Geojit Financial Services Ltd. is an investment services company in

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

headquartered in

Kochi Kochi (), also known as Cochin ( ) ( the official name until 1996) is a major port city on the Malabar Coast of India bordering the Laccadive Sea, which is a part of the Arabian Sea. It is part of the district of Ernakulam in the state of K ...

Kerala Kerala ( ; ) is a state on the Malabar Coast of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, following the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, by combining Malayalam-speaking regions of the erstwhile regions of Cochin, Malabar, South ...

. It operates a network of offices across

and the

Middle East The Middle East ( ar, الشرق الأوسط, ISO 233: ) is a geopolitical region commonly encompassing Arabia (including the Arabian Peninsula and Bahrain), Asia Minor (Asian part of Turkey except Hatay Province), East Thrace (Europ ...

. Geojit was the first company in India to launch online-trading facilities, develop franchise models of sub-broking, form joint ventures in West Asia and the first to begin

commodity futures In finance, a futures contract (sometimes called a futures) is a standardized legal contract to buy or sell something at a predetermined price for delivery at a specified time in the future, between parties not yet known to each other. The asset ...

trading in

pepper Pepper or peppers may refer to: Food and spice * Piperaceae or the pepper family, a large family of flowering plant ** Black pepper * ''Capsicum'' or pepper, a genus of flowering plants in the nightshade family Solanaceae ** Bell pepper ** Chili ...

cardamom Cardamom (), sometimes cardamon or cardamum, is a spice made from the seeds of several plants in the genera ''Elettaria'' and ''Amomum'' in the family Zingiberaceae. Both genera are native to the Indian subcontinent and Indonesia. They are r ...

gold Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au (from la, aurum) and atomic number 79. This makes it one of the higher atomic number elements that occur naturally. It is a bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile me ...

and

silver Silver is a chemical element with the symbol Ag (from the Latin ', derived from the Proto-Indo-European ''h₂erǵ'': "shiny" or "white") and atomic number 47. A soft, white, lustrous transition metal, it exhibits the highest electrical ...

in Bharat. The product offerings of the company include

equities In finance, stock (also capital stock) consists of all the shares by which ownership of a corporation or company is divided.Longman Business English Dictionary: "stock - ''especially AmE'' one of the shares into which ownership of a company ...

and derivatives to

mutual funds A mutual fund is a professionally managed investment fund that pools money from many investors to purchase securities. The term is typically used in the United States, Canada, and India, while similar structures across the globe include the SICAV ...

life Life is a quality that distinguishes matter that has biological processes, such as Cell signaling, signaling and self-sustaining processes, from that which does not, and is defined by the capacity for Cell growth, growth, reaction to Stimu ...

and

general A general officer is an officer of high rank in the armies, and in some nations' air forces, space forces, and marines or naval infantry. In some usages the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colonel."general, adj. and n.". OED ...

insurance Insurance is a means of protection from financial loss in which, in exchange for a fee, a party agrees to compensate another party in the event of a certain loss, damage, or injury. It is a form of risk management, primarily used to hedge ...

, commodities derivatives and portfolio management services. The company has 512 offices across the country. Through joint ventures and associates, the company has expanded its presence globally with offices in

Dubai Dubai (, ; ar, دبي, translit=Dubayy, , ) is the most populous city in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and the capital of the Emirate of Dubai, the most populated of the 7 emirates of the United Arab Emirates.The Government and Politics of ...

, Abu Dhabi,

Sharjah Sharjah (; ar, ٱلشَّارقَة ', Gulf Arabic: ''aš-Šārja'') is the third-most populous city in the United Arab Emirates, after Dubai and Abu Dhabi, forming part of the Dubai-Sharjah-Ajman metropolitan area. Sharjah is the capital ...

, Al Ain,

Muscat Muscat ( ar, مَسْقَط, ) is the capital and most populated city in Oman. It is the seat of the Governorate of Muscat. According to the National Centre for Statistics and Information (NCSI), the total population of Muscat Governorate was ...

Riyadh Riyadh (, ar, الرياض, 'ar-Riyāḍ, lit.: 'The Gardens' Najdi pronunciation: ), formerly known as Hajr al-Yamamah, is the capital and largest city of Saudi Arabia. It is also the capital of the Riyadh Province and the centre of th ...

, Dammam,

Bahrain Bahrain ( ; ; ar, البحرين, al-Bahrayn, locally ), officially the Kingdom of Bahrain, ' is an island country in Western Asia. It is situated on the Persian Gulf, and comprises a small archipelago made up of 50 natural islands and an ...

and

Kuwait Kuwait (; ar, الكويت ', or ), officially the State of Kuwait ( ar, دولة الكويت '), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated in the northern edge of Eastern Arabia at the tip of the Persian Gulf, bordering Iraq to the nort ...

