Shabbir Bhimani

Wanna invest in the right stock at the right price & at the right time.

Motilal Oswal Review

I have an Offline account with Motilal Oswal Securities Limited (MOSL) and so my review will be from the offline account point of view.

Positives

  • Brokerage is lowest and this is not based on negotiation but is always on the lower side for them. If you compare any other broker they lower the brokerages if you opt for digital contract notes but Motilal offers lower brokerages even for paper contract notes and if you opt for email contract notes only they may lower the brokerage further.
  • Very good phone trading facility with adviser keeping tracks of your stock and advices you but to avail the off line trading facility minimum amount you should invest is 1 lac.
  • Good recommendation and being an investor I always like the investing research more than trading ones and some of them I do share in the blog here as well.

Negatives

  • They offer two type of accounts. Offline and Online but you cannot have both. I have an offline account but if I want to do anything using my PC it is not possible.
  • As I have an an offline account I have no option to purchase mutual funds online.
  • Very bad backoffice interface and it just does not work many times. Backoffice login does not work on latest browsers and you need to have WinXP and IE6 to see your backoffice ledgers 🙁 .
  • I have an account with them for quite some time now and the issue is their phone number just keeps on changing all the time. Each few months I have some new numbers to fetch before I can execute a trade.

All in all a good service to do some handsome trading but I am also planning to close this account for lack of good backoffice interface.

If you have some experience with Online account at Motilal Oswal or if you would like to add more to offline account review please share in comments below.

Update 7th July 2012: Motilal Oswal’s services has degraded to a large extent especially for offline trading and so I don’t recommend them any more.

Wanna invest in the right stock at the right price & at the right time.

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  • Chaitanya

    Hi Shabbir ,
    I am new to online trading and i have decided to open an account with Motilal . But reading the comments above I am a bit confused. My option is only for trading on delivery based. The guy told me that initially if we put 50k they will reduce the brokerage to 30paise and the charges are same for the selll as 30 RS for each sell order apart from the brokerage.One of my friend suggested sbionline trading Please suggest which is better and why ?

    • Chaitanya, Motilal services has deteriorated so much that I have suspended my account and so I will recommend you not to open account with them any more. Regarding SBIOnline I don’t have much idea but as of now I am using ShareKhan Trading account as they have decent web interface but very good Android App for getting trades executed.

  • sunand

    They r fake the guy opened my account saying their expert will guide on investment nd with in year they will give more than 30% return nd took 10000 cheque.than I DEPOSITED 40000 worth shares so that I will have 10000 cash nd other marin on dp shares to my surprise my 10000 was eaten away and i was told it is advance I will only get it back when i earn more than 10000 brokrage in a year.than theier experts earned nothing othr than 28000 negtive balance nd intrest now value of portfolio is only 17000 all money is eaten in span of 7 months.nd no expert advice they just traded to complete there targets

    • Did you open a PMS account with 50k because as far as I know it is 5lakhs

  • kim

    Hi,

    I have to add something about MOSL. I have been trading with them since 4 motnhs n they made transactions without my knowledge. I have got this to the top management as well but no use. It kept repeating and ended up in majoy money loss. Now these people do not hold any responsibilty. Extremely reckless behaviour!!

    So, I do not suggest MOSL.

    Secondly, can any one suggest how to go about fixing this? Whom do I approach to compalin about these people.

    • Not sure whom to complain about this but yes I do agree that MOSL is one broker whose service has gone down considerably.

    • ijay

      @kim, For MOSL, which branch are you talking about ?

      This happens with many brokers these days… – they execute transactions without your approval. They have to return the amount that was lost + brokerage. The primary reason why this happens (to my knowledge) is that they have ‘angutha chap’ people sitting on the seat taking orders.. They trigger transactions for wrong client / id etc. Seriously, I always wonder why finance jobs should not be given to reckless people.

      Besides, if you / any of your friend is ever frustrated with anything, walk down to their office and vent out on everyone you meet.. Break some furniture.. lol (ensure he/she is a MOSL employee 😛 😛

      On a serious note, write them (via e-mail) about the problem that has occurred detailing the charges (losses + brokerage). Also, mention that you are registering a police case if the amount is not settled in 1 week. Write down to SEBI with the detailed report & register a police complaint if the amount is very high.

      Dont stay quiet. there are many more who would join you 🙂

  • Manjunath

    Dear Shabbir,

    I have opened another demat account with motilal oswal. I have never experienced such awful web based trading platform. After clicking each tab new windows opens & this is so unusual. The most awful thing of motilal oswal’s web trading platform is we need to install additional software’s such as Java & Microsoft VM & even we need to change our internet settings. I don’t understand why so much complication needed for web platform. I do have Sharekhan demat & their web trading platform is quite simple & any one can start trading day one. Whereas, in motilal oswal since 2 days I’m trying to install software & change internet settings, I’m not able to view the quotes & place orders. I fully agree with you that one should never recommend motilal for opening demat account.

