Life insurance, pension funds share buys hit five-year high

Mint

a day ago

Life insurance companies and pension funds have added heft to the continuing inflow of money from domestic mutual funds into stock markets in the first six months of this year. They have net invested ₹69,900 crore in the January-June period, the highest in any full year since 2021, per NSE data. Comparatively, they net invested ₹27,487 crore in the same period last year.
The inflows come in the face of net outflows from foreign portfolio investors (FPIs). Market experts said these inflows are expected to grow further as more investors turn to retirement-focused products.
'The inflows from pension and insurance will only increase with time and act as a bulwark along with mutual funds to the FPI selling," said Amol Joshi, founder of PlanRupee Investments. 'As a younger population tends to be financially savvier than in the past, thanks to the growing equity cult, one might see them allocating more money toward growth assets like equity."
In the first half of 2025, life insurers like LIC, SBI Life, and Kotak Life, along with pension funds such as Axis Pension Fund and ICICI Prudential Pension Funds Management Co, among others, net invested about one-fifth of the total ₹3 trillion net buying by domestic institutional investors (DIIs).
To be sure, mutual funds continue to be the largest investors with net buying of ₹2.43 trillion in 2025 through June, the data shows. In the same period, FPIs net sold ₹99,887crore worth shares.
During the April-June quarter, in the midst of tariff tensions and a conflict with Pakistan, the Nifty 50 gyrated from a low of 21,743.65 on 7 April to a high of 25,669.35 on 30 June, an 18% recovery. The dips were utilised by the insurers and pension funds to pump in money into the equity markets as, unlike mutual funds, pension funds can't sit on cash in excess of 10%, per industry sources.
'Two events, one being on tariffs and the other the tensions on the border, presented an opportunity for buying the dips and the (life insurance) premiums that were received in the March quarter were deployed in the June quarter, resulting in a bump-up of flows," said Hemant Kanawala, senior executive vice-president & head - equity at Kotak Mahindra Life Insurance.
While market volatility gave insurers a chance to invest at lower prices, low fees and tax benefits have made pension funds attractive for retirement planning. As these funds grow, more of the savings will likely flow into assets like equities, experts said.
'The growing popularity of the pension funds is contributing to greater inflows into financial assets such as equities and debt," said Shyamsunder Bhat, chief investment officer at Axis Pension Fund.
Bhat added that reasons for the rising popularity include the need for a retirement corpus, the fact that 60% of the accumulated corpus can be withdrawn tax-free at the time of retirement, and attractive fund management fee of 9 bps. The remaining corpus is an annuity charged at the investors' applicable tax slab, he explained.
For context, mutual funds' fund management fee for top three equity index funds is around 30-35 bps. One bps equals 0.01%.
'With increasing awareness of NPS (national pension system) as an excellent retirement planning product, the inflows into NPS are only set to grow as more and more people join the scheme from the current low penetration levels," said K. Sivakumar, chief investment officer at ICICI Prudential Pension Funds Management Co., adding that the low fund management fee makes NPS one of the most cost-effective retirement planning products in the country.
'Besides, NPS subscribers have the option to switch asset allocation and the fund manager without any charges every year," Sivakumar said.
The insurance category comprises 25 players–state-owned LIC and 24 private life insurers. The new business premium as of the quarter ended June stood at ₹93,545 crore.
In the new pension scheme category, the number of companies are 10–three PSUs and seven private funds. The total AUM of pension funds as of June end stood at ₹15.4 trillion, including equities, and government and corporate bonds.
Meanwhile, Kanawala of Kotak Mahindra Life Insurance said the markets expect India and the US to reach a trade deal on tariffs. If that happens, the recovery seen since early April is likely to continue. But if the talks don't lead to tariffs being cut below 25% on Indian exports to the US, the market may pause or consolidate, with domestic investors likely stepping in to offset foreign selling.