1 / 8March was the worst month for India’s equity markets since the Covid-19 month of March 2020. Both Nifty and the Nifty Bank fell in double digits, while sectoral indices had it worst. India’s mutual funds used this opportunity to deploy some of the cash pile they have at their disposal from investors.
2 / 8According to Nuvama Alternative & Quantitative Research, cash and cash equivalents fell to ₹2.11 lakh crore in March from ₹2.40 lakh crore in February, reflecting a cash deployment of ₹29,300 crore during the month of March. Here’s a look at what India’s top fund houses bet on in the month gone by:
3 / 8SBI MF | India’s largest fund house by AUM bet on large private banks during the month, increasing stake in HDFC Bank (₹2,614 crore), ICICI Bank (₹2,400 crore), and also on Bharti Airtel (₹1,112 crore). The fund pared stake in Mahindra & Mahindra (₹699 crore), BPCL (₹641 crore), and HDFC AMC (₹473 crore). It bought fresh stake in names like Sedemac Mecha and Physicswallah, while making a complete exit from Maharashtra Scooters.
4 / 8ICICI Prudential MF | The recently listed fund house also bet on HDFC Bank (₹4,574 crore) and Bharti Airtel (₹2,111 crore) during the month of March, while also increasing its stake in Bajaj Finserv (₹1,259 crore). It reduced its stake in NALCO (₹524 crore), Indian Oil Corporation (₹416 crore) and Avenue Supermarts (₹392 crore). Central Mine Planning and Sedemac Mecha were fresh acquisitions made by the fund, while it made a complete exit from Rashi Peripherals.
5 / 8HDFC MF | HDFC Bank finds a mention in this funds’ bets for March as well with a ₹985 crore purchase. The fund also increased stakes in Reliance Industries (₹1,705 crore) and Eternal (₹1,431 crore). Sundram Fasteners (₹587 crore), UltraTech (₹383 crore) and ONGC (₹358 crore) were some stocks where the fund reduced its holdings in March. Like the other two, this fund also bought fresh stake in Sedemac Mecha, along with Powerica and made a complete exit from Corona Remedies.
6 / 8Kotak MF | The fund house bet big on Shriram Finance (₹801 crore), Axis Bank (₹641 crore) and India’s largest lender State Bank of India (₹569 crore). Prominent reductions in March included (₹481 crore), Infosys (₹413 crore) and HDFC Bank (₹356 crore). Powerica and Travel Food Services were new entrants on the buying front, while Canara Robeco AMC was the stock from which the fund made a complete exit.
7 / 8Axis MF | The fund bet on Axis Bank (₹1,042 crore), BSE (₹556 crore) and Sun Pharma (₹226 crore) during the month of March, while reducing its stake n HDFC Bank (₹421 crore), Ashok Leyland (₹379 crore) and Reliance Industries (₹371 crore). Piramal Finance and Acutaas Chemicals were fresh buys last month from the fund house, while TTK Prestige was a complete exit.
8 / 8DSP MF | The fund house also bet big on HDFC Bank (₹753 crore) last month, along with Bharti Airtel (₹291 crore), and ICICI Bank (₹344 crore). IPCA Labs (₹198 crore), Bajaj Finance (₹161 crore) and NTPC (₹137 crore). Similar to Axis MF, the fund house also bought fresh stake in Piramal Finance and Acutaas Chemicals. Hatsun Agro was the stock from where the fund exited last month.
