Brokerage on WebNotes

Mutual fund vs stock investing in India

Tue, 12 May 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Direct stock investing involves buying shares of individual companies listed on NSE or BSE through a stockbroker’s trading platform. A mutual fund is a pooled investment vehicle managed by a professional fund manager, investing the aggregated corpus across a portfolio of securities as specified in the scheme’s investment objective. Both instruments provide equity market exposure, but differ in how that exposure is structured, managed, and accessed.

Diversification

A direct equity investor who purchases shares in one or a few companies is concentrated in those specific businesses, sectors, and risks. Diversification requires purchasing multiple stocks, which demands larger capital at each share’s prevailing price.

Console Contract notes

Mon, 11 May 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Overview

A contract note is a legally binding document issued by a stockbroker to a client confirming the details of trades executed during a trading session on a specific date. For clients of Zerodha, contract notes are generated daily for every trading day on which at least one order was executed, and are accessible through Zerodha Console. The document carries a digital signature and constitutes a binding contract between the broker and the client under the Sale of Goods Act and the rules of the relevant exchanges.

Console Funds statement / Ledger

Mon, 11 May 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Overview

The Console Funds statement – also referred to as the Ledger within Zerodha Console – is a transaction-by-transaction record of every monetary entry that affects a client’s trading account. It is the cash equivalent of the demat statement: whereas the demat statement tracks securities, the Funds statement tracks the rupee balance in the account. Every fund transfer in or out, brokerage and statutory charge debit, exchange settlement credit or debit, and quarterly settlement transfer appears as a dated row.

Equity segment on Zerodha

Mon, 11 May 2026 00:00:00 +0000

The equity segment on Zerodha is the platform’s largest business line by client headcount and turnover. It covers the buying and selling of equity shares listed on the National Stock Exchange (NSE) and the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) under the cash market (CM) segment. All trades in this segment are governed by the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) and cleared through NSE Clearing Limited (NCL) and Indian Clearing Corporation Limited (ICCL) for BSE. Settlement since January 2023 occurs on a T+1 basis for most listed equities, meaning shares and funds move between counterparties on the trading day plus one calendar day.

Zerodha brokerage structure overview

Mon, 11 May 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Overview

Zerodha operates a flat-fee brokerage model that departed from the percentage-of-turnover convention dominant among Indian brokers when the firm launched in 2010. Under this model, the brokerage component of a trade’s cost is either zero (for equity delivery) or capped at a flat Rs 20 per executed order across all other segments. The total amount debited from a client’s account, however, is substantially larger because several statutory levies – securities transaction tax, exchange transaction charges, GST, stamp duty, and the SEBI turnover fee – are collected on top of brokerage and remitted to the relevant governmental or regulatory authorities.