InCred Money Eyes Market Expansion with Stocko Acquisition

The financial services company InCred Group's digitally first wealthtech platform, InCred Money, announced that it will buy discount broking platform Stocko to enter the retail broking market.

Although the transaction's magnitude was not disclosed, those with knowledge of the situation estimated that it would be an all-cash transaction of roughly INR 300 crore.

The purchase is contingent on regulatory clearance. According to the Mumbai-based company, Stocko, which is now run by South Asian Stocks Limited, will be renamed as InCred Stocko and incorporated into InCred Money if it is approved.

India's investment ecosystem is changing quickly, according to Bhupinder Singh, the company's founder and CEO. InCred Money will use its technology, capital, and customer-first approach to fully realise its potential if Stocko provides it with a tested platform with significant volume.

Acquisition will Expand the Portfolio of InCred Money

Through the acquisition, InCred Money will be able to expand its offerings to include trading in stocks and derivatives for individual consumers.

Established in 2013 under the name SAS Online, Stocko is a New Delhi-based company that provides trading in stocks, derivatives, commodities, and currencies.

For active traders, it offers a subscription-based model where the per-order cost can be reduced to INR 2.99, in addition to charging a flat fee of INR 12.99 for every order. According to the platform, it generates over INR 1 lakh crore in notional revenue every day.

The three verticals of the InCred Group, which was founded in 2016, are InCred Finance (NBFC financing), InCred Capital (institutional and HNI wealth services), and InCred Money, which provides retail investors with products like fixed deposits and alternative investments.

Following the acquisition, the Stocko team, under the direction of CEO Shrey Jain, will keep running the platform. Jain stated that Stocko will expand more quickly, innovate more vigorously, and provide more intelligent products—from improved margin financing to more advanced technology—with InCred's support.

InCred Money Joins the Bandwagon with Honchos Like Groww Paytm Money

By entering the retail broking market, InCred Money joins the growing number of fintechs and traditional financial institutions aiming to create full-stack platforms that integrate investing, wealth management, and lending.

This change is best illustrated by platforms like Groww, which began with investments in mutual funds before branching out into stocks, derivatives, and asset management, and Paytm Money, which changed from payments to broking and investment advising.

A group of wealthy people contributed $60 million to InCred Finance's Series D funding round, which was closed in December 2023. The company was valued at about $1.04 billion after the round, which helped it join the unicorn club.

The Mumbai-based company, a partner of KKR & Co., is in talks with some firms, including IIFL Securities, Kotak Mahindra Bank Ltd., and Nomura Holdings Inc., about working on an initial public offering (IPO) to raise approximately $470 million, according to a news agency report from April.