CDSL

What it is: CDSL Limited is one of India’s two securities depositories. It holds investors’ shares and other securities in demat (electronic) form, replacing physical certificates. Founded: 1999 HQ: Mumbai Regulator: SEBI What CDSL Does Demat accounts: Safekeeping of shares, bonds, ETFs, mutual funds Settlement support: Smooth settlement of exchange trades Corporate actions: Dividend, bonus, split, rights credit Digital services: e-DIS, e-voting, e-KYC New areas: Insurance demat, account aggregation How CDSL Makes Money Annual charges via Depository Participants (DPs) Transaction & settlement fees Issuer charges and value-added services Why Investors Care Structural beneficiary of retail investor growth Asset-light, high-margin model Recurring and predictable revenues Strengths Large and growing demat account base Strong cash flows and ROE Low capex requirement Risks Regulatory fee changes Slower demat additions in weak markets Dependence on market activity