SEBI F&O Study 2025 | Sleeping Trade India

Headline findings

SEBI's 2025 study confirmed that 91% of individual F&O traders in India lose money. 96% of F&O profits accrue to algorithmic and professional traders. Total retail losses in FY25 were approximately ₹1.06 lakh crore.

Methodology

The study analysed anonymised trade data across major Indian brokers over a multi-year window, classifying accounts as profitable or unprofitable based on net P&L after costs.

Key drivers of retail losses

High-frequency discretionary trading, overweight allocation to out-of-the-money options, and a lack of stop-loss discipline. Each of these is a behavioural outcome of manual trading — not a strategy error.

What it means

The data supports two conclusions: F&O is systematically hostile to manual retail, and the winning side of that hostility is systematic execution. If you are not systematic, you are the retail half of that data.

Disclaimer: Educational content. Not legal or investment advice. Regulations change — consult a qualified professional for your specific situation.

What this means for you

The headline numbers from SEBI's 2025 F&O study: 91% of retail F&O traders lose money, 96% of profits go to algorithmic traders, and aggregate retail losses in FY25 were ₹1.06 lakh crore.

These numbers are not new — earlier SEBI studies found similar patterns. The 2025 study confirms the trend has not improved despite higher lot sizes and increased disclosure requirements.

How Sleeping Trade stays compliant

Sleeping Trade does not change the SEBI numbers. We exist as one path to flipping which side of the 91/9 split a user sits on, by replacing manual execution with systematic execution.

We do not pretend our users will all be in the 9%. We do claim that systematic execution historically performs better than manual retail execution. The honest framing is improved odds, not guaranteed wins.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does Sleeping Trade guarantee I will be in the 9% who profit?

No. We replace manual execution with systematic execution, which historically improves odds. Past performance is not a guarantee.

Where can I read the original study?

SEBI publishes its retail F&O studies on sebi.gov.in.

Will SEBI further restrict retail F&O?

SEBI has shown willingness to raise lot sizes and tighten disclosure. Further tightening is possible. The system adapts to rule changes.

How retail can act on the SEBI data

Step one: accept the structural disadvantage. The 91% loss rate is not a behavioural problem to be willed away. It is structural.

Step two: pick a path forward — either learn manually with very small capital over many years, or skip manual execution and use a system from day one.

Step three: never deploy capital you cannot afford to lose into F&O regardless of which path you pick. SEBI's loss data exists for a reason and applies to every retail entrant statistically.

The SEBI F&O Study 2025