Get your data right – in any given portfolio, weight of an individual security is influenced by its free-float i.e., shares potentially available for investors yet ‘Foreign Ownership Limit – FOL’ is often overlooked, partly because data providers don’t cover it (yes! even the biggest names) – it is a cap imposed by local regulators for foreigners to buy into local equity.
As the coverage goes global especially for country specific baskets, capturing FOL becomes critical. A few examples below point the differences.
| Ticker | Company | Country | Free-Float | FOL |
| TLS | Telstra | Australia | 85% | 35% |
| AC | Air Canada | Canada | 94% | 49% |
| 9432 | NTT | Japan | 48% | 33.33% |
| AAWW | Atlas Air Worldwide Holdings | United States | 93% | 25% |
| BBL | Bangkok Bank | Thailand | 98% | 22% |
| EZJ | Easyjet | United Kingdom | 75% | 49.50% |
| 2412 | Chunghwa Telecom Co | Taiwan | 65% | 49% |
| FPT | Fpt Corp | Vietnam | 70% | 49% |
| KT | KT Corp | S.Korea | 70% | 49% |