New Delhi, May 14 -- As retail participation in the futures and options (F&O) segment continues to surge, the odds remain heavily stacked against individual traders, with institutional and algorithmic players capturing a big share of market profits, according to Archit Gupta, chief executive of ClearTax.

Citing Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) data, Gupta told Mint in an interview that while individual traders collectively lost Rs.74,812 crore in FY24, proprietary trading desks and foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) together booked over Rs.61,000 crore in gross profits, the majority of which came through algorithmic trading.

He pointed out that the rapid rise in index options trading, with average daily premium turnover sur...