. Geojit is listed on the National Stock Exchange (NSE) and the

Bombay Stock Exchange BSE Limited, also known as the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE), is an Indian stock exchange. It is located on Dalal Street in Mumbai. Established in 1875 by cotton merchant Premchand Roychand, a Jain businessman, it is the oldest stock exchange i ...

(BSE).

About

Geojit was founded by

C J George Chenayappillil John George is an Indian businessman and philanthropist. He is the founder and managing director of Geojit Financial Services. Personal life George was born in Pothanikkad, a suburb of Ernakulam in the south Indian state of Ke ...

in 1987 and the major stakeholders of the company include

– Managing Director of Geojit, global banking major BNP Paribas,

Kerala State Industrial Development Corporation Kerala State Industrial Development Corporation Ltd. is the industrial and investment promotion agency of the Government of Kerala (India), for the promotion and development of medium and large scale units in the State of Kerala. As the Nodal ...

and Rakesh Jhunjhunwala. As of 31 December 2017, it has over Rs.41,000 crores as assets under custody and management, servicing over 913,000 clients. The network of Geojit covers more than 300 cities in states in India such as

Andhra Pradesh Andhra Pradesh (, abbr. AP) is a state in the south-eastern coastal region of India. It is the seventh-largest state by area covering an area of and tenth-most populous state with 49,386,799 inhabitants. It is bordered by Telangana to the ...

Bihar Bihar (; ) is a state in eastern India. It is the 2nd largest state by population in 2019, 12th largest by area of , and 14th largest by GDP in 2021. Bihar borders Uttar Pradesh to its west, Nepal to the north, the northern part of West ...

, Chhattisgarh,

Goa Goa () is a state on the southwestern coast of India within the Konkan region, geographically separated from the Deccan highlands by the Western Ghats. It is located between the Indian states of Maharashtra to the north and Karnataka to the ...

Gujarat Gujarat (, ) is a state along the western coast of India. Its coastline of about is the longest in the country, most of which lies on the Kathiawar peninsula. Gujarat is the fifth-largest Indian state by area, covering some ; and the ninth ...

Haryana Haryana (; ) is an Indian state located in the northern part of the country. It was carved out of the former state of East Punjab on 1 Nov 1966 on a linguistic basis. It is ranked 21st in terms of area, with less than 1.4% () of India's land a ...

, Jammu and Kashmir,

Karnataka Karnataka (; ISO: , , also known as Karunāḍu) is a state in the southwestern region of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, with the passage of the States Reorganisation Act. Originally known as Mysore State , it was renamed ''Karnat ...

Madhya Pradesh Madhya Pradesh (, ; meaning 'central province') is a state in central India. Its capital is Bhopal, and the largest city is Indore, with Jabalpur, Ujjain, Gwalior, Sagar, and Rewa being the other major cities. Madhya Pradesh is the seco ...

, Maharashtra,

New Delhi New Delhi (, , ''Naī Dillī'') is the capital of India and a part of the National Capital Territory of Delhi (NCT). New Delhi is the seat of all three branches of the government of India, hosting the Rashtrapati Bhavan, Parliament Ho ...

Orissa Odisha (English: , ), formerly Orissa ( the official name until 2011), is an Indian state located in Eastern India. It is the 8th largest state by area, and the 11th largest by population. The state has the third largest population of S ...

Punjab Punjab (; Punjabi: پنجاب ; ਪੰਜਾਬ ; ; also romanised as ''Panjāb'' or ''Panj-Āb'') is a geopolitical, cultural, and historical region in South Asia, specifically in the northern part of the Indian subcontinent, comprising a ...

Rajasthan Rajasthan (; lit. 'Land of Kings') is a state in northern India. It covers or 10.4 per cent of India's total geographical area. It is the largest Indian state by area and the seventh largest by population. It is on India's northwestern s ...

Tamil Nadu Tamil Nadu (; , TN) is a state in southern India. It is the tenth largest Indian state by area and the sixth largest by population. Its capital and largest city is Chennai. Tamil Nadu is the home of the Tamil people, whose Tamil language ...

Pondicherry Pondicherry (), now known as Puducherry ( French: Pondichéry ʊdʊˈtʃɛɹi(listen), on-dicherry, is the capital and the most populous city of the Union Territory of Puducherry in India. The city is in the Puducherry district on the sout ...

Telangana Telangana (; , ) is a state in India situated on the south-central stretch of the Indian peninsula on the high Deccan Plateau. It is the eleventh-largest state and the twelfth-most populated state in India with a geographical area of and 3 ...

Uttar Pradesh Uttar Pradesh (; , 'Northern Province') is a state in northern India. With over 200 million inhabitants, it is the most populated state in India as well as the most populous country subdivision in the world. It was established in 1950 ...

