Desi guys beat FIIs as DII holding in Nifty50 hits all-time high of 24.8%

Domestic institutional investors increasingly have the upper hand in India’s benchmark index, with their holdings in the Nifty-50 rising to a record 24.8% in December 2025, a historic shift that puts local money ahead of foreign investors. This milestone comes amid relentless FII sales of over Rs 1.6 lakh crore by 2025, highlighting a steady reshaping of ownership patterns as domestic flows become the dominant force in frontline equities.Data shows that DII’s assets increased by 170 basis points year-on-year and 30 basis points sequentially, while FII’s assets fell by 90 basis points year-on-year and 20 basis points quarter-on-quarter to 24.3%. The difference is also visible at stock level. On a year-on-year basis, DIIs increased their holdings in 41 of the 50 Nifty companies, while FIIs reduced their holdings in 39. The trend also continued on a quarter-on-quarter basis with DIIs increasing their holdings in 35 companies while FIIs reducing their holdings in 33, Motilal Oswal said in a note.

Some of the sharpest increases in DII ownership, of more than 4 percentage points year-over-year, were seen at Eternal, Dr. Reddy’s Labs, Asian Paints, Tech Mahindra, Interglobe Aviation, Trent, Max Healthcare, Shriram Finance, Axis Bank, Bajaj Auto and Tata Consumer. Meanwhile, Bharti Airtel, Eicher Motors, Grasim, Bharat Electronics, Bajaj Finserv, Bajaj Finance, Hindalco, Maruti Suzuki, Wipro and Interglobe Aviation were among the stocks where FIIs increased their holdings annually.

The shift is reflected at the broader sector level within the Nifty-500 universe. DIIs added to their holdings in 22 of the 24 sectors, with the highest exposure to private banks at 34.7%, followed by consumer staples, consumer durables, NBFC non-loans and oil and gas. They also increased holdings in private banks and PSU banks by 240 basis points per year, besides notable increases in EMS, technology, telecom, retail and healthcare, the report said.

FIIs, on the other hand, reduced their holdings in 15 of the 24 sectors. Their top exposures remained in private banks, telecom, real estate, auto, healthcare, NBFC non-loans, technology, oil and gas and consumer durables at 45.7%. However, FIIs increased their holdings in select sectors such as telecom, chemicals, insurance and PSU banks every year.

Across market capitalization segments, FIIs have reduced their holdings in large, mid and small caps by 70 basis points, 50 basis points and 70 basis points respectively on an annual basis. They then only increased mid-cap exposure by 30 basis points, while reducing small-cap exposure and leaving large-cap exposure unchanged. DIIs, on the other hand, expanded their ownership across all market caps, up 170, 290 and 200 basis points year-over-year in large, mid and small caps respectively, with additional quarterly increases across the board.

Promoter ownership, which has historically been within a range, fell sharply to an all-time low of 48.8% in December 2025, down 90 basis points year-on-year and 50 basis points sequentially. The decline was largely driven by a revival in primary market activity over the past three quarters, with high valuations and strong investor appetite leading several promoters to cut their stakes.

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