Big-10 funds and their portfolio stock moves in March 2023

15 Apr 2023 , 09:19 AM

Here, we look at the top 10 AMCs by equity AUM and evaluate their portfolio shifts at 2 levels. Firstly, we look at the large cap stocks that they purchased and at the large cap holdings that they tweaked in March 2023. These 10 funds, because of their size, represents a microcosm of the Indian equity mutual fund investments and gives a quick view of preferred stocks in a month. At the second level, we also check the most preferred stocks of each fund house from an alpha perspective.

SBI Mutual Fund: equity portfolio churn in March 2023

Let us first look at the shares SBI Mutual Fund bought in the month of March 2023, across all market cap classes but predominantly large caps. In terms of MOM percentage increase, SBI MF added to its positions only in Kotak Mahindra Bank, Infosys Ltd, Bharti Airtel and L&T in March 2023. That is a rather steady approach for the largest equity fund house.

SBI Mutual Fund was neutral on stocks like HDFC Bank and ICICI Bank. However, SBI MF cut stakes in large cap stocks like State Bank of India, Reliance Industries Ltd and ITC Ltd. The fund’s top 5 stock picks for March 2023 in terms of percentage accretion in holdings include HFDC AMC, BHEL, Biocon Ltd, REC Ltd and Mphasis Ltd.

ICICI Prudential Mutual Fund: equity portfolio churn in March 2023

Let us look at the large cap shares that ICICI Prudential Mutual Fund bought in March 2023. In terms of MOM percentage increase, ICICI Prudential Mutual Fund added to its positions substantially in Infosys Ltd, Reliance Industries and Bharti Airtel. They also added to positions in ICICI Bank, NTPC Ltd and L&T. 

ICICI Pru MF remained neutral on Axis Bank and ONGC Ltd in March 2023. There were several stocks in which ICICI Prudential MF cut positions. These included HDFC Bank and Sun Pharma. The fund’s top 5 stock picks for March 2023 based on percentage increase in holdings were Gillette India, Atul Ltd, Dalmia Bharat, Page Industries and LTTS.

HDFC Mutual Fund: equity portfolio churn in March 2023

Let us start with the shares that HDFC Mutual Fund bought in March 2023, mainly  in the large cap space. In terms of MOM percentage increase, HDFC Mutual Fund added to its positions in large cap stocks like Infosys Ltd, Reliance Industries, Axis Bank and HDFC Bank.

HDFC Mutual Fund stayed neutral on ICICI Bank, ITC Ltd and NTPC Ltd. However, HDFC Mutual Fund sharply cut positions in stocks like SBI, HDFC Ltd and Larsen & Toubro. The fund’s top 5 stock picks for March 2023 based on percentage increase in holdings included Dixon Technologies, Sona BLW, Biocon Ltd, Motilal Oswal Financial and DLF Ltd.

Nippon India Mutual Fund: equity portfolio churn in March 2023

Let us now turn to the stocks Nippon India MF bought in March 2023, across large caps. In terms of MOM percentage increase, Nippon India MF added to positions in Coal India Ltd and Reliance Industries Ltd in a big way. It also added other large caps like Infosys Ltd during the month of March 2023.

During March 2023, Nippon India MF cut its positions quite heavily across stocks like HDFC Bank Ltd, NTPC Ltd, Power Grid Corporation, ONGC Ltd, ICICI Bank, Axis Bank and SBI. The fund’s top 5 stock picks for March 2023 based on percentage increase in holdings included Kirloskar Oil Engines, HDFC AMC, JK Lakshmi Cement, Jubilant Foodworks and ICICI Prudential Life Insurance Ltd.

UTI Mutual Fund: equity portfolio churn in March 2023

What are the shares that UTI Mutual Fund bought and sold in March 2023? In terms of MOM percentage increase, UTI MF added to its large cap positions in HDFC Ltd and Kotak Mahindra Bank Ltd. UTI Bank was neutral in March 2023 on ICICI Bank Ltd, HDFC Bank Ltd, TCS and ITC Ltd.