, Uttaranchal and

West Bengal West Bengal (, Bengali: ''Poshchim Bongo'', , abbr. WB) is a state in the eastern portion of India. It is situated along the Bay of Bengal, along with a population of over 91 million inhabitants within an area of . West Bengal is the fou ...

. The company has B2B partnerships with a number banks such as

Axis Bank Axis Bank Limited, formerly known as UTI Bank (1993–2007), is an Indian banking and financial services company headquartered in Mumbai, Maharashtra. It sells financial services to large and mid-size companies, SMEs and retail businesses. As ...

(the partnership received IBA recognition 2007 & 2008),

Federal Bank Federal Bank Limited is an Indian private sector bank headquartered in Aluva, Kochi, Kerala. The bank has 1,336 branches spread across different states in India. It also has representative offices abroad in Abu Dhabi, Qatar, Kuwait, Oman, and ...

Andhra Bank Andhra Bank was a medium-sized public sector bank (PSB) of India, with a network of 2885 branches, 4 extension counters, 38 satellite offices and 3798 automated teller machines (ATMs) as of 31 March 2019. During 2011–12, the bank entered t ...

Oriental Bank of Commerce Oriental Bank of Commerce (OBC) was an Indian public sector bank headquartered at Gurgaon, Haryana. It had 2390 branches and 2625 ATMs across India. In April 2020, the bank along with United Bank of India has been merged with Punjab National ...

, SVC Bank ( Shamrao Vithal Co-operative Bank),

Corporation Bank Corporation Bank was a public-sector banking company headquartered in Mangalore, India. The bank had a pan-Indian presence. Presently, the bank has a network of 2,432 fully automated CBS branches, 3,040 ATMs, and 4,724 branchless banking units ...

South Indian Bank South Indian Bank Limited (SIB) is a major private sector bank headquartered at Thrissur in Kerala, India. South Indian Bank has 933 branches, 4 service branches, 1 extension counters and 18 Regional Offices spread across India. The bank has al ...

and

IndusInd Bank IndusInd Bank Limited is an Indian financial services headquartered in Mumbai (Maharashtra). The bank offers commercial, transactional and electronic banking products and services. IndusInd Bank was inaugurated in April 1994 by then Union Financ ...

History

, founder and CEO of the company set up M/s C.J George and Co. in 1987 with Ranajit Kanjilal as partner. However, a formal partnership was formed in 1988 after Kanjilal acquired membership in the Cochin Stock Exchange. The firm was then renamed as Geojit and Co. The name 'Geojit' was coined by conjoining the first and last three words in the names of the partners who set up the organization –

and Ranajit Kanjilal. In 1992, Kanjilal, left the organization and Geojit became sole proprietorship. In 1993, the company opened its first branch in Muvattupuzha in Ernakulam and followed it up with another branch in Trichur in Kerala.

Growth and Expansion

In 1994, Geojit became a public limited company with a new name – Geojit Securities Ltd. It was the first brokerage firm that became a corporate in Kochi and one of the earliest in India. In 1995,

(KSIDC) became a co-promoter of Geojit by acquiring 22% stake in the company. This is the only instance of a government entity participating in the equity of a stock broking company. A P Kurian who retired from UTI as its Executive Trustee joined the board of the company as an independent director and chairman. In October 1995, Geojit went public by issuing 9,50,000 shares of Rs.10 each to gain access to more capital. Shares of the company were listed in Cochin, Chennai and Delhi exchanges. The IPO was oversubscribed by 15 times. In the same year, Geojit became a member of the NSE and the opened its first terminal at Cochin. From 1996 onwards, the company focused on expanding its presence as well as products and services. Geojit started depository services in 1997, offering customers Demat facility. In 1999, the company took membership in the

(BSE) and its shares were listed in the BSE in 2000. In February 2000, Geojit launched online trading. In 2003, the company ventured into commodity trading with the launch of rubber trading. In 2004, commodity trading in cardamom was launched. In 2005, Rakesh Jhunjhunwala, a renowned Indian Equity Investor, took a significant stake in the company and joined the Board of Directors of the company. In 2005, Geojit launches Geojit Technologies, another sister concern with an aim to develop state-of-the-art technologies for the financial services field. Geojit Credits, a subsidiary of Geojit Financial Services Ltd., was also launched after registering with the Reserve Bank of India as a Non-Banking Financial Company (NBFC). In the same year, Geojit shares were also listed on National Stock Exchange of India Limited. In 2012, Geojit launched Qualified Foreign Investors (QFI) Investment service. In 2018, the company launched Funds Genie, a Mutual Funds advisory and investment platform.

References

{{Online brokerages Financial services companies based in Kochi Multinational companies headquartered in India Indian companies established in 1987 Brokerage firms 1987 establishments in Kerala Financial services companies established in 1987 Companies listed on the National Stock Exchange of India Companies listed on the Bombay Stock Exchange