--- title: "Do SEBI registered algo platforms make algo trading" description: "No, SEBI's rules for retail algos govern who may run an algo, how orders are tagged and who may make return claims." source_url: "https://www.rupeecase.com/learn/questions/algo-platforms-and-profitability" --- Most individual F&O traders made a net loss in each of FY24, FY25 and FY26 Share of individual traders in the equity derivatives segment with a net loss for the financial year. FY25 is the revised figure. The population is every individual trader in the segment, not a sample of algo users. Source: SEBI, Profitability of individual traders in the equity derivatives segment, FY25 to FY26 (Aug 2026). As of 20 Aug 2026. The question assumes a regulated platform makes algo trading profitable. The chart shows the loss data any such claim has to face: the share of individual traders with a net loss in each of three years, from SEBI's study published in Aug 2026. SEBI's retail algo circular of 4 Feb 2025 applies to all brokers from 1 Apr 2026. It sets a limit of ten orders a second per exchange and segment. Above that an algo must be registered through the broker, and an algo offered to others must come from a provider the exchange has empanelled. A black box, whose logic is not disclosed, also needs its provider to be a SEBI Research Analyst. Brokers may not make return claims for algos, or link to platforms that do. Other return claims need figures verified by a PaRRVA, a rating agency recognised for the task. PaRRVAs have operated since 4 May 2026. None of these steps tests a result. Empanelment approves a provider to operate, and a verified past figure describes past risk and return, not future profit. A backtest is a model run on past data, and it can be fitted to that data. The loss data is the other half. SEBI found that 90.9% of individual traders lost money in FY25 and 91.1% in FY24, against 87.7% in FY26, when the aggregate net loss was Rs 91,685 crore. Before costs the FY26 share was 82.1%. The study covers the whole population, so it does not show how algo users fared. So the answer is no. Registration says who may offer an algo, and the loss data says what most individual traders got. **Before you trade.** Derivatives trading carries a high risk of loss. SEBI's study "Profitability of Individual Traders in the Equity Derivatives Segment (FY25 to FY26)" (August 2026) found that 87.7% of individual traders in equity F&O made net losses in FY26, with aggregate net losses of Rs 91,685 crore. [Read the SEBI study](https://www.sebi.gov.in/reports-and-statistics/research/aug-2026/study-profitability-of-individual-traders-in-the-equity-derivatives-segment-fy25-fy26-_103835.html) Do SEBI registered algo platforms make algo trading profitable?No, SEBI's rules for retail algos govern who may run an algo, how orders are tagged and who may make return claims, and none of them promises that a strategy will make money. SEBI's Aug 2026 study covers every individual trader in equity derivatives, and most of them lost money in FY26. Wrong as stated. Registration says who may offer an algo, not what it earns, and the loss data shows that most individual F&O traders lost money in FY26, whatever tools they used. LGo deeper ## Where Learn teaches this. [Go deeperRed flags in F&O: tip groups, too good claims and registration checks7 min, Beginner](/learn/path-12/module-12-8-fo-red-flags)[Go deeperBuilding a compliant retail algo10 min, Advanced](/learn/path-19/module-19-5-building-a-compliant-algo)[Module 10.3Systematic Execution in India: APIs, Algos & SEBI Rules11 min, Path 10](/learn/path-10/module-10-3-systematic-execution-in-india-apis-algos-and-sebi-rules) SSources ## Go to the source. 1. [SEBI circular on safer participation of retail investors in algorithmic trading (4 Feb 2025)](https://www.sebi.gov.in/legal/circulars/feb-2025/safer-participation-of-retail-investors-in-algorithmic-trading_91614.html) SEBI 2. [SEBI, Profitability of individual traders in the equity derivatives segment, FY25 to FY26 (Aug 2026)](https://www.sebi.gov.in/reports-and-statistics/research/aug-2026/study-profitability-of-individual-traders-in-the-equity-derivatives-segment-fy25-fy26-_103835.html) SEBI 3. [SEBI circular on performance return claims by unregulated algo platforms (2 Sep 2022)](https://www.sebi.gov.in/legal/circulars/sep-2022/performance-return-claimed-by-unregulated-platforms-offering-algorithmic-strategies-for-trading_62628.html) SEBI 4. [SEBI circular extending the PaRRVA enrolment timeline (Aug 2026)](https://www.sebi.gov.in/legal/circulars/aug-2026/extension-of-timeline-for-enrolment-with-parrva-as-specified-in-sebi-circular-no-ho-38-14-4-2026-mirsd-pod-i-10557-2026-dated-april-29-2026_103314.html) SEBI ?Questions people ask ## Related questions. 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