The fund cut its positions in Reliance Industries, Infosys Ltd, Axis Bank and Bharti Airtel during March 2023. The fund’s top 5 stock picks for the month of March 2023 based on the percentage increase in holdings included NMDC Ltd, Canara Bank, Varun Beverages Ltd, Emami Ltd and Nippon life India AMC Ltd.

Aditya Birla Sun Life (ABSL) Mutual Fund: equity portfolio churn in March 2023

Let us start with the shares that Aditya Birla Sun Life (ABSL) Mutual Fund bought in March 2023; predominantly in the large cap space. In terms of MOM percentage accretion, ABSL MF added to its positions in Sun Pharma, Reliance Industries, Larsen & Toubro, HDFC Ltd, Bharti Airtel, SBI and Infosys Ltd. Overall a month well spent buying large caps.

ABSL Mutual Fund stayed neutral on HDFC Bank Ltd and Axis Bank Ltd and only cut positions in ICICI Bank Ltd in March 2023. The fund’s top 5 stock picks for March 2023 based on percentage accretion in holdings included Samvardhana Motherson, Devyani International, Home First Finance, Phoenix Mills and Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd (HAL).

Axis Mutual Fund: equity portfolio churn in March 2023

Let us now turn to the shares that Axis Mutual Fund traded in March 2023, across market cap classes. In terms of MOM percentage increase, Axis Mutual Fund added to its positions quite aggressively in HDFC Ltd. However, Axis Bank chose to be neutral on most stocks including Avenue Supermarts, TCS, HDFC Bank Ltd, Pidilite, Infosys and Info Edge India Ltd.

Axis Mutual Fund was seller in March 2023 few counters. During the month, Axis MF sold ICICI Bank Ltd, Bajaj Finance Ltd and Kotak Mahindra Bank Ltd. The fund’s top 5 stock picks for March 2023 based on the percentage accretion in holdings were Federal Bank, Data Patterns India, Power Grid, NTPC Ltd and Balrampur Chini Mills Ltd.

Kotak Mutual Fund: equity portfolio churn in March 2023

Here is a quick look at stocks that Kotak Mutual Fund bought in March 2023, across market cap classes. In terms of MOM percentage increase, Kotak Mahindra MF added Infosys Ltd, Maruti Suzuki, HDFC Bank, Reliance Industries and SBI. However, Kotak Mutual Fund opted to remain neutral on Axis Bank and Larsen & Toubro Ltd.

There were a couple of stocks in which Kotak Mutual Fund cut positions including Ultratech Cements and SRF Ltd. The fund’s top 5 stock picks for March 2023 based on percentage accretion in holdings included Glenmark Pharma, UNO Minda, ICICI Prudential Life, Bandhan Bank and Sundaram Fasteners.

Mirae Mutual Fund: equity portfolio churn in March 2023

Among the frontline stocks that Mirae Mutual Fund bought in March 2023 were Sun Pharma, HDFC Ltd, Reliance Industries, Infosys Ltd, Axis Bank and SBI. However, the fund chose to remain neutral on HDFC Bank Ltd.

During the month of March 2023, Mirae MF also sold L&T, Bharti Airtel and ICICI Bank. The fund’s top 5 stock picks for March 2023 based on percentage accretion in holdings included NMDC, Bank of Baroda, Biocon Ltd, Bajaj Finserv and Bata India.

DSP Mutual Fund: equity portfolio churn in March 2023

DSP Mutual Fund bought a large chunk of State Bank of India and smaller quantities of Atul Ltd, Alkem Laboratories, Axis Bank, Bajaj Finance and ICICI Bank. However, DSP Mutual Fund remained neutral on IPCA Laboratories for March 2023.

In terms of selling, DSP MF was a seller in HDFC Bank, Infosys Ltd and Supreme Industries Ltd. The fund’s top 5 stock picks for March 2023 based on percentage increase in holdings were Gujarat Fluorochemicals, GAIL India, Engineers India, HDFC Ltd and Divi’s Laboratories.