New Delhi, Aug. 25 -- SEBI's latest study does more than count losses in futures and options (F&O). It shows why ordinary traders keep losing money but continue trading.

Rachana Baid, professor and dean (academics) at the National Institute of Securities Markets, has suggested measures to reduce losses and improve safeguards for F&O traders.

More time in the market did not make these traders better. After one year, 91% of them lost money. After four years, the loss rate climbed to 96.5%. Only 0.5% of five-year traders made profits every year. Practice was not building skill in this part of the market. They treated each loss as a setback before the next big win.

Most traders, about 93%, bought options without selling them. A cheap optio...