    • Manjunath, completely agree with you on this and they are bunch of idiots when it comes to creating applications. They had offline good service but that has gone down as well.

  • Manjunath

    Sir,
    You had stated that Motilal Oswal service has degraded to a large extent, could you please be more specific in what sense their service has degraded?

    • They have reduced the staff and so now offline trading is not an option anymore. Apart from that they have reduced number of sub brokers and so now if your account is with sub brokers, they don’t provide good service.

      • akash

        what is a sub broker ?

        I mean you walk to people in MoSL and they say they are broking firm who provides services.. & They will associate you with a branch near home. What is a subbroker?

        • What if there is no branch in your locality. They would hire owner of shops who would be sharing the brokerage with MOSL and they are called sub brokers.

          Let’s say Person X want to start a trading business but then he may not be able to start it as big as MOSL or Sharekhan and so they can become partners or sub brokers of these firms and then start franchisee. They share the brokerage that they generate with clients.

          See

          http://www.sharekhan.com/businesspartner/howtopartner.aspx
          http://www.motilaloswal.com/business_partner/

          • akash

            Thank you, is there any way I can find if the office in touch with me is a broker / sub broker ? Coz they have MOSL boards put up.. but I’m not sure. 😮

          • Not sure and you can ask them directly or may be call the customer care and see if they are sub broker or direct.

  • Update 7th July 2012: Motilal Oswal’s services has degraded to a large extent especially for offline trading and so I don’t recommend them any more.

    • akash

      Did their online services degrade too ? I was looking forward to open an account here. I wont do phone trading, then will it affect me ? What sort of degradation did you see?

      Further, I know a broker (B. M.A) who has been taking false transactions without our accent. Actually, it has happened number of times that transactions were exercised by one of the phone trader for the wrong account id :-o..

      What can I do ?? How should I report such frauds ?

      Also, if I want to move my brokerage account, Can I open an a/c with other broker &
      — Sell all shares & purchase them again in the new account, assuming that I can have two demat accounts at the same time .
      OR
      — Transfer shares from one broker to other.. I dont know the charges & not sure if that would be expensive ?

      • Not sure if you can report such frauds but it is better not to have account with them because it may not be accidental always.

        Transfer of shares is very much possible and you have to fill a slip and do the transfer.

      • TCB

        Dear Akash,
        If you close your old demat a/c and transfer your shares to your new demat a/c at the same time i.e. if you do closure-cum-transfer, then there are no charges for share transfer. This is as per SEBI rules and applicable to all brokers. Only condition is that the old and new demat accounts should have exactly same names in same sequence.

  • Manjunath

    My brokerage with sharekhan are as follows: F & O at 2.5% or Rs. 100/- per lor which ever is higher, delivery 0.50%. Since I trade in F & O I found paying 2.5% or Rs. 100/- is quite expensive. I tried to negotiate with sharekhan to reduce brokerage but they regretted & suggested me to opt for prepaid brokerage. Later I contacted Motilal oswal to open another demat account & they have offered me F & O at Rs. 50/- per lot & delivery 3%. What is your view on this? Shall I open demat account with Motilal oswal?

    • It all depends on how well you can negotiate. Just withdraw everything from your ShareKhan account and then they may give you lower brokerage as well. If you think MOSL is offering you less brokerage you can go with them but recently their service has degraded to a large extent and so I don’t recommend them anymore.

  • saumik

    i am planning to open an account with sharekhan and they are offering me 0.50 paise on delivery and 0.10 paise on intraday, also rs 200 account opening charge on the other hand motilal oswal calls me up with 30 paise on delivery and 3 paise on intraday, now where should i go and i am also new to this, need to learn a lot … pls help

    • Negotiate and I am more than 100% sure they would do for 2 paise/ 20 paise and no opening fees. In fact ShareKhan website says no opening fees and so make sure you are dealing with direct ShareKhan people and not sub brokers.

  • Sachin

    Thanks Shabbir.. it worked….sharekhan agreed for 0.25% on 20k margin money check…also assured reduction in brokerage in future on regular trading. Thanks again.

