Understanding Anchor Investors

Anchor investors are large institutional investors who participate in IPOs before retail investors. Anchor bidding occurs 1 day before public subscription opens. SEBI reserves up to 60% of issue size for anchor investors (or 30% for mega IPOs). Anchor investors include mutual funds, FIIs, insurance companies, and domestic institutions. Anchor allocation is typically at price band upper limit or near it. Lock-in period of 30 days applies to anchor allocations. Anchor participation indicates institutional confidence in IPO valuations. Large anchor demand supports listing premium potential. Anchor bidding data provides market sentiment indicators. Over-subscription by anchor investors signals strong demand fundamentals. Anchor details including allocation quantity and fund names disclosed in announcements.