Complaints filed by investors through the markets regulator SEBI’s SCORES platform dropped by over 9% in the financial year 2026 (FY26) against last year, reflecting increased regulatory scrutiny.
Of the 61,788 investor complaints filed through SEBI’s Complaints Redress System (SCORES) mechanism during FY26, 20,756 were against stockbrokers. This was, however, less than the 26,073 complaints against them last year, the regulator’s latest annual report showed.
Complaints against stockbrokers are higher due to their prominent consumer-facing role in the investing ecosystem.
In FY25, the portal saw a total of 68,132 complaints through SCORES.
Experts attributed the drop in the number of complaints to increased regulatory scrutiny, lower volumes, and enhanced security measures.
“We saw much lesser F&O (futures and options) volumes this year due to SEBI’s changes to reduce volatility. Also, they have been tightening the regulatory noose and beefing up investor protection. These measures likely contributed to the lower number of complaints this year,” a legal expert at a legal consultancy firm said.
The derivatives segment contributes over 90% to the overall average volumes in the Indian equity market. Measures such as increasing the minimum lot size, rationalising weekly expiries for exchanges, and collecting options premiums upfront helped the regulator curb the volatility in the derivatives market, with the volume of contracts traded in the futures segment declining by 15% year-on-year, while the volumes for the options segment crashed by nearly 52% in FY26.
SCORES 2.0: Complaints escalated to SEBI
Out of the total complaints under the SCORES mechanism in FY26, 17.2% were escalated to the market regulator, higher than the 16.2% that were escalated last year.
This escalation is part of the SCORES 2.0 mechanism, which came into effect in April 2024. Under the mechanism, investor grievances are automatically sent to the concerned organisations, and the matter is escalated to the market regulator if not resolved within 21 days.
The regulator first introduced the SCORE mechanism in 2011 to enhance digital governance and expedite investor complaints.
Any investor can lodge a complaint digitally against an entity through the mechanism, provided they have a PAN card and valid know-your-customer (KYC). It is one of the complaint resolution mechanisms introduced by the regulator, with others being the SMART ODR, SECURE, and the government-operated CPGRAMS portal.
Year of blockbuster public issues & rising complaints
Complaints against listed companies rose to 12,316 from 11,424 as initial public offerings and public issues surged during the year. These include complaints in matters related to dividend payments, transfer of shares, and corporate discrepancies. Complaints against registrars and share transfer agents also rose to 11,519 from 9,018.
“When you have a blockbuster year for public issues like we saw last year, complaints are bound to rise. However, the regulator ensured that most complaints were dispatched with minimal delay, with a resolution rate of over 97%,” the legal expert stated.
As complaint redressal shifts more to digital avenues, the number of calls attended through the regulator’s toll-free helpline fell for the third straight financial year to 62,298 from 1.35 lakh a year ago.
FPI ownership at 17-year low
Foreign portfolio investors’ (FPI) ownership in Indian equities dropped to a 17-year low of 15.8% in FY26 as foreign investors remained net sellers
for the majority of the financial year due to geopolitical uncertainties such as US tariffs, as well as structural concerns like high valuations and slowing corporate earnings growth.
The year saw FPI outflows widening to $19.69 billion (around Rs 1.8 lakh crore) from outflows of $14.63 billion a year ago.
Meanwhile, domestic institutional investors (DII) heavily bought Indian shares, absorbing the pressure created by foreign outflows. “Domestic Institutional Investors (DIIs), comprising banks, DFIs, insurance, mutual funds, and NPS, acted as a critical countervailing force, absorbing foreign divestments with a record cumulative net inflow of Rs 8.5 lakh crore, heavily supported by consistent mutual fund SIPs,” the regulator’s annual report noted.
SEBI is also looking to support global fund management activity from India (File Photo) 
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