NSE Q4 FY25 recap: Promoters ownership slumps to 22-year low; mutual fund ownership at all-time high

The latest quarterly report by the National Stock Exchange, which tracks the ownership of India Inc. companies, has highlighted some interesting trends in ownership patterns of India Inc. companies in the last quarter of the financial year 2024-25.

The report shows that while the share of promoters and the government has decreased in the companies listed on the National Stock Exchange, with the return of the Foreign Portfolio Investors, the share of  Domestic Mutual Funds has risen to a new high.

Fall in promoter share

As per the NSE report, promoter ownership fell for a third consecutive quarter of FY25 in Q4 in the companies listed on the exchange. With a 28 basic points quarter-on-quarter decline, the promoter share in the listed companies stood at 50.1 percent in Q4. 

Promoter share in the Nifty 50 companies decreased to the lowest in the last 22 years. Promoter share in the Nifty 50 companies came down to 40.6 percent after a decline of 57 bps. The report attributes the promoter share decrease to the decline in government and foreign holdings. 

Drop in government share

The government’s ownership share in the listed companies dropped by 5 bps QoQ to 9.9 percent in the March quarter, the lowest in the last six quarters. The government’s share in the Nifty 50 and Nifty 500 stood at 6.8 and 10.6 percent, respectively, in the quarter ended in March. 

The NSE report says that the decline in the government’s share was partly because of underperformance by the PSU banks in the quarter. In FY25, the Nifty PSU Bank index was down by 10.6 percent while the Nifty total market index gained 5.5 percent in the same period. 

FPI and DMFs gains

Since March 2023, FPI ownership has been on a decline due to the outflow of foreign investors from the Indian market. In the Q4 FY25, with the return of FPI, their ownership increased 12 bps, taking the FPI share in India Inc to 17.5 percent. The FPI investors’ ownership increased in the private banks for the most part. 

With encouragement from the high SIP inflow, the Domestic Mutual Funds share in Inc. rose to a fresh all-time high at 10.4 percent. DMFs’ share in the Nifty 50 and Nifty 500 stood at 12.6 and 10.7 percent,  respectively, in FY25. 

Ownership share of individual investors in the NSE-listed companies decreased by 30 bps QoQ in Q4. Individual investors’ share stood at 9.5 percent in the March quarter, a seven-quarter low.