Report · Data to FY26
Analyzing SEBI Reports & Systematic Edge
What SEBI's latest studies show about individual traders in equity futures and options, and what the numbers mean if you trade with rules.
- 87.7%
- of individual traders made net losses in FY26
- SEBI · Aug 2026
- ₹91,685 cr
- net losses of individual traders in FY26, down from about ₹1.12 lakh crore in FY25
- SEBI · Aug 2026
- ₹1.17 lakh
- average net loss per trader in FY26
- SEBI · Aug 2026
- 92%
- of individual traders’ losses came from options
- SEBI · Aug 2026
Costs
Costs turned more traders into losers
Before transaction costs, 82.1% of individual traders lost money in FY26. After costs, 87.7% did. Individual traders paid about ₹25,000 crore in transaction costs that year.
Share of individual traders with losses
What the numbers mean if you trade with rules
01Costs decide close callsCosts alone moved about 5.6% of individual traders from a gross profit or break-even into a net loss. Count charges and slippage in every backtest.Estimate your charges →
02Options drive most lossesAbout 92% of individual losses came from options. Know how each position gains and loses before you trade it.Options Greeks explained →
03Large firms trade by algorithmIn FY24, 97% of FPI profits and 96% of proprietary traders’ profits came from algorithmic trading. Rules alone do not create an edge, but they make costs, risk and results measurable.What is algo trading? →
04Test before you tradeBacktest on realistic costs, paper trade on live prices, then go live small with a daily loss limit.How to backtest trading strategies →
Method and sources
This report summarises SEBI's published studies. It does not use QuantPower customer data. Figures are rounded as SEBI reported them, and earlier years may be revised in later studies.
- SEBI, Profitability of Individual Traders in the Equity Derivatives Segment (FY25–FY26), PR No. 50/2026, 20 August 2026
- SEBI, study of individual traders in equity F&O for FY22 to FY24, PR No. 22/2024, 23 September 2024 (93% lost money; aggregate losses above ₹1.8 lakh crore; algo share of FPI and proprietary profits)
Trade with limits, not hope
Backtest with real costs, paper trade first and set an MTM limit before you go live.