Business: Mutual fund (MF) and retail shareholding in NSE-listed companies hit new record highs during the quarter ended June 2024, while foreign portfolio investors (FPI) holdings fell to their lowest level in 12 years. This is a continuation of the trend where domestic institutions are tightening their hold on locally listed companies amid an exodus of foreign capital. According to data tracker Prime Infobase, MF holdings rose to 9.17 per cent as on June 30, 2024 from 8.93 per cent as on March 31, 2024. This increase in ownership was led by net inflows of Rs 1.1 trillion by domestic MFs. Meanwhile, retail holdings rose 12 basis points (bps) quarter-on-quarter (q-o-q) to 7.64 per cent as on June 30. FPI holdings declined 34 basis points to 17.38 per cent due to withdrawals of Rs 7,700 crore during the June quarter. Apart from FPIs, stakes of Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC), high net worth individuals (HNIs) and private promoters also saw a decline. LIC’s stake fell to an all-time low of 3.64 per cent on June 30 from 3.75 per cent on March 31. This was despite net buying of Rs 12,400 crore during the quarter.
Gap between stakes
The stake of domestic institutional investors (DIIs) increased from 16.07 per cent to 16.23 per cent during the quarter. As a result, the gap between FPI and DII stakes has narrowed to a new low. The biggest gap between FPI and DII stakes was in the quarter ended March 2015, when it was 49.82 per cent. The government’s (as promoter) stake in equity rose to a seven-year high of 10.64 per cent on the back of strong performance of several PSUs. On the other hand, the stake of private promoters declined to a five-year low of 40.88 per cent. In the last 10 quarters alone, the shares of private promoters have declined by 428 bps from 45.16 per cent as on December 31, 2021. Pranav Haldea, Managing Director (MD), Prime Database Group, said, “The fast-growing
