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StepTrade Share Services
StepTrade operates as a regulated asset manager based in Ahmedabad, managing multiple SEBI-registered Category II and III Alternative Investment Funds.
StepTrade Share Services
StepTrade operates as a regulated asset manager based in Ahmedabad, managing multiple SEBI-registered Category II and III Alternative Investment Funds. The firm was built to capture India's expanding SME exchange ecosystem, a capital-market layer the firm argues is fundamentally underpriced and under-researched. Its fund range — Chanakya Opportunities Fund I, Steptrade Revolution Fund I and II, and the Steptrade India Fund — structures access for domestic and international investors through a co-existing Foreign Portfolio Investment license. The investment mandate is long-only, fundamentals-driven, and concentrated on micro-to-small-capitalization companies listed on the NSE Emerge and BSE SME platforms. Rather than passive indexing, StepTrade runs a research-heavy stock-selection engine focused on governance quality, scalable unit economics, and potential for main-board migration. Portfolio construction spans multiple industrial-growth themes the firm tracks in published research: India's renewable-energy capex buildup, defense indigenization, and small-scale biopharma supply chains. While the firm does not name individual portfolio companies publicly, its content indicates active positions across clean-energy hardware, drone manufacturing, and Ayurvedic supply-chain businesses. The firm is lean in disclosed scale. Team size and aggregate deployment are not published. StepTrade reports having engaged more than 100 SMEs through its funds, with over 400 investor touchpoints and a marketing footprint that extends to the UAE and Kuwait. A blog series from May 2026 details the firm's internal playbook for interpreting Q4 FY2026 earnings in the microcap space, including a framework for reading quarterly activity reports under SEBI's evolving AIF disclosure rules. StepTrade's structure sits at a regulatory intersection: it is both an onshore Indian AIF manager and an FPI, allowing it to pool offshore capital into the same SME-equity slots that domestic HNIs access. This dual-registration format is uncommon among India's dedicated microcap managers. The model ties fee economics to liquidity transformation — buying small, holding through an exchange upgrade, and selling into broader institutional ownership once the stock moves to the main board.
General information
Firm type
Private Equity
Year founded
—
AUM
Undisclosed
Location
Region
Asia
Country
India
City
Ahmedabad
Corporate office
Ahmedabad, India
Sector focus
Frequently asked questions
What is StepTrade's investment vehicle structure?
StepTrade manages SEBI-registered Alternative Investment Funds, primarily Category II and III. Its listed vehicles include the Chanakya Opportunities Fund series and the Steptrade Revolution Fund series. The firm also holds an FPI license, which creates a regulated onshore-offshore funnel for global investors to participate in the same SME-equity strategies.
Does StepTrade invest in private companies or only in listed SMEs?
The firm's core strategy targets companies already listed on India's SME exchanges, not private pre-IPO rounds. The logic is to capture the value expansion that occurs when a company migrates from the SME board to the main exchange, while having a daily market price and regulatory filings to inform underwriting.
How does StepTrade source its investment ideas?
StepTrade uses an in-house research function that scans the NSE Emerge and BSE SME universes for companies with strong governance, scalable business models, and a plausible path to main-board listing. The firm supplements fundamental analysis with thematic macro research on India's capex cycle, covering sectors from green hydrogen to biopharma.
What sectors does StepTrade explicitly avoid?
The firm does not target large-cap equities, private venture capital, or passive index strategies. Its content makes clear it selects only for SME- and microcap-listed companies, avoiding sectors without a visible main-board migration pathway.
Who runs investment decisions at StepTrade?
StepTrade does not publicly name its investment committee or individual portfolio managers. The firm markets itself as a team-based, research-driven manager, but no named principals appear on its website or in its regulatory filings accessible through this research.
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