FIC Global, Inc.'s (TWSE:3701) market cap touched NT$9.3b last week, benefiting both retail investors who own 33% as well as institutions

Key Insights

• Significant control over FIC Global by retail investors implies that the general public has more power to influence management and governance-related decisions
• 55% of the business is held by the top 4 shareholders
• Insiders own 24% of FIC Global

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To get a sense of who is truly in control of FIC Global, Inc. (TWSE:3701), it is important to understand the ownership structure of the business. We can see that retail investors own the lion's share in the company with 33% ownership. That is, the group stands to benefit the most if the stock rises (or lose the most if there is a downturn).

Following a 16% increase in the stock price last week, retail investors profited the most, but institutions who own 29% stock also stood to gain from the increase.

In the chart below, we zoom in on the different ownership groups of FIC Global.

See our latest analysis for FIC Global

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About FIC Global?

Many institutions measure their performance against an index that approximates the local market. So they usually pay more attention to companies that are included in major indices.

As you can see, institutional investors have a fair amount of stake in FIC Global. This can indicate that the company has a certain degree of credibility in the investment community. However, it is best to be wary of relying on the supposed validation that comes with institutional investors. They too, get it wrong sometimes. When multiple institutions own a stock, there's always a risk that they are in a 'crowded trade'. When such a trade goes wrong, multiple parties may compete to sell stock fast. This risk is higher in a company without a history of growth. You can see FIC Global's historic earnings and revenue below, but keep in mind there's always more to the story.

We note that hedge funds don't have a meaningful investment in FIC Global. The company's largest shareholder is Chun Nei Janny Chan, with ownership of 19%. For context, the second largest shareholder holds about 15% of the shares outstanding, followed by an ownership of 14% by the third-largest shareholder.

To make our study more interesting, we found that the top 4 shareholders control more than half of the company which implies that this group has considerable sway over the company's decision-making.

While it makes sense to study institutional ownership data for a company, it also makes sense to study analyst sentiments to know which way the wind is blowing. As far as we can tell there isn't analyst coverage of the company, so it is probably flying under the radar.

Insider Ownership Of FIC Global

While the precise definition of an insider can be subjective, almost everyone considers board members to be insiders. The company management answer to the board and the latter should represent the interests of shareholders. Notably, sometimes top-level managers are on the board themselves.

Most consider insider ownership a positive because it can indicate the board is well aligned with other shareholders. However, on some occasions too much power is concentrated within this group.

Our information suggests that insiders maintain a significant holding in FIC Global, Inc.. Insiders own NT$2.2b worth of shares in the NT$9.3b company. This may suggest that the founders still own a lot of shares. You can click here to see if they have been buying or selling.

General Public Ownership

The general public, who are usually individual investors, hold a 33% stake in FIC Global. While this size of ownership may not be enough to sway a policy decision in their favour, they can still make a collective impact on company policies.

Private Company Ownership

It seems that Private Companies own 15%, of the FIC Global stock. It's hard to draw any conclusions from this fact alone, so its worth looking into who owns those private companies. Sometimes insiders or other related parties have an interest in shares in a public company through a separate private company.

Next Steps:

I find it very interesting to look at who exactly owns a company. But to truly gain insight, we need to consider other information, too. To that end, you should be aware of the 1 warning sign we've spotted with FIC Global .

Of course, you might find a fantastic investment by looking elsewhere. So take a peek at this free list of interesting companies.

NB: Figures in this article are calculated using data from the last twelve months, which refer to the 12-month period ending on the last date of the month the financial statement is dated. This may not be consistent with full year annual report figures.

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This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.