What if your Rs 1 lakh F&O losses went into ETFs instead?

91 per cent of traders in equity derivatives lost money in FY25—an average of over Rs 1 lakh gone. But if that same amount had simply been parked in a plain-vanilla ETF, the outcome would’ve looked very different. In this story, we explore how a quiet, no-drama investing strategy using ETFs could have delivered steady, long-term gains. So, let’s look at the numbers. In a sobering reality check, a SEBI report recently revealed that 91 per cent of individual traders in equity derivatives lost money in FY25. The average loss? A staggering Rs 1.1 lakh per trader. Just 9 per cent managed to eke out a profit. This statistic reveals a harsh truth: the vast majority of retail traders are not making money from the market. And yet, the allure of fast profits from options, futures and intraday trades continues to seduce lakhs of investors. What few realise is that success in the market doesn’t come from trying to outsmart it every day. It comes from choosing a strategy that works with time and patience. What if that Rs 1 lakh was invested in a boring ETF? Had you invested that Rs 1 lakh, lost to derivatives, in a simple Nifty 50 ETF, you’d have had an 85 per cent chance of making a profit within a year. Compare that with dabbling in F&O trades, where only one in 10 people manage to walk away with gains. The data is clear. Even being conservative and sticking to India’s largest, most stable companies makes it far more likely to earn profits than chasing short-term trades, where most lose money. And that’s just the short term. It is always ideal to invest with a long horizon of at least three to five years. That Rs 1 lakh in a Nifty 50 ETF five years ago would have nearly tripled to Rs 2.7 lakh today—thanks to a 20.1

This article was originally published on July 17, 2025.