Pocketful Names Prateek Singh CEO to Power Its Next Growth Leap

Introduction

India added over 16 million new demat accounts in FY24 alone. That number tells you everything about where the country's financial appetite is heading — and why the race to become the go-to investment platform for the next generation of retail investors is intensifying by the quarter. Into this high-stakes arena, Pocketful has just made a move that deserves attention. The Mumbai-based discount brokerage has appointed Prateek Singh as its Chief Executive Officer, a hire that carries clear intent: scale fast, build smart, and capture a meaningful share of India's digital investing surge.

The Big Announcement

Pocketful, a discount brokerage platform backed by the Pace Group, has appointed Prateek Singh as its new Chief Executive Officer. The appointment comes at a defining moment for the company, as it moves beyond its early growth phase and sets its sights on becoming a comprehensive investment destination for both retail investors and active traders across India.

Singh brings 13 years of experience building and scaling digital financial platforms, with a strong track record across customer acquisition, product innovation, and revenue growth. Most recently, he served as Chief Growth Officer at Bajaj Broking, where he was instrumental in expanding the company's digital reach and strengthening its platform capabilities.

Sarvam Goel, Co-Founder of Pocketful, called the appointment an essential milestone, noting that Singh's experience in developing digital financial platforms combined with his user-experience focus aligns well with the company's future direction.

What This Means for Your Brand

For India's fintech and investment ecosystem, this appointment is a useful signal — and marketers in adjacent categories should pay close attention.

Discount brokerages are no longer competing only on price. Zero brokerage on equity delivery, zero account opening charges, and lifetime zero AMC fees have become table stakes. The new battlefield is platform experience, trust, and intelligent features. Pocketful's decision to bring in a growth-focused CEO — rather than a finance-first one — reflects this shift clearly.

For brands operating in the wealth-tech, fintech, or financial services space, the takeaway is straightforward: user acquisition is increasingly a product problem, not just a marketing one. Singh's background in blending digital growth strategy with platform development is exactly the profile that wins in this environment.

There is also a broader implication for any brand eyeing India's first-time investor segment. This audience is young, mobile-first, and deeply influenced by community and simplicity. Pocketful's expansion into mutual funds and its AI-powered Pocketful GPT feature — which allows users to generate trade ideas, analyse portfolios, and execute trades within a single interface — shows the direction the platform is heading.

The contrarian flag: as more players pile into the zero-fee brokerage space, differentiation through technology and trust will become the only sustainable moat.

Expert Take

India's retail investor base has grown at a remarkable pace over the past four years, with the BSE reporting over 200 million registered investors as of early 2025. The shift from traditional savings instruments to direct market participation is no longer an urban phenomenon — it is spreading steadily into Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities, driven by smartphone penetration and increasing financial literacy.

Pocketful's product stack reflects an understanding of this evolving user base. Its Margin Trading Facility starting at 5.99% per annum, combined with institutional-grade trading tools and an AI-driven interface, targets both the curious first-time investor and the serious active trader within one platform.

Prateek Singh, in his own words, captured the opportunity directly: India's capital markets are seeing remarkable momentum, and the company has a genuine chance to simplify and reimagine the investing experience for a wider audience.

The brands.in Perspective

Most CEO appointments in fintech come with the usual language — vision, synergy, scale. Pocketful's hire feels different because the fit is specific. Singh is not a generalist executive; he is someone who has built digital financial platforms from within, understood acquisition economics, and navigated the complexity of regulated financial products. In a category where trust is everything and churn is high, that operational depth matters. If Pocketful can combine its zero-cost structure with genuinely intelligent product design under this leadership, it has a real shot at moving from challenger to category leader.

Key Takeaways for Marketers

• Pocketful appoints Prateek Singh as CEO to lead accelerated growth phase
• Singh brings 13 years in digital finance, previously CGO at Bajaj Broking
• Platform offers zero brokerage, zero AMC, and MTF from 5.99% per annum
• Pocketful GPT enables AI-driven trade ideas and portfolio analysis
• Recent mutual fund expansion signals a shift to full-stack investment platform

FAQ

Q: Who is Prateek Singh and what is his background? Prateek Singh is a digital finance professional with 13 years of experience. He previously served as Chief Growth Officer at Bajaj Broking, where he led digital expansion and platform development before joining Pocketful as CEO.

Q: What makes Pocketful different from other discount brokers in India? Beyond zero brokerage and zero AMC fees, Pocketful offers an AI-powered feature called Pocketful GPT for trade ideas and portfolio analysis, institutional-grade trading tools, and has recently expanded into mutual funds — positioning itself as a comprehensive investment platform.

Q: What is Pocketful's growth focus under the new CEO? Under Prateek Singh, Pocketful aims to scale its retail investor base, deepen platform innovation, and expand its presence across India's growing digital investing audience, including Tier 2 and Tier 3 markets.

Closing

India's investing revolution is accelerating — and the platforms that make it simpler, smarter, and more accessible will define the next decade of wealth creation. Is Pocketful's latest leadership move the one that shifts its trajectory from fast-growing challenger to mainstream investment destination?

Tell us what you think in the comments below, and follow brands.in for daily intelligence on the brands, leaders, and strategies shaping Indian marketing and business.