Business · Markets · 2 hrs ago
Insurance and NPS equity investments fall 45% in September quarter
Insurance companies and NPS funds cut their Indian stock investments in the September quarter.
Together, they invested ₹22,714 crore, down 45% from ₹41,465 crore in the previous quarter, according to NSE data.
Insurance companies invested about ₹8,013 crore, while NPS funds invested about ₹14,700 crore.
Higher bond yields and falling share prices made debt investments more attractive to these investors.
Lower share prices also reduced the value of insurers’ existing holdings, which can affect the financial cushion they need to meet policyholder claims.
Mutual funds continued to buy Indian stocks, investing ₹1.09 lakh crore in the quarter, although that was less than in the previous quarter.
The data gives no indication of what insurers or pension funds will invest next.
Insurance companies and National Pension System funds invested ₹22,714 crore in Indian equities in the September quarter, down 45% from the previous quarter.
Insurance companies invested around ₹8,013 crore, while NPS funds invested around ₹14,700 crore.
Higher bond yields and falling stock prices made debt investments more attractive, according to the report.
The drop was the steepest in the combined quarterly investments of the two groups in five quarters.
- Who
- Indian insurance companies and National Pension System funds.
- What
- Their combined investment in Indian equities fell 45% to ₹22,714 crore.
- When
- The September quarter; the year is not stated.
- Where
- Indian equities.
- Why
- Higher bond yields and falling stock prices encouraged greater allocations to debt. The report also says market weakness reduced the value of equity investments.
This story does not have two clearly opposing sides.
Insurance companies and NPS funds invested a combined ₹41,465 crore in equities.
Their combined equity investments fell to ₹22,714 crore.
- Combined investment
- ₹22,714 crore in the September quarter
- Quarterly decline
- 45% from ₹41,465 crore in the previous quarter
- Insurance company investment
- Around ₹8,013 crore
- NPS investment
- Around ₹14,700 crore
- NPS equity allocation cap
- Raised from 15% to 25% under guidelines issued on March 28, 2025
What people are saying
Some of the decline can be attributed to market weakness, which has reduced the value of equity investments
The eight weeks of market falls have affected insurers' solvency calculations