With the glaring speed at which the Indian stock market is growing, there seem innumerable opportunities for profits for investors in all spheres. This booming interest, coupled with the emergence of multiple startups in every niche has accelerated the significant need for brokers and sub-brokers to enable trading in the stock market as a sub-broker. With a plethora of opportunities to explore, becoming a sub-broker and eligibility criteria for a sub-broker is quite simple, especially if you have the best brokerage firm to guide you. In this article, therefore, we will break down for you the steps on how to become a sub-broker in India.
But first, let's quickly revise the basic definition of Sub Broker.
The National Stock Exchange defines a ‘sub broker meaning’ as “any person who is not a Trading Member of a Stock Exchange but who acts on behalf of a Trading Member as an agent or otherwise for assisting investors in dealing in securities through such Trading Members.”
Now that you have gone through who is a sub broker its time for you to go on to know how to become a sub broker. Below are the 4 simple steps to become a sub broker in stock market.
Step 1: Choose Your Stockbroking Firm
Step 2: Complete the Eligibility and Document Requirements
Step 3: Apply for Scrutiny and Approval
Step 4: Register with SEBI
The first step to becoming a stockbroker in India is to carefully choose the stock broking franchise or firm that you wish to be part of. This step is extremely important for you to decide the sub broker business model you would be interested in working with, as it will have an impact on your day-to-day operations, incentives, and more. Always ensure that apart from high incentives and certainty of growth, you also look into the networking, experience, digital presence, and product offerings of the brokerage firm. Choice emerges as an obvious choice in this respect, with these and many other benefits lined up for its stock sub brokers in India.
The next step would be to go through the eligibility criteria, which is quite basic, and submit all the duly filled relevant documents asked for with the stockbroking firm you are interested in partnering with. Along with the documents, interested individuals or businesses must also submit a processing fee plus GST.
The stockbroker then forwards your application electronically to the National Stock Exchange for validation and approval, along with making the processing fee payment on your behalf. The idea is to carefully scrutinize your document lest there should be any discrepancies or deficiencies. If this is the case, the exchange would return your documents for correction and subsequent re-submission.
Once your sub broker application has been reviewed, you would require registration with SEBI with a fixed fee through your firm itself. After SEBI acknowledges your fee payment and registration, you would be sent a sub broker registration certificate along with a unique registration number. From here on, you will be officially considered a sub broker.
There is a set of specific documents, as of the latest data, that you would have to send as scanned physical copies attached with their sub broker registration application form, as per the mentioned format. As elaborated by NSE, these include:
A mandatory requirement, the address mentioned in the proof document should match that on the application you have filed. Acceptable documents include:
This requirement is mandatory only if the individual/partner/director applying has qualifications less than HSC. You need to provide proof of experience of at least two years in the capacity of an employee/dealer in the capital market in the name of an individual/partner/director for it to be acceptable.
The precise eligibility standards and sub broker qualifications required may additionally vary depending on the trading member you desire to associate with. Broadly speaking, but, these are a number of the qualifications which you ought to satisfy or possess.
Diving into some more details, Trading Members are required to enter into an agreement with all sub brokers, with the agreement laying down the rights and responsibilities of both parties in detail. The sub broker must also be registered with SEBI, as a prerequisite to indulge in their operations.
A sub broker has functions similar to that of a broker, that is, acting as an intermediary. The only difference is that the sub broker mediates between the broker and a client. In most cases, sub brokers work for brokers, their main task being bringing clients to the brokerage firm and assisting the former with investments and security dealings. In this process, they can earn a certain cut from the transaction as well.