures)
ListedIndia's largest broker by NSE active clients, built as a mobile-first app for stocks, F&O, mutual funds and margin funding; also runs Groww AMC
Company page →Angel One
ListedLarge listed discount broker (about 4 crore clients, Sep 2026) with F&O-heavy volumes, margin funding and a new AMC and wealth arm
Company page →Zerodha
UnlistedUnlisted - India's pioneering discount broker and one of the two largest by active clients; owns Zerodha Fund House (with Smallcase)
Motilal Oswal Financial Services
ListedDiversified capital-markets group: full-service and discount broking, wealth (private wealth), asset management (Motilal Oswal AMC, PMS/AIF) and investment banking
5paisa Capital
ListedSmall listed discount broker (spun out of the IIFL group) focused on low-cost retail trading
Company page →IIFL Capital Services
ListedFull-service broker, institutional equities house and investment bank (formerly IIFL Securities)
Kotak Mahindra Bank
ListedPrivate bank whose subsidiaries include Kotak Securities (a top-five broker), Kotak Mahindra Capital (a leading IPO banker) and Kotak Mahindra AMC
Company page →360 ONE WAM
ListedIndia's largest listed private-wealth manager for ultra-rich families, with an alternatives-led asset-management arm
Company page →Nuvama Wealth Management
ListedWealth manager (formerly Edelweiss Wealth, controlled by PAG) with asset services (custody, clearing), institutional equities and private markets
Company page →Anand Rathi Wealth
ListedMutual-fund-led wealth manager for high-net-worth families, earning mainly from distribution trails and structured products
Company page →JM Financial
ListedLeading domestic investment bank (equity capital markets, M&A) with institutional broking, private wealth and a shrinking lending book
Company page →Equirus Capital
UnlistedUnlisted mid-market investment bank and institutional broker - a frequent lead manager on mid-cap IPOs and QIPs
CRISIL
ListedIndia's largest rating agency, majority-owned by S&P Global, with global research, benchmarking and risk-analytics businesses
Company page →ICRA
ListedRating agency majority-owned by Moody's, with a large analytics and outsourcing arm serving Moody's
Company page →CARE Ratings
ListedThird-largest Indian rating agency, independent of a global parent, expanding into ESG, risk and Africa
Company page →India Ratings & Research (Fitch)
UnlistedUnlisted - Fitch Group's Indian rating agency, a top-four player in bond and bank-loan ratings
Central Depository Services (CDSL)
ListedIndia's larger depository by accounts (~19 crore, Aug 2026) - the default for discount brokers' retail clients
Company page →National Securities Depository (NSDL)
ListedIndia's first depository, holding most of the market's value through institutional and custodian accounts; also runs NSDL Payments Bank
Company page →Computer Age Management Services (CAMS)
ListedLargest mutual-fund registrar (RTA), servicing about two-thirds of industry AUM (~₹58L Cr, Q2 FY27), plus KYC, payments, insurance and alternatives services
Company page →KFin Technologies
ListedSecond mutual-fund registrar (about a third of AUM) and India's largest issuer registrar for company shares, with international fund-admin clients
Company page →Common questions
Which listed companies are in India's Capital Markets supply chain?
NextResearch maps 30 listed companies across 9 layers of the Capital Markets supply chain. The largest with high exposure, by market cap as of 6 Nov 2026: National Stock Exchange of India (NSE) (₹4.72L Cr), BSE (₹1.55L Cr), ICICI Prudential Asset Management (₹1.45L Cr), Groww (Billionbrains Garage Ventures) (₹1.35L Cr) and HDFC Asset Management (₹1.14L Cr).
What are the layers of the Capital Markets supply chain?
9 layers: Investment banks & institutional equities, Ratings & research, Asset managers (AMCs), Registrars & fund admin, Retail brokers, Fund & insurance distribution, Exchanges & clearing, Wealth managers and Depositories.
Who are the end players in Capital Markets?
In the Exchanges & clearing layer: National Stock Exchange of India (NSE), BSE and Multi Commodity Exchange of India (MCX).
What are the bottlenecks in India's Capital Markets supply chain?
Investment banks & institutional equities: Deal flow depends on market sentiment and SEBI approval timelines. Ratings & research: Issuer-pays model invites rating-shopping; SEBI tightens disclosure. Asset managers (AMCs): SEBI's expense-ratio caps fall as a scheme grows (telescopic slabs), and the April 2026 rules cut what schemes may pay brokers. Registrars & fund admin: Telescopic pricing - yields fall as client AUM rises. More by layer on this page.