Our trading ecosystem is undergoing expansion with the arrival of new brokerage firms. Although many such firms come and go, some hold a permanent place in the market. This process takes time but not for mStock! It is giving tough competition to pre-established brokerage firms like Zerodha and Groww. This is a pondering point. How does a newly launched brokerage firm possess a strong foothold in the trading ecosystem? Sounds like a mystifying case. The secret of success lies in the mStock business model. Also, we will de-code how it makes money and the exclusive feature that helps it to stand out in the market.
Stay tuned!
mStock: A Brief Overview
It is an e-trading brokerage firm in India governed by a South Korean financial titan “Mirae Assets Financial Group.” In short, Mirae Assets is the parent company of mStock. The 53-year-old South Korean parent company provides various services like wealth management, investment banking, trading services, etc. Any significant reason to launch a new segment of e-trading service (mStock) in India? Yes. The reason is obvious. It wanted to capture a significant market share in the stockbroking industry.
Before diving deep into the mStock business model, let’s have a brief overview of the company-
| Company’s Name | mStock |
| Type of Industry | e-trading brokerage firm |
| Parent Organization | Mirae Assets Financial Group |
| Founded in | 2022 |
| Location of Registered Office | Mumbai |
| Turnover | Rs.1,40,000 crore |
| Competitors | Zerodha, Upstox, Groww |
Look at the whopping turnover of the firm within 12 months of its launch. It is quite astonishing. Isn’t it? But what makes mStock a popular e-brokerage platform among trading folks? You will find it in the next section.
Working Strategy: How does it Work?
The working strategy of mStock is all about providing exclusive features to the customers. As you know, the features of the services provided by the company are the key reasons for its success. The same principle applies to mStock too! Its exclusive features have aided it to become a tough competitor of pre-existing e-brokerage firms like Zerodha and Groww. These features are the USPs (Unique Selling Points) of the company that helps it to distinguish out from its competitors. Now, let’s have detailed information about the features of mStock-
1. Zero Brokerage Fees
The zero brokerage charges on investment assets are a crucial factor that makes mStock superior to other brokerage giants. You can compare the brokerage charges of mStock with other brokerage firms in the following table-
| Brokerage Charges | Details (Per executed order) | Zerodha | Upstox | mStock |
| Mutual Funds | – | INR 0.00 | INR 0.00 | INR 0.00 |
| Equity | Equity Delivery | INR 0.00 | 2.5% or Rs.20 | INR 0.00 |
| Equity Intraday | 0.03% or Rs.20 | 0.05% or Rs.20 | INR 0.00 | |
| F&O Futures | 0.03% or Rs.20 | 0.05% or Rs.20 | INR 0.00 | |
| F&O Options | Rs.20 (flat) | Rs.20 (flat) | INR 0.00 | |
| Currency | Currency Futures | 0.03% or Rs.20 | 0.05% or Rs.20 | INR 0.00 |
| Currency Options | Rs.20 (per executed order) | Rs.20 (flat) | INR 0.00 | |
| Call and Trade Charges | Executable Order | Rs.50 | Rs.50 | INR 0.00 |
| Brokerage Calculator | – | Zerodha | Upstox | mStock |
For a detailed comparison, you can check out the article- “How Mirae Assets launched mStock is competing with the big broking apps?”
2. User Interface
According to Mirae Assets, the parent company of mStock, the app has a user-friendly interface. All of its features are well-tested and evaluated from the perspective of the users. As per the officials, its UI is highly simplified and you can place an order with a single click. The app has a “universal search button.” This increases the convenience of the app. Here, you can search for information about the stocks either through typing or voice search. Do you know this button is very smart? Because the voice search is powered by artificial intelligence!
3. Pricing Options
mStock offers two types of pricing options where you can pay all the fees at once or at separate intervals. The prices are-
- One-time payment: Rs.999
- Paying at intervals: Rs.140 + Rs.20 + Rs.120
You will find detailed information on it in the section “Revenue Sources.” Because these are the main revenue source of the company. For now, let’s focus on other working strategies of the mStock business model.
4. Index Baskets
This is the prime highlighting feature of mStock. It is the first retail broking app in the industry that provides pre-designed index baskets for trading and investing options. It means that you can buy stocks in a specific index with just one click. Sounds bewildering? See, an index is a standardized way to track the performance of a group of stocks or assets. If you want to buy a stock under the Nifty 50 basket, you can buy it with just one click.
5. Platform Stability
Have a look at the first headline given in the introductory part again. mStock recorded over 1 million trades in a single day. That’s just the tip of the iceberg. According to Mirae, their e-brokerage app is capable to handle-
- 12 million trades in a day
- 90,000 orders per second
- 1,50,000 customers simultaneously
All of these are possible because they have a dedicated team skilled in various departments like technology, data analytics, investment infographics, etc.
6. Types of Assets Available to Trade/Invest
On opening a demat and trading account in mStock you can trade or invest in various assets viz-
- Equities
- Currency Trading
- IPO
- ETFs (Exchange-Traded Funds)
- Mutual Funds
- Hybrid Funds
- Money Market Funds
- Debt Funds
- Futures & Options
- MTF (Multilateral Trading Facility)
- Index Baskets
7. Security
Both mStock web and app platforms are built on a stable platform and have bank-grade security. Thus, it ensures the data of the investors.
