Motilal Oswal was born on May 15, 1962 in the small village of Padru in Rajasthan’s Barmer district in a family of grain traders.
After completing his bachelor’s degree from SPU Jain College in Falna, Motilal moved to Mumbai to become a Chartered Accountant. It was here, while staying at the Rajasthan Vidyarthi Griha hostel, that he met his future business partner Raamdeo Agrawal.
Set-Up of First Broking Unit
In 1987, Motilal Oswal and Raamdeo Agrawal established Motilal Oswal Financial Services Ltd (MOFSL) as a small sub-broking unit with just the two of them running the operations. As Motilal recalls:
“We started off with just two people – Raamdeo and myself – and a peon to assist us. Our first office was just a 150 sq ft room in Calcutta House at Nariman Point.”
Initially the firm focused solely on stock broking. However, the founders had bigger dreams. Over the next few decades, they expanded MOFSL’s offerings into a diverse financial services like wealth management, investment banking, asset management and more.
Key milestones in this journey include:
- Around 1990: Motilal Oswal acquired membership of the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE), marking MOFSL’s entry into stock broking
- 1994: Group company Vasant Holding Pvt Ltd acquired membership of the National Stock Exchange (NSE)
- 2005: Entered into investment banking business
- 2006: Started private equity fund business
- 2010: Set up mutual fund business Motilal Oswal Asset Management Company (MOAMC)
- 2013: Established housing finance arm Aspire Home Finance Corporation Ltd
Growth and Achievements
- Under Motilal’s leadership, MOFSL transformed from a fledgling 2-person sub-broker into a well-diversified financial services institution. Some key facts about the company:
- As of FY 2022-23, had over 11,000 employees and presence in over 550 cities through 2,500+ business locations.
- He served over 5.5 million customers with a range of services.
- Motilal’s total assets of ₹22,949 crore and net worth of ₹6,142 crore.
- Reported revenue of ₹4,178 crore and net profit of ₹935 crore.
- Had an AUM of ₹45,620 crore across asset management and wealth businesses.
MOFSL’s equity research team of over 25 analysts covers more than 250 companies across 20 sectors. The company’s consistent research efforts have led to top rankings in the prestigious AsiaMoney Brokers Poll over the years.
Its broking arm has won the ‘Best Performing Equity Broker’ award at the CNBC TV18 Financial Advisor Awards for five consecutive years till 2019 when it was inducted into the ‘Hall of Fame’.
Neighbour of Mukesh Ambani
Ambani’s famous residence Antilia, worth around Rs 15,000 crore, is located on Altamount Road in South Mumbai, an area popularly known as “Billionaires’ Road”. It is said to be the most expensive property in the world after Buckingham Palace in London.
In 2020, Motilal Oswal purchased duplex apartments on the 13th and 17th floors of the ’33 South’ building, in close proximity to Antilia. Oswal paid a rate of Rs 1.48 lakh per square foot for the property.
The Driving Force
Motilal Oswal has served on the governing boards of BSE, Indian Merchant’s Chamber and various SEBI committees. He has been awarded the Rashtriya Samman Patra by the Indian government for being among the highest income taxpayers for 5 years from FY95-FY99.
He has served on the governing boards of BSE, Indian Merchant’s Chamber and various SEBI committees. Motilal is currently the President of Jain International Trade Organisation (JITO) and a trustee of Agarwal Oswal Hostel.
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The 61-year-old has also authored books like ‘The Essence of Business & Management’ and ‘The Essence of Life’. As of 2023, Motilal Oswal held a 69.53% promoter stake in the publicly listed MOFSL.
