Wealthtech Startup Univest Forays Into Broking Segment

Wealthtech startup Univest has entered the crowded discount broking space with the launch of ‘Univest Broking’.

With Univest Broking, users can open free demat accounts, execute trades in the app, and automate trade tracking.

The move will transform Univest from an AI-led advisory platform to a provider of a full-stack trading ecosystem.

Founded in 2022 by Pranit Arora, Avneet Dhamija and Vikash Agrawal, Univest provided advisory to retail investors so far to take informed trading decisions using AI-driven tools.

In December last year, the startup raised over $13 Mn in its Series A funding round led by Bertelsmann India Investments (BII), cofounder and CEO Arora told Inc42. 

While AI plays a significant role in Univest’s platform, it’s not purely algorithm-driven. The system combines AI-powered insights with human expertise, which ensures that macroeconomic factors—like geopolitical events or policy changes—are considered alongside technical indicators. 

“For example, an AI might predict a bullish trend in a stock like NMDC, but if news about declining demand from China surfaces, human analysis steps in to reassess the trade,” Arora said. 

Solving The Stock Selection Problem 

Explaining the unique selling point of Univest, Arora said, “The idea is to simplify stock discovery, research, and exits—three areas where most retail investors struggle.”

Retail traders often struggle with stock selection and resort to social media, Telegram groups, or business news, often leading to confusion and inconsistent results.

Another challenge for retail investors is knowing when to exit a trade. Some investors cash out too early and miss potential profits, while others hold on to bad trades for too long, hoping for a turnaround that never comes, Arora said. 

“Panic selling and clinging to losing stocks are widespread problems that often lead to major losses. Despite this, most platforms haven’t tackled the issue of timely exits,” he explained. 

Univest consolidates various steps in the investment journey, from stock discovery to research and trading to exit, in a single app, making the process smoother.

Another key feature that Univest offers is the ability to execute complex trading strategies in a single click. On most platforms, traders have to manually enter multiple legs of an options strategy, which Arora believes is time consuming and error prone. 

Univest simplifies this by allowing users to place orders in one go, making execution seamless. “For example, when a user receives a research call to buy and sell specific Nifty options, they simply enter the quantity and click “execute”, and the entire strategy is placed as a GTT (good till triggered) order,” Arora explained. 

He claimed that this feature makes Univest India’s first research-based trading platform with such an advanced execution system.

Beyond execution, Univest also offers portfolio management tools that analyse user holdings and provide buy, sell, and hold signals—even for stocks purchased outside the platform. “The goal is to help users optimise their investments without needing multiple apps.”

The startup claims to have a 80% success rate in trade recommendations. That said, success isn’t guaranteed. Traders who don’t manage risks properly can still lose money, the cofounder added. 

Broking Revenue To Overtake Advisory 

Univest started monetising in March 2023, offering subscriptions for trade recommendations across stocks, futures, options, and commodities.  

The pricing for Univest’s subscription starts at INR 5 per day for stock research, with more advanced plans costing around INR 16-INR 17 per day.

Univest’s revenue jumped from INR 1 Lakh per month to INR 3.1 Cr per month within a year of it launching the subscription plans, Arora claimed. The startup now claims to generate INR 7 Cr to INR 7.5 Cr monthly.

Building on this momentum, it has now expanded into stock broking. Initially, Univest is banking on its existing users to use its broking service, as it would make the entire process of research to trading simpler by unifying it in the same app.

“With daily trading volumes in India reaching $3 Tn to $3.5 Tn—nearly half of which comes from retail traders—it made sense to enter the space,” Arora said. 

He expects the brokerage business to outpace its research division in revenue numbers in the next 15-18 months.

However, the path ahead won’t be easy as the investment tech space is seeing intense competition. Besides the likes of Zerodha, Groww, and Angel One, the segment is crowded by relatively newer players like PhonePe, Paytm Money, and Dhan.

At the heart of all these is the fast-growing Indian investment tech market, which is expected to reach a size of $14 Bn this year.