The first peek into the stock market’s hottest prop shop and the first family of derivatives
Rows of computer screens and a hodgepodge of wires make it look like any common office. Simple folk wearing half-sleeved shirts and sandals peck away at the keyboards without losing thread of their relaxed chatter. Soon a round of milky chai is served. It is difficult to believe that this is the place where a mini stock market legend has unfolded in the recent years.
Today, the firm is noted for being ahead of rivals in using technology to gain trading advantage. Fund manager Devendra Nevgi, who had done business with Dolat for more than a decade, recalls that as early as 1998, the firm imported Korean keyboards with embedded mice to enable their traders punch in orders faster than their rivals.
“Dolat has not been without its share of controversies in the market. But they have managed to steer clear mostly. There was this tax case which they settled. I haven’t seen anybody else signing a single cheque for Rs. 50 crore. It showed the cash liquidity of their business model,” says a source.
During the tour of his office, Shailesh takes us to another corner where a bunch of men in their early 20s trade in agri-commodities. The firm is taking small steps in this area and the volumes are modest as of now. But it is eyeing the arbitrage between the spot and futures markets in these commodities.
Formula DecodedThe Shahs live by a very strict code:
(This story appears in the 09 October, 2009 issue of Forbes India. To visit our Archives, click here.)