A sum of Rs 1 lakh invested in the sensex or Nifty in January 2007 has grown to more than Rs 1.5 lakh now. The same amount, if invested five years ago, would have swelled to Rs 6.5 lakh. You could have accumulated Rs 5.5 lakh from it if the investment was made 10 years back (keeping in mind the fluctuations in the market). Over 15 years, it would have increased eight times despite the entire hubbub the market had to go through.

If you are still sitting on the fence wondering whether to start dabbling in stocks, here’s some more incentive for you.

Brokerage houses have special offers for people keen to invest in stocks — a free trading account for one year, flat brokerages, free insurance advice and a three-in-one facility of a demat account, trading account and zero-balance bank account.

Stockbrokers used to charge 1 per cent of the traded value as commission until a couple of years ago. However, the advent of institutional brokerage houses and online stock trading have helped crop the rate by more than half.

Discount brokerages such as Reliance Money offer a flat fee for stock trading irrespective of the value of the trade. Reliance Money charges a flat fee of Rs 500 for one year for a total trading value of up to Rs 5 lakh, including the purchase and sale of shares. Since October, the company has waived brokerage fees for investors who want to sign up for a demat and trading account with it within January 31.

This inspired other brokerages to come up with a matching special offer of a 0.10 per cent brokerage fee to clients signing up for online stock trading services.

These are mostly limited period offers valid for six months to one year. However, there is no need to keep a security deposit with the broker and depending on the value of the transaction, one can always bargain with the broker for a lower brokerage fee.

Stockbrokers used to insist on keeping a security or margin deposit of Rs 5,000 to Rs 10,000 to open a trading account. Moreover, you had to pay between Rs 500 and Rs 750 as a charge for opening an account. Stiff competition has got rid of such practices.

Brokerages such as Reliance Money and SMC Global are also offering a three-in-one facility — an online trading account, a demat account and zero-balance bank account. They have tied up with banks such as ICICI Bank, UTI Bank, HDFC Bank and IDBI Bank for a savings bank account that can be linked with a trading and demat account for direct debit or credit of money after buying or selling stocks.

Others such as SKP Securities offer value-added services such as free advice on insurance planning to clients who sign up for its online trading and e-contract services.

For full-service brokers, offering life insurance is a natural next step. They try to differentiate themselves from discount brokers by reaching out to work with a client’s entire financial situation. That way they can also justify higher commissions.

Reliance Money has an insurance broking licence and sells plans of different insurance companies. SKP Securities is yet to get a licence. Therefore it can only suggest right and cost-effective insurance plans but not sell them.

A beginner needs to be aware of a few things before signing up for any such offer. According to a directive by the Securities and Exchange Board of India, no depository participant (DP) — neither a stockbroker nor a bank — can charge fees for opening a demat account from individual investors.

DPs, however, can charge an annual maintenance fee for a demat account, which varies from one firm to another.

HSBC charges Rs 3,000 from an investor who doesn’t have a savings or current account with the bank. The annual maintenance fee is Rs 250 for SMC Global Securities. Kotak Bank charges Rs 360, ICICI Bank Rs 750 and HDFC Bank takes Rs 650.

Reliance Money and SMC Global are not charging any annual maintenance fee for the first year. The fee is levied from the second year.

When you buy a share, its credit to your demat account does not attract any charge. But it does when you sell a stock. The debit charges also vary widely from one depository participant to another.

Therefore, compare charges across different brokerage houses and select the one that costs the least.

Happy investing!