From Humble beginnings to stockbroking powerhouse: The story of Alice Blue Financial Services

Today, technological leaps have fundamentally altered stock trading, driving a multitude to turn to online trading to increase their wealth. Alice Blue, a prominent discount stock broking firm in India, is leading this transition and creating reverberations in the stock broking market.

By emphasizing user-friendly technology and top-notch customer services, it has upended the conventional landscape of stock trading. It has helped its clients soar to new heights and achieve financial goals by adhering to the "Growth Inevitable" philosophy since 2007. In 2019–20, the company registered a year-on-year growth of 275% in UCC accounts and a remarkable 245% in trade numbers.

A closer look at the pioneering business, its team, and its impact on the finance world
At the helm of Alice Blue Financial Services is its Founder and CEO, Sidhavelayutham Mohan, a seasoned entrepreneur and trader with more than a decade of experience in the financial industry. He belongs to the small town of Erode, India. His education includes an engineering degree in maintenance and aviation, a BBA from the University of Madras, a Management of Business Finance degree from the IIF in Delhi, and a PG Management Program for Entrepreneurs and Family Businesses from IIM Bangalore.

After graduation, he worked as a project manager for a civil construction firm, only to realize that his true calling lay elsewhere. He thus called it quits to pursue post-graduation and ultimately launch Alice Blue. It was MCX's 2007 debut of crude oil trading that inspired him to explore the field of stock trading and lay the foundations for a trading platform that guaranteed convenience and accessibility to everyone.

With just a team of 5 and an MCX membership, he launched Alice Blue with the help of his brother. The team was later joined by Mr. Vijay (a former IIF classmate), and other valuable people, like Mr. Rajesh K, Mrs. Vasuki, and Mrs. Vijayalakshmi, all of whom helped Alice Blue turn into the well-known company it is today.

The director of Alice Blue, Rajesh K, also worked incredibly hard and helped the company gain widespread recognition. In 2016, the company onboarded Mr. Nagarjun as CTO, whose crucial efforts helped Alice Blue to keep up with technological leaps. Mr. Nagarjun launched the ANT Trading Platform comprising Ant Web and Ant Mobi tools, which have highly sophisticated trading features to support easy and intuitive trading.

Over the years, the collective team efforts have helped Alice Blue earn various accolades like "The Operational Excellence Leadership Award" - BFSI, ‘Best Stock Broker for New Investors’ by the prestigious Times Group, “Top 3 contributors in Equity Derivatives” by NSE, and many more.

Today, with its corporate headquarters in Bangalore and a Pan-India presence in 20 major cities, it has expanded from a workforce of 20 to over 400 employees, 15000 partners, and over 5 lakh clients. The company has NSE, NCDEX, MCX-SX, NSE(EQ&FO), BSE (EQ & FO), CDSL, NSE Currency Membership, and Single Margin Facility. Currently, it offers initial public offerings (IPOs), mutual funds, and online trading in the equity and commodity segments.

Alice Blue regularly introduces lucrative offers for its clients and customers to ensure a positive trading experience. The company's Freedom15 (F15 Plan) brokerage plan allows trading in the EQ Intraday, EQ Delivery, FUT, OPTION, Currency FUT, and Currency OPT segments on the NSE, BSE, and MCX exchanges for a flat fee of Rs. 15 per order, while trading in equity delivery and mutual fund investments is free of charge. On the occasion of Republic Day as well, being a self-clearing broker, it announced ZERO clearing charges for its clients effective from January 27, 2023.

In addition to such offers and its strong alliances with top Indian financial institutions, its modest brokerage fees for intraday & FNO trading and no-cost investment options for equities, mutual funds, and IPO have helped it maintain a competitive edge in the market. Its special offerings like 4 times margin on equity cash, a free API for custom trading strategies, and other noteworthy achievements like breakthroughs in the field of KYC, the usage of V 2.0 in PRO account activation, and the pledging of shares in MCX CCL all portend well for its future.

The organisation also exhibits fair commitment toward the welfare of society and its employees. During Covid times, the company donated ₹50 lakhs to PM Cares Fund towards Covid relief and provided Covid Medical Reimbursement of 10K to affected employees. As for employee welfare, it regularly commends them and organises various engagement activities.

Alice Blue aspires to be one of the Fortune 500 companies within the next ten years as well as enter the insurance industry, manage portfolios, and build the NRI client base.

Conclusion
With a growing user base and a strong track record of success, Alice Blue is poised to witness tremendous growth in the Indian stock market. Its growth story is a testament to the power of hard work and determination.

With a mission to accelerate India's transition to financial freedom through innovation and technology and a vision to be the top choice of Indian traders and investors, Alice Blue continues to thrive, assisting Indian traders to reach their financial objectives.

The pages slugged ‘Brand Connect’ are equivalent to advertisements and are not written and produced by Forbes India journalists.