New Delhi, June 22 -- For decades, mutual funds have dominated Indian investing due to their convenience and promise of steady returns. Equities, in contrast, required hands-on effort-stock selection, timing trades, managing emotions-creating friction for retail investors.

But that friction is about to disappear. A powerful new framework from Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) is set to make retail equity investing nearly as effortless as mutual funds.

With Sebi's February 2025 circular (SEBI/HO/MIRSD/MIRSD-PoD/P/CIR/2025/0000013) and the NSE's implementation guidelines from May (NSE/INVG/67858), algorithmic trading is finally being opened to the everyday investor in India. This could be a game-changer for retail participatio...