Can Smallcase maintain its relevance in a changing market?

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Jun 26, 2025

Nirav Karkera, Head of Research at Fisdom, and Bhavesh Sanghvi, CEO of Growthfiniti Wealth, delve into the evolution of Smallcase since 2015 and its role in democratizing thematic investing. They discuss the significance of professional guidance in navigating investments and the innovative regulatory frameworks shaping wealth management in India. The duo analyzes Smallcase’s subscription model and performance verification challenges while exploring the impact of AI on investment strategies, emphasizing the importance of human connections in financial decision-making.

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INSIGHT

Smallcase's Innovative Start

Smallcase pioneered thematic baskets of stocks allowing investors control and transparency.
It grew to 3.5 million users transacting about 14,000 crores, riding the retail investing wave.

ADVICE

Evaluate Risks and Research

Investors should evaluate the embedded risks and risk budget before investing in thematic baskets.
Avoid blindly buying baskets without understanding the research behind stocks chosen.

INSIGHT

Smallcase as Marketplace

Smallcase functions as a marketplace connecting investors with money managers offering curated stock baskets.
Investors choose baskets based on trust in managers' strategies and methodology, allowing hands-on equity ownership.

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This episode of Two by Two was first published on 29 May 2025.

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Smallcase was an innovative financial product that arrived early to solve a problem for investors. Since its launch in 2015, Smallcase’s proposition has been quite simple. It allowed users to invest directly into thematic baskets of stocks or exchange-traded funds that they called small cases. As an investor, you have complete control and transparency over whatever you want to invest in. Sometimes, there are small cases of stocks that are going to do well during the monsoon season. Sometimes it’s stocks that are going to do well because India is going to push forward in manufacturing. Sometimes it’s a basket of stocks that’s going to do well because India is going forward in things like, say, AI.

Smallcase rode this retail investing wave over the last ten years. It reached 3.5 million users and had about 14,000 crores in transaction value. While a new generation of young traders flocked to the market and were looking for direction on where to invest, how much to invest, and what to invest in.

However, of late, Smallcase has faced a different kind of competition, and that competition comes from mutual funds that have taken Smallcase’s same playbook and started offering thematic investment. It has also started facing competition from passive funds and competitors like Phonepe and other brokerages like Motilal Oswal, ICICI Direct, Geojit, etc. Over the last few years, Smallcase’s revenue has grown, but so have its losses.

In episode 44, hosts Praveen Gopal Krishnan and Rohin Dharmakumar discuss what makes Smallcase special, whether those advantages still persist in a changing market, and whether it can find a way to live up to its original promise.

Joining the hosts for the discussion are Bhavesh Sanghvi, CEO, Growthfiniti Wealth and Nirav Karkera, head of research, Fisdom.

Welcome to Two by Two.

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Additional reading:

Smallcase bet on DIY investors. Then DIY investors moved on – https://the-ken.com/story/smallcase-bet-on-diy-investors-then-diy-investors-moved-on/

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This episode of Two by Two was produced by Hari Krishna. Rajiv CN, our resident sound engineer, mixed and mastered this episode.

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