Institutional investors refer to large organizations or entities that invest money in various financial instruments such as stocks, bonds and real estate. These types of investments are typically made by pension funds, endowments, foundations, insurance companies, mutual funds, hedge funds, sovereign wealth funds and other similar institutions rather than individual investors or traders. Institutional investors often have a significant amount of capital to allocate towards their investment strategies, which can influence the market as they make large purchases or sales in financial markets.