The short messaging service surely has come a long way, from mere chats to brand marketing, and now to stock market tips. The next time you check your mobile phone for SMS, you could well end up with heavier coffers.
From small brokers to big broking houses, marketmen are using SMS to transfer market calls and updates.
In fact, broking houses don't just update their clients on news but also suggest various investment options, including derivatives strategies, in real time.
Big brokerage houses such as Motilal Oswal, SSKI and Sharekhan and K R Choksey send constant updates to investors through SMS.
Some private client groups or portfolio management service providers keep clients abreast of the latest market movements through SMS.
Says Vinod K Sharma, equity strategist at Anagram Stock Broking, "Investors and day traders need to know what to do during the thick of action in the case of a fresh corporate performance or any event."
He claims that there is tremendous appetite for intra-day advice and thus major brokerages deploy SMS, chat and direct on-screen messaging systems for this purpose.
Dealers at local brokerage houses say that the Indian markets are moving towards global standards where the broker is expected to fill in the client with morning, pre-opening, mid-session and intra-day calls.
But the broker usually calls up a voice mail number without diverting the attention of the client. The client can pick up the call at will.
"An SMS is the next best solution as the client can attend to it as soon as he finds time," says a dealer.
Deven Choksey, joint managing director of K R Choksey Securities, believes that SMS is a big boon for upcountry investors.
"It helps them take instant decisions. It is very effective and investors get in touch with the brokerage houses fast."
What appeals to Pankaj Chopra, director at wow-india, the investment website, is the fact that he can reach all his clients in one shot.
"SMS can reach hundreds of clients at the same time, which is not possible through telephone calls. SMS advice to key clients or the serious intra-day trader is both instant and two-way. In intra-day moves, even a few seconds matter," he says.
As technology allows faster information dissemination, the window of a trading opportunity is open only for a short time. A slight delay in an SMS message and the client can miss the bus.
But not everybody is enthused by this medium. Says Kishor Oswal, director, Chamatkar.net India, an investment advisory site: "SMS is killing the basic investor instinct. Investors are deprived of educating themselves of the fundamentals of the stock. My call is that one must know as to why one should be buying a particular stock and the underlying triggers." He may be right. For the moment though, the message is clearly a hot tip.
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