Don't be surprised, when the next time a sub-broker asks you "Is there any property available for let-out/sale in your area? Are you interested to buyout or looking for rental?"
With volumes drying up, now sub-brokers are offering every thing under the sun to earn a commission. "Kindly call me for flight, train, but tickets to be booked. You can call me for pre-paid, post-paid, broadband, data card, DTH Bill payments, Thank You," said an SMS from a sub-broker.
"What ever little transactions (in stock markets) I am doing is happening only during opening and closing hours or rather minutes. Rest of the time I am free and these ventures will help me not only earning extra revenues, but also keep me busy," said a Chennai-based sub-broker of leading Mumbai brokerage house.
"I would be happy if these things help me in meeting Internet/electricity charges," he quipped.
Data on the BSE also shows a drop in the average daily turnover. It dropped to Rs 1,880 crore in December 2011 from Rs 3,493 crore in January 2011. During January 2012, the corresponding figure was Rs 2,389 crore.
Mr Pradeep Agarwal from Agarwal Investments faced a really bad situation six months ago when the volatile markets did not earn him enough to give cover even fixed costs.
“It was a really tough phase for me because I had to do something to cover fixed costs at least. That’s when I decided to offer hotel bookings, flight and rail booking services to earn some revenue. Thanks to this, I make around Rs 10,000 to Rs 15,000 a month. Some revenue comes from brokerage through real estate,” said Mr Agarwal, who has been a sub broker with Angel Broking in Mumbai for the last 7 to 8 years.
Similar was the case with Mr Mukesh Udani from S M Enterprises who had to think of some other revenue generating model besides the traditional stock market broking. “I am currently engaged in the property business, which is giving me good amount of money. I am also planning to start a travel division in the next two weeks. I am in the process of tying up with travel companies offering attractive tour packages. Travel bookings will also be taken care of,” he said.
Some sub-brokers are also investing in property close to tourist destinations which they can lease out to tourists. Some such destinations are areas close to national parks like Gir in Gujarat.
Reminiscing the days when the BSE Sensex was in the 21,000 range and brokerage fees were in thousands, a Chennai-based stock broker said, "Those were the days getting BSE or NSE ticket leaves one a proud man," said another sub-broker in Chennai, whose customers mainly are Gujaratis. "Even my customers who generally prefer to dabble in stock market are shying away."
According to him, sub-broking works on a revenue sharing model. It depends on sub-brokers' customer base and financial strength. Accordingly, while some get 80:20, for others revenue would be shared 50:50.