The study, conducted by SEBI’s Department of Economic and Policy Analysis (DEPA)’s officers Laltu Pore and Pampana Hari Nayak Akshay, analysed anchor allotment, depository holding and closing price data at six points, 29, 33, 60, 93, 180 and 365 days from the date of allotment to assess selling around the two prescribed lock-in periods as well as longer-term holding behaviour.
Aggregate anchor exit was 3.2% immediately after the first unlock, rising to around 8% by 60 days and 17.3% after the second unlock at 90 days. This indicates that most anchors do not exit aggressively immediately after the mandatory lock-ins expire.
However, selling accelerates significantly over the longer term. Among 167 IPOs listed up to the end of 2024 with a complete one-year holding history, cumulative anchor exit increased from around 4% at 30 days to 9% at 60 days, 19% at 90 days, 34% at 180 days and 51% at 365 days.
FPIs accounted for the largest share of anchor allotments at 43.8%, followed by mutual funds at 38.5%. Other QIBs, including insurance companies and banks, accounted for 10.5%, while AIFs contributed 5.3%.
The FPI-MF gap widened sharply over time. FPIs exited around 20% of their anchor allocation by the 90-day mark, compared with about 15% for mutual funds. By 365 days, FPI exits had risen to around 60%, against 38% for mutual funds. Body corporates recorded an exit of 58%, AIFs 55% and other QIBs 46%.
FPIs were also the largest source of absolute anchor selling. Their cumulative exit by one year stood at about ₹22,474 crore, against an anchor allotment of ₹37,491 crore. Mutual funds, in comparison, sold around ₹12,228 crore from an allotment of ₹31,529 crore.
The study found that issue size was closely linked to anchor exit behaviour. IPOs with an issue size of up to ₹250 crore recorded the highest exits — 9.1% at 30 days, 20.3% at 60 days and 32.4% at 90 days. For the one-year cohort, 72.5% of anchor holdings in this category had been sold, compared with 40.8% for IPOs sized ₹1,001-2,500 crore.
The study also found evidence of price pressure when anchor selling was high. Stocks where more than 10% of the anchor portion was sold recorded an average price decline of about 3.5% between T+29 and T+33, compared with a 0.4% decline for stocks where anchor exit was up to 2.5%. The median decline in the high-exit category was around 6%.
FPIs were the biggest contributors to heavy selling, recording an average exit of 24.5% in the high-exit category, compared with 11.5% for mutual funds. The study therefore indicates a marked difference in the behaviour of the two largest anchor investor groups, with mutual funds showing greater retention of their IPO allocations.
