Nikhil Dhoka has taken charge as Chief Executive Officer of JioBlackRock Broking Private Limited, the stockbroking arm of the Jio Financial Services and BlackRock joint venture. Dhoka, who earlier led product and revenue at Kotak Neo, announced the move on 29 October 2026 and has held the role since September 2026. His appointment comes as the company prepares its digital-first retail broking platform for investors in India.
Who Is Nikhil Dhoka, the New CEO of JioBlackRock Broking?
Nikhil Dhoka is a digital product and business leader with more than 20 years of experience across broking, payments and e-commerce. He is a B.Tech in Mechanical Engineering graduate from the Indian Institute of Technology Bombay and most recently served as Senior Executive Vice President at Kotak Neo.
Dhoka spent nearly four years at Kotak Neo, the digital trading platform of Kotak Securities. There he headed product and revenue. Under his leadership, the team rebuilt trading journeys and launched new features for traders and wealth clients. The platform now serves nearly six million users and ranks among the top brokers by trading volume.
Before Kotak, Dhoka worked as Vice President for Product at Paytm from 2017 to 2020. He handled the Paytm app experience across wallet, UPI, bill payments and merchant payments. He also led the seller ecosystem at Paytm Mall and the launch of mini apps on the Paytm platform.
From 2020 to 2022, Dhoka served as Director of Product Strategy at Western Union Digital. He led the mobile app and website for money transfers across more than 40 countries. He also managed digital growth and retail to digital shift during the pandemic period.
His earlier career includes roles at Browntape, a multichannel e-commerce firm, and Reliance Retail, where he worked on the Reliance One loyalty programme. He also founded Unit Marketing Solutions, a loyalty and customer relationship firm, in 2009. At JioBlackRock Broking, Dhoka has said his aim is to make markets easier to understand, so more Indians can take part with confidence.
What Is JioBlackRock Broking Private Limited?
JioBlackRock Broking Private Limited is a digital brokerage company that lets investors buy and sell shares, exchange traded funds and other market products through an app or website. A digital broker is a stockbroker that offers trading mainly online, with low cost and simple design, instead of through physical branches.
The company was incorporated on 20 January 2025. It is a wholly owned subsidiary of JioBlackRock Investment Advisers Private Limited. That advisory firm itself is a 50:50 joint venture between Jio Financial Services Limited and BlackRock Inc of the United States.
JioBlackRock Broking received its certificate of registration from the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) on 25 June 2025. SEBI is the market regulator in India, headquartered in Mumbai and established in 1988 as a non-statutory body and given statutory powers through the SEBI Act, 1992. The registration allows the company to act as a stockbroker and clearing member. A stockbroker buys and sells securities for clients on a stock exchange. A clearing member settles those trades and ensures money and shares change hands correctly.
The broking business is still in incubation and product development. Jio Financial Services has said the platform started rollout in October 2026 with an introductory zero brokerage offer on stocks, exchange traded funds and initial public offerings. The stated goal is to combine Jio Financial Services distribution reach with BlackRock investment and technology strength to serve self-directed retail investors.
How the Jio Financial Services and BlackRock Joint Venture Is Structured
The JioBlackRock business is a 50:50 joint venture between Jio Financial Services Limited and BlackRock Inc. Jio Financial Services is part of the Reliance group and offers loans, payments, insurance and investment services through a digital-first model. BlackRock is a leading global investment manager, founded in 1988 and headquartered in New York, with more than $11 trillion in client assets.
The two partners announced the venture on 26 July 2023. Each side planned an initial investment of $150 million. They signed a second joint venture in April 2024 for wealth management and broking. SEBI gave in-principle approval for the mutual fund business on 4 October 2024.
The venture now works through three related companies that together offer advice, funds and trading access:
| Company | Role | Key Approval Date |
|---|---|---|
| JioBlackRock Asset Management Private Limited | Manages JioBlackRock Mutual Fund schemes | 26 May 2025, approval to act as asset management company |
| JioBlackRock Investment Advisers Private Limited | Gives personalised investment advice, registered as investment adviser | 10 June 2025, SEBI investment adviser registration |
| JioBlackRock Broking Private Limited | Provides trading platform for self-directed investors | 25 June 2025, stockbroker and clearing member registration |
JioBlackRock Asset Management Private Limited and JioBlackRock Trustee Private Limited were incorporated on 28 October 2024. JioBlackRock Investment Advisers Private Limited was incorporated on 6 September 2024 and is based at Worli in Mumbai. The broking company was added on 20 January 2025 as its wholly owned arm.
Sid Swaminathan, former head of International Index Equity at BlackRock, leads the asset management company as Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer. Marc Pilgrem leads the investment advisory company as Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer.
What Is Jio BlackRock Mutual Fund?
JioBlackRock Mutual Fund is a mutual fund set up by the Jio Financial Services and BlackRock venture to offer managed investment schemes to retail and institutional investors in India. A mutual fund pools money from many investors and invests it in shares, bonds or cash products. SEBI registered the fund and approved its asset management company on 26 May 2025.
The fund follows a digital-first approach. It uses BlackRock data and risk tools, including the Aladdin investment and risk management system, to design products with clear pricing.
Its first offerings were cash and debt schemes. The maiden New Fund Offer, or NFO, closed on 7 July 2025 and collected ₹17,800 crore from three schemes, the JioBlackRock Overnight Fund, JioBlackRock Liquid Fund and JioBlackRock Money Market Fund. An NFO is the first sale of a new mutual fund scheme. These three schemes drew more than 90 institutional investors and over 67,000 retail investors.
The venture then moved into equity and passive products. The JioBlackRock Flexi Cap Fund NFO ran from 23 September to 7 October 2025. A flexi cap fund invests across large cap, mid cap and small cap shares. The scheme tracks the Nifty 500 Total Returns Index as its benchmark and uses BlackRock Systematic Active Equity methods. Other launches include index funds linked to the Nifty 50, Nifty Next 50, Nifty Midcap 150, Nifty Smallcap 250 and a G-Sec index, along with sector rotation and balanced advantage ideas.
This is BlackRock’s second major entry into Indian asset management. BlackRock earlier held a joint venture with DSP as DSP BlackRock from 2008 until it exited in 2018. The Jio partnership marks its return with a wider plan that links funds, advice and broking on one digital platform.
Key Takeaways
- Nikhil Dhoka took charge as CEO of JioBlackRock Broking Private Limited in September 2026 and announced the role on 29 October 2026.
- Dhoka earlier served as Senior Executive Vice President for product and revenue at Kotak Neo and also worked at Paytm and Western Union.
- JioBlackRock Broking was incorporated on 20 January 2025 and received SEBI registration as stockbroker and clearing member on 25 June 2025.
- The broking firm is a wholly owned arm of JioBlackRock Investment Advisers, a 50:50 joint venture between Jio Financial Services and BlackRock.
- JioBlackRock Mutual Fund received SEBI approval on 26 May 2025 and its maiden NFO collected ₹17,800 crore across overnight, liquid and money market schemes.