  • Sachin

    Hello Shabbir,

    I have been using ICICIDirect for more then 3 yrs..now i realized that there are many limitations like ..In cash segment can not buy and sell stock on same day ..because of this limitation.. I missed very big profit when my stock gained more then 10% in 1 day ..after couple of days when the stock was available for sale ..by that time all my gains were already diminished ….now after reading ur blog I am planning to go for Share Khan or Motilaloswal . What do you think who is offering better service now a days or have you come across any other better broker?

    • Motilal service has degraded lately but still quite OK. I will recommend ShareKhan over MOSL Sachin.

      • Sachin

        Thanks Shabbir!.
        I contacted ShaeKhan their standard offering is –
        – No account opening fee.
        – Pay 750 Rs advance brokerage with 6 month validity.
        – 0.50% on Delivery(buy or sell) ,
        – 0.10 % on intraday for buying only, Intraday selling is free.
        – On margin money 10 times exposure in intraday, 4 times in delivery.
        But if I give them check of 50K while opening account then they will offer 50% discount in brokerage rate. Later once acct is in place, I am open to withdraw 50k any time and still can enjoy discounted brokerage rate.
        50k option seems attractive..but wondering if it is not risky and there will be hassle free withdrawal will be there. any opinion?

        • Sachin, try working on brokerage and 0.50% is high and you can easily get 0.20% even if you negotiate.

          • Sachin

            But what abt this 50K ..is tat normal practice or even with their standard margin money of 10k I can negotiate to get .20%?

          • Not sure but if 50k cheque for few days can reduce the brokerage, you should do that.

  • ijay

    Hi Shabbir, Any clue on what is the transaction charge. Motilal Oswal is charging 20Rs per contract for sell on delivery. Is that relatively high ?
    i.e. if I sell stock that was held in delivery (for a couple of days) on a particular Day, then irrespective of number of scripts / amount / number of shares, I’ll pay 20Rs for the contract generated on that day.

    • You have to ask them for clarification if 20 Rs is per trade or per days transaction because normally I have high trade volume and so 20Rs seems very nominal amount in that transaction.

  • ijay

    >>Good recommendation and being an investor I always like the investing research more than trading ones and some of them I do share in the blog here as well.

    Can you please suggest what is difference investing research and trading research ? And “where do you find it” on MOSL. I tried to search for online account opening options … and they say SMS alerts (advice) is not available with that option. Is that the same thing you are referring to ?

    • They have positional calls and trading calls and that is what is investing research and trading research.

      • ijay

        Thank you, Are you talking about stock advices on their idea deskport application (trading calls) & portfolio restructuring (for positional calls) ?
        (Sorry if I’ve incorrectly spelt the app name) I heard from them about these apps that give suggestions for purchase /sell but I’m not sure if you are referring to the same.

        • No. They send you some stock tips magazine in PDF format and that has the tips. I am referring to that.

  • Kinshuk Chandra

    Hi Shabbir,
    What are your views on Zerodha online trading services?

    • I don’t have account with them and so cannot comment on their services.

  • Naseer Basha

    SIr,
    I am the employee in mosl branch. For the rejection of the application has been charging of Rs. 500/- and above in some certain cases. But in the other securities this type of charges is kept .

    • Naseer, not sure I understand what you are trying to say.

  • Puneet Arora

    Hi
    I am an offline customer with Motilal Oswal from last 2 years and mainly trades through phone only, however recently they provided me a terminal through which even offline clients can buy/sell shares.
    Also offline clients can purchase/redeem mutual funds and IPOs

    This terminal gives me the option to trade on my own and also through my advisor as both can view the trading positions.
    This terminal has got many advanced trigger alerts which are helpful for short term traders

    • Yes the same goes with me as well. I had My broker and now they are even upgrading that.

  • Hi,
    Its a good review of Sharekhan. In fact Shabbir Sir I also share same view that both Sharekhan and MOST are good. Its just that MOST charger are a bit higher. and that is the reason after successfully trading with sharekhan for the last 5 years I decided to work full time on share trading and so I took franchise of Sharekhan. So my humble request to all the readers to please check my site and if interested cpntact me for account opening at sharekhan.
    Many Thanks
    Ankur

  • arvind

    well i have an account with sharekhan,as an invester i m satisfied with their services,u can trade online or offline it’s ur choice how u want to trade.however motilal oswal has lower brokerage and they provide more exposure than anybody.

  • sudha

    Share Tips

  • Rishiraj

    Hi shabbir interesting write up. i have tried and tested motilal and my experience has been good with them. No bad experiences as such . i hope you will reconsider your decision 🙂

    • No I also do not have anything bad with them apart from some limitations. I recommended them in the past and also do so to an extent now.

Shabbir Bhimani

Royal Heritage,
New Rander Road,
Near Causeway Circle,
Rander Surat - 395009
Gujarat India