“Opened a Trading Account After 2020 — Still Losing Money Despite India’s Bull Run? Here’s Why (And How to Recover)”

Remember 2020?
Everyone was stuck at home, the markets were flying, and opening a Demat account felt like the smartest thing you could do.

Twitter screamed “multibagger,” YouTubers drew rocket emojis, and your first few trades? Green. Easy money.

“It’s now 2025 — and yet, nearly 90% of F&O traders are still losing money, even in one of India’s strongest bull runs.”

Despite one of India’s strongest bull runs.

It’s not just you. SEBI’s data shows: lakhs of first-time investors have lost money — badly.
But it’s not because you’re dumb, lazy, or unlucky.

It’s because you were sold the wrong dream.

Welcome to the Great Indian Trading Illusion

Between 2020 and now, over 14 crore Demat accounts have been opened.

It was the perfect recipe:

• “It was the perfect setup: Lockdowns = time, No travel = extra cash…”
  
• Influencers pitched the dream of turning ₹10K into ₹10L — overnight.

Everyone became a trader.
College students.
IT engineers.
Homemakers.
Even the chai stall uncle had an opinion on options.

But here’s the hard truth:
Most weren’t investing. They were gambling.

This wasn’t long-term thinking. It was FOMO wrapped in a candlestick chart.

In FY24 alone, over 4.5 crore traders entered F&O — 89% of them exited with net losses, while just 11% profited, mostly due to experience or scale.

SEBI published a bombshell:

92% of retail investors in F&O lost money
70% of intraday traders ended in losses
Even cash equity traders didn’t fare well

This isn’t just a few “bad apples.”
This is the majority — the system chewing up first-time investors and spitting them out.

You thought you were investing.
But you were stepping into a casino… with zero rules and a noisy crowd shouting “Buy the dip!”

Where Most People Went Wrong (Including Us)

Let’s call it out — the 5 deadly sins most new traders commit:

Blindly following Twitter “tips” or Telegram “gurus”
Getting into intraday without a stop-loss strategy
Averaging down losing positions like it’s bravery
Selling winners too fast, holding losers “for recovery”
Ignoring hidden costs — brokerage, taxes, STT, slippage

These mistakes aren’t proof you’re not smart.
They’re proof you entered a system designed to look easy but built for experienced players.

Akash’s Story — A Familiar Bull Market Burnout

Akash, 24, opened a Demat account in 2021.
He made ₹35K in month one.
He thought, “This is it. I’ve cracked it.”

Then the market corrected.
He chased losses with options and intraday trades.
By the end of 3 months, he had lost ₹2.2 lakh — his entire savings gone.

Today, his Demat is quiet.
His WhatsApp groups are too.
No more charts. No more rocket emojis. Just silence.

Sound familiar?

The Reset — What You Should Actually Do Instead

“So what separates the 5% who win from the 95% who don’t?
It’s not a secret formula. It’s discipline, restraint, and patience.
They don’t trade every day.
They don’t rely on noise.
They follow process, not emotion.
They understand the game — and they respect it.”

“The best investors don’t try to look smart — they try to stay invested and survive volatility.

That’s what builds wealth in the Indian stock market.”

The Silent Superpower You’re Ignoring

The bull run made money feel easy.

But real wealth comes from boredom.
From doing less, not more. From holding, not chasing.
From not checking your app every 15 minutes.

You don’t need 10 apps, 4 screens, and 3 brokers.
You need clarity, conviction, and compounding.

“Don’t try to be the next Rakesh Jhunjhunwala.
Be the person who stays invested for 20 years — and lets compounding do the work.”

Still in Losses? You’re Not Late. You’re Just Early in Your Journey.

Don’t quit. Don’t rage-delete your app.
And definitely don’t jump into the next hot tip to recover your losses.

Instead, pause. Reflect. Relearn.

You’re not late. You’re just starting the second, smarter chapter of your investing life.

And this time, you’re doing it without FOMO.