With retail participation in Indian markets hitting record highs despite persistent volatility, Sundararaman Ramamurthy, MD & CEO of BSE, has a clear message for investors: avoid the noise, stay disciplined, and don’t chase fantasies of overnight wealth creation.

Speaking at the Groww India Investor Festival 2026 on Saturday, the BSE managing director and CEO reflected on how India’s stock market ecosystem has transformed from an exclusive brokers’ club into one of the world’s most accessible retail investing platforms.

Tracing the origins of the Bombay Stock Exchange over 150 years ago, Ramamurthy noted that exchanges were initially created to safeguard the interests of brokers, not retail investors. “Every club takes care of the interests of its members,” he said, contrasting that era with today’s democratised markets where millions of retail investors can access equities with a few taps on a smartphone.

That democratisation has been rapid. According to Ramamurthy, BSE added nearly 3.5 crore unique clients this year, while India’s market capitalisation is nearing the $5 trillion mark. He also highlighted the exchange’s growing technological capacity, with BSE’s equity derivatives platform now capable of handling around 22 lakh order messages per second.

But greater access, he warned, has also amplified misinformation and speculative behaviour.

From deepfake videos carrying fake endorsements by market personalities to random stock tips circulating through social circles, Ramamurthy cautioned investors against blindly trusting sensational claims. “What is difficult to believe, don’t believe,” he told the audience.

Using humour to make his point, he referred to stories of people turning small sums into massive fortunes overnight through crypto or speculative bets. “If you want to overnight become Midas and touch everything and make it gold, do one thing — eat well, go to sleep, and dream,” he remarked.

Ramamurthy also reminded investors that market crises are cyclical and unavoidable. Drawing parallels across history, he referenced events ranging from the cotton crisis and the impact of the American Civil War on Indian markets to the Harshad Mehta Scam, the dotcom crash, the global financial crisis, and the COVID-era selloff.

He added that volatility today is increasingly driven by geopolitical developments, remarking that “country presidents also can create crisis,” often triggering sudden swings in global markets.

His advice to retail investors was clear: avoid reacting emotionally to every phase of volatility.

To underline the importance of patience and discipline, Ramamurthy invoked the story of the Samudra Manthan from Hindu mythology, where the Devatas continued churning the ocean through both rewards and poison before finally obtaining nectar.

The analogy, he said, applies equally to investing. Long-term wealth creation requires conviction, discipline, and the ability to ignore distractions.

“A courageous and disciplined person will not let things go just because there are too many noises around him,” he said.