By Surender Negi
With interest in the unlisted space growing, several smaller firms are deploying innovative ways to tap small investors. These include benchmarks to track the direction of the unlisted space, like the Sensex and the Nifty, and low-ticket investment value.
There are at least two benchmarks for the unlisted space, first of which is by a company called Wealth Wisdom India with 40 stocks in its Primex 40 Index. As per information available on its website, the index was launched in 2023 with a base of 10,000 and is currently at 3,794, a 2.27x appreciation in about 19 months of its existence. The company claims that the index is the country’s first live private market index, with real-time prices of the shares, pretty much like the listed space.
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Some of the well-known names in the index include Boat, Capgemini, NSE India, Tata Capital, and PharmEasy. The weightage of the stocks in the basket is capped at 10% to prevent excessive concentration and promote diversification.
Another such index is Sharecart Private Market Index (SPMI), which started with a base of 1,000 around 2022 and is currently at 1,592. Stocks such as NSDL, Oyo, Chennai Super Kings and Bira are available for trade on the platform.
Both these indices hit their lifetime highs during this week. Primex 40 Index clocked over 80% returns last year, while for Sharecart Index, it was nearly 40%. In comparison, the Sensex and the Nifty posted returns of 8.17% and 8.8%, respectively, in 2024.
According to a recent report, monthly trading volumes for unlisted shares grew up to 6x from $50-60 million in 2023 to $300 million in 2024. However, those trying to make a quick buck in the unlisted space should be wary of the pitfalls as the space is unregulated.
“Sharescart is not an investment advisory portal and does not make any investment recommendations and therefore does not require any licence from SEBI/RBI or regulatory authority in India. Investors are advised to use the data at their own risks,” its website states.
Markets regulator SEBI, which has been proactively keeping a tab on the space, said in December that “such activities (transaction in unlisted shares) are in violation of Securities Contract (Regulation) Act,
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