Motilal Oswal’s Raamdeo Agrawal expects broking business to recover from fourth quarter onwards

Motilal Oswal Financial Services Chairman and Co-founder Raamdeo Agrawal expects the company’s broking business to recover meaningfully from the fourth quarter (Q4FY26), even as other verticals such as asset management, private wealth, investment banking, and housing finance continue to record robust growth.

Raamdeo Agrawal said, “From 50% we have come to 24-25% in broking so that was not the intention to go down that fast. And so it will come back as the situation normalises, quarter three would be still kind of same, quarter four recovery will start.”

He expects a full recovery in FY27, supported by strong growth across other businesses. The asset management arm has seen assets rise from ₹1.1 lakh crore to ₹1.6 lakh crore—a nearly 50% jump driven largely by new inflows rather than market gains. As markets improve, an additional 15% mark-to-market benefit is expected.

According to him, all capital market businesses—including broking, asset management, private equity, investment banking, and wealth management — are performing well and likely to gain further momentum as credit flows strengthen, the economy improves, and trade and policy uncertainties ease.

He believes the next 12 months will be better for the markets than the past year.

In July-September quarter 2025 (Q2FY26) this well-diversified financial services company reported a revenue of ₹1,849 crore, profit of ₹362 crore and margins at 45.52%.

Commenting on the proposed SEBI regulations to cap brokerage fees and expenses for mutual fund distributors and wealth managers, Agrawal warned that such moves could be “extremely damaging” to the capital market ecosystem.

He emphasised the critical role of sell-side research, which is funded through brokerage revenues, in educating investors and supporting market transparency. “Sell-side research is the backbone of the market. It feeds not only institutions but also media and retail investors. Restricting its funding could hurt market efficiency,” he said, urging regulators to reconsider the proposal.

When asked about high valuations of upcoming IPOs like Lenskart, Agrawal refrained from stock-specific comments but said India is witnessing the emergence of global consumer companies for the first time.

“These are not traditional domestic businesses. They have global ambitions, targeting markets beyond India—similar to how American corporations expanded,” he said, adding that such ventures mark a new phase for Indian entrepreneurship.

For full interview, watch accompanying video

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