Revenue Sources: How does mStock make money?
The e-brokerage company, mStock has diversified its revenue sources. However, its main source of revenue is the price that you pay while trading on the platform. Let’s look at the revenue sources in detail-
1. Payments/Charges
Do you know mStock charges zero brokerage fee for life? Then how does it make money? You may ask. mStock makes money mainly through the price that you pay for trading on its platform. It includes the following-
- Account Opening Fees
- Brokerage Fee on Trade on Interval Payments
- DEMAT Account Maintenance Charges
When you choose to open an account with mStock, you will get two pricing options in it. These are-
Option (A): Rs.999
This option is convenient for those who prefer one-time payments and long-term association with this e-brokerage firm. Here, you need to pay a one-time fee of Rs.999. This is the price you need to pay to open your account in mStock. Thereafter, your brokerage charges on trades will be Rs.0.00. But you need to pay a standard demat AMC (Account Maintenance Charges). However, if you wish to create a lifetime free AMC account, then you need to pay an additional one-time fee of Rs.999. Thus, the total cost of opening a lifetime AMC-free and brokerage-free trading account is Rs.1,998.
Option (B): Rs.140 + Rs.20 + Rs.120
This option is suitable for those who want to try out mStock and exit the firm after a while. Here, you need to pay three sets of fees-
- Account Opening Fee: Rs.149
- Brokerage Fee on Trade: Rs.20 per trade
- Demat AMC (Account Maintenance Charges): Rs.120 per quarter
(Note: Other kinds of optional charges are also present in mStock. Although they are not mandatory. For more info you can visit this pricing chart.)
As per the firm, there are no hidden charges apart from the ones that are mentioned in the above pricing options. To match the taste of different types of customers, it launched two plans. You can select any one of them as per your suitability.
2. Margin Trading
mStock offers margin trading too. It refers to a type of trading where you borrow money from the broker to purchase a stock. It is beneficial for a situation when you want to buy more securities but can’t afford it on your own. At that time you use borrowed money for the stock purchase. Later that purchased stock becomes collateral for the loan that you took from the broker. So, in mStock the eMagin starts from 6.99%. The lowest daily interest rates for margin trading in mStock begin at 0.0192%. It is lowest when you compare it to other e-brokerage firms. But this is also a significant revenue source of the mStock business model.
(Note: As of now, only this much information about mStock’s revenue sources is available. In case, we find new information about the same, we will update you soon!)
Marketing Strategy
According to mStock’s official website, it has executed over 12 crore trades. Its retail client holdings are over Rs.1,320 core. The most astonishing fact is, it has over 2.5 lakh paid accounts. That’s really great. But what led to this huge popularity? Its marketing strategies! However, it doesn’t use a broad range of marketing methods. It uses two highly effective marketing strategy that is cost-effective and also aids in user expansion. Those are-
Word-of-Mouth
This is the most effective marketing strategy that every company dreams of! But for word-of-mouth marketing, you need to offer superb quality products. And yes, mStock offers a trading platform with zero brokerage charges on trade. It has various other alluring features (discussed in previous sections). The customer’s testimonials and reviews reflect the excellency of the platform. Thereby, all these features help in the word-of-mouth marketing of mStock.
Digital Marketing
mStock uses digital marketing methods to expand its user base. Currently, its prime focus is on performance marketing. It is a data-driven advertising approach that focuses on measurable results and maximizing ROI. It leverages digital channels, analytics, and optimization techniques to drive specific actions or conversions, ensuring efficient resource allocation and improved marketing outcomes.
Successful Stories on News
If you are a market maven, then you must have come across the following or similar headlines-
“Mirae Asset’s e-broking platform mStock recorded 1 million trades in a single day.”
“With over 6 million downloads within 10 months of launch, the active client ratio of mStock reached 73%.”
“In February 2023, mStock registered a turnover of Rs.78,000 crore on its platform.”
“Mirae Global’s Indian arm gets Rs.1,240 crore to boost B2C Customer Brokerage Playbook”
News headlines about a company is no less than a report card! These success stories of mStock immensely contribute to attracting potent customers. It helps to win the trust of the customers.
Conclusion
The mStock business model describes how a rookie company can gain a strong foothold in the industry with effective strategies. You might have seen, how numerous companies spent a whopping amount on traditional marketing methods. But mStock utilizes low-cost and highly effective marketing strategies (discussed above). Along with that its exclusive features highly satisfy the customers. We can learn a few important things from the mStock business model-
- The working strategy along with exclusive features is the core of a business model. And mStock has nailed it!
- Having a guaranteed revenue source is an important part of a company’s foundation. As of now, mStock has two guaranteed revenue sources i.e. charges/fees and margin trading. You can’t trade without paying a fee. As the number of users increases, the revenue increases too! Although it sounds quite basic and simple, it is positively impactful enough for a new company.
- Keep the marketing strategy cost-effective but impactful
These are the secrets that helped mStock to reach the height of success!
