New Delhi, Oct. 2 -- A crisis of confidence is at the heart of many Indians' aversion to stocks, an investor survey commissioned by the market regulator found, tracing its roots to the limited success of various investor outreach programmes. The result: Many investors remain vulnerable and ignorant about their rights.

The Securities and Exchange Board of India's (Sebi's) first such survey, conducted by research firm Kantar across 90,000 households across 400 cities and 1,000 villages, showed that a large number of investors exit the market following financial losses, while a staggering majority are ignorant of official channels for grievance redressal.

The findings point to a glaring mismatch between investors' learning preferences and ...