Mumbai, Feb. 20 -- Weighed down by continued outflows-amounting to a record $18.9 billion in 2025-the ownership of foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) in companies listed on the National Stock Exchange (NSE) shrank to a 15.5-year low of 16.7% in the quarter ended December, according to data from the exchange. Within key indices, the share of FPIs in the Nifty 50 fell by 25 basis points (bps) quarter-on-quarter (q-o-q) to a more than 13-year low of 23.8%, while remaining broadly stable at 18.1% in the Nifty 500. One bps is one hundredth of a percentage point. On the other hand, the share of domestic mutual funds in NSE-listed companies rose to a record high of 11.1%, aided by strong inflows from systematic investment plans and sustained equity buying. Active funds held 9.1% and passive funds the rest. This marked the 10th consecutive quarter of record highs. The share of domestic institutional investors-including mutual funds, insurance companies, banks and other financial institutions-was at 19%, staying ahead of FPIs across the NSE-listed universe-the Nifty 50 and Nifty 500. The share of promoters in NSE-listed companies fell to a five-year low of 49.8% and a near seven-year low of 48.9% in the Nifty 500, while it edged up to 40.3% in the Nifty 50-the first increase in seven quarters. Direct ownership by individual investors in NSE-listed companies fell by 25 bps q-o-q to 9.3%. On a combined basis-directly and through domestic mutual funds-individuals held 18.6% of the market, marginally lower than the 22-year high recorded in the previous quarter. Household equity wealth increased by Rs.10 trillion in the first three quarters of FY26 (April-December), taking the cumulative accretion since April 2020 to about Rs.57 trillion. Total household holdings stood at Rs.87.6 trillion, reflecting an annualized growth of 34.2% since March 2020. FPIs stayed overweight on financial stocks, albeit with a softer tilt, and increased their overweight rating on communication services shares. They remained underweight in consumer staples and commodity-linked sectors including materials and large-cap energy, continued to be cautious on industrials, and maintained a neutral position on others, per the data. Domestic mutual funds, on the other hand, strengthened their overweight stance on large-cap financials, while remaining neutral on mid- and small-caps in the sector, stayed constructive on mid-tier consumer discretionary, retained and were underweight on consumer staples and maintained a negative stance on commodity sectors including energy and materials. The allocation by institutional investors to the Nifty 50, which has a 45% share of the total market capitalization, inched up to 60.9%, but remained steady in the top decile stocks, reflecting mid-cap outperformance in Q3. In value terms, FPI holdings in NSE-listed firms rose 4.6% q-o-q to Rs.78.7 trillion at the end of December. Domestic mutual funds' holdings rose 7% q-o-q to an all-time high of Rs.52.2 trillion, sustained by net equity inflows. The overall market capitalization of the 2,942 listed companies stood at $5 trillion as of January end....