Sovereign wealth funds, pension players leave other FPIs blinking

Long-term players have been raising their bets on India.

- SACHIN P MAMPATTA Mumbai, 22 September

Entities controlled by governments — sovereign wealth funds, and pension funds — have recorded higher growth in equity assets under custody compared to other foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) over the past five years.

Overall, FPI assets have grown 139.5 per cent since August 2020, while sovereign wealth fund investments have grown 155.2 per cent. Investments by pension funds and international or multilateral organisations or agencies have grown even faster.

The Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) announced earlier this month that it was making it easier for certain FPIs to invest in India. This includes the entities listed above, in addition to central banks and entities controlled or at least 75 per cent owned by government and government-related investors. Four out of the five key categories for which clear data was available have seen equity holdings rise faster than their peers.