What the big 10 fund houses bought and sold in May 2023

13 Jun 2023 , 09:03 AM

An interesting way to look at fund action is to evaluate the portfolio shifts of large fund houses based on equity AUM. Of course, we have to look at it at a stock specific level. Here, we look at the top 10 AMCs by equity AUM (dominated by bancassurance plays) and evaluate their portfolio shifts at 2 levels. Firstly, we look at the large cap stocks which the fund bought, sold or the stocks they were largely neutral on. These 10 fund houses, because of their size, give the best reflection of stock preferences of mutual funds. At the second level, we also check the most preferred stocks of each fund house from an alpha perspective; and this is largely size agnostic, so it could be a large cap, mid-cap, or small cap.

SBI Mutual Fund: equity portfolio churn in May 2023

Let us first look at the shares SBI Mutual Fund bought in the month of May 2023, across all market cap classes but predominantly large caps. In terms of MOM percentage increase, SBI MF added to its positions in HDFC Ltd (like in April). However, it also added ICICI Bank, Infosys, Bharti Airtel, and Larsen & Toubro in May 2023. Surprisingly, SBI was neutral in a number of large stocks as we shall see in the next paragraph.

SBI Mutual Fund was neutral on stocks like HDFC Bank, Reliance Industries, ITC Ltd and SBI. However, SBI MF cut stakes in one large cap stocks i.e., Kotak Mahindra Bank after a very sharp rally on the enhanced weightage in the MSCI index. The fund’s top 5 stock picks for May 2023 in terms of percentage accretion in holdings include Mankind Pharma, Gland Pharma, Zee Entertainment, Voltas Ltd and Indus Towers.

ICICI Prudential Mutual Fund: equity portfolio churn in May 2023

Let us look at the large cap shares that ICICI Prudential Mutual Fund bought in May 2023. In terms of MOM percentage increase, ICICI Prudential Mutual Fund added to its positions substantially in Larsen & Toubro and Sun Pharma. It also added to stocks like Infosys Ltd and ICICI Bank. This is the third month of aggressive buying in Infosys Ltd. 

ICICI Pru MF remained neutral on NTPC Ltd holdings in May 2023. There were several stocks in which ICICI Prudential MF cut positions. They cut positions very aggressively in HFDC Bank and Maruti Suzuki. However, the fund also pared positions in Bharti Airtel, Axis Bank and Reliance Industries. The fund’s top 5 stock picks for May 2023 based on percentage increase in holdings were Metropolis Healthcare, Shriram Finance, MRF Ltd, Page Industries and Vedant Fashions (Manyavar).

HDFC Mutual Fund: equity portfolio churn in May 2023

Let us start with the shares that HDFC Mutual Fund bought in May 2023, mainly  in the large cap space. In terms of MOM percentage increase, HDFC Mutual Fund added to its positions substantially in HDFC Ltd. However, it also added smaller quantities of HDFC Bank, Infosys, and Reliance Industries Ltd. 

HDFC Mutual Fund stayed neutral on State Bank of India, Axis Bank, Bharti Airtel and NTPC Ltd in May 2023. However, HDFC Mutual Fund sharply cut positions in ITC Ltd while it moderately cut its positions in ICICI Bank. The fund’s top 5 stock picks for May 2023 based on percentage increase in holdings included CIE Automotive, Global Health (Medanta), Mankind Pharma, Shoppers Stop and Gland Pharma.

Nippon India Mutual Fund: equity portfolio churn in May 2023

Let us now turn to the stocks Nippon India MF bought in May 2023, across large caps. In terms of MOM percentage increase, Nippon India MF added to positions in NTPC Ltd and Axis Bank. Nippon Fund has regularly been on the profit booking side and this month was no different. The fund was neutral on two hydrocarbon stocks viz. Reliance and ONGC.

During May 2023, Nippon India MF cut its positions quite aggressively across stocks like HFDC Bank, Powergrid Corporation, SBI, Coal India and ICICI Bank. The fund’s top 5 stock picks for May 2023 based on percentage increase in holdings included Mankind Pharma, Astra Microwave, Exide Industries, Jubilant Foodworks and JTEKT India.

UTI Mutual Fund: equity portfolio churn in May 2023

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

The fund cut its positions in Kotak Mahindra Bank, ITC Ltd and Bajaj Finance during May 2023. It was the second month in a row of aggressive selling in Kotak Bank The fund’s top 5 stock picks for May 2023 based on the percentage increase in holdings included Indian Bank, IDFC Ltd, Biocon Ltd, M&M Financial Services and Adani Enterprises.

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

Let us start with the shares that Aditya Birla Sun Life (ABSL) Mutual Fund bought in May 2023; predominantly in the large cap space. In terms of MOM percentage accretion, ABSL MF added to its positions substantially in HDFC Ltd and to a lesser extent in Infosys. However, ABSL Mutual Fund stayed neutral on Reliance Industries and Bharti Airtel in the month of May 2023. 

The fund cut positions in Larsen & Toubro and HDFC Bank quite aggressively; but also sold into ICICI Bank, Axis Bank, SBI and Sun Pharma; so, the fund remained predominantly on the sell side in May 2023. The fund’s top 5 stock picks for May 2023 based on percentage accretion in holdings included Indus Towers, Kalpataru Projects, Vedant Fashions, Clean Science and RBL Bank Ltd.

Axis Mutual Fund: equity portfolio churn in May 2023

Let us now turn to the shares that Axis Mutual Fund traded in May 2023, across market cap classes. In terms of MOM percentage increase, Axis Mutual Fund did not add a single large cap share to its portfolio in May 2023; in an exact repeat of April 2023. However, Axis Bank chose to be neutral on the stock of Cholamandalam Investment Finance.

The real story was on the sell side. Axis Mutual Fund was an aggressive seller in May 2023 across Kotak Mahindra Bank and HDFC Ltd. Axis Mutual Fund also sold into HDFC Bank, Pidilite Industries, Info Edge, TCS, ICICI Bank, Bajaj Finance and Avenue Supermarts. Again, Axis MF has been largely on the sell side. The fund’s top 5 stock picks for May 2023 based on the percentage accretion in holdings were Interglobe Aviation, Hero Moto, PB Fintech (Policybazaar), Laurus Labs and Mankind Pharma.

Kotak Mutual Fund: equity portfolio churn in May 2023

Here is a quick look at stocks that Kotak Mutual Fund bought in May 2023, across market cap classes. In terms of MOM percentage increase, Kotak Mahindra MF added substantial chunk of Reliance Industries, Larsen & Toubro, State Bank of India, and Axis Bank. Kotak Mutual Fund did not opt to remain neutral on any stock in May 2023.

There were a several stocks in which Kotak Mutual Fund cut positions aggressively including HDFC Bank and Maruti Suzuki. It also sold smaller quantities of ICICI Bank, Infosys, Ultratech Cements and SRF Ltd. The fund’s top 5 stock picks for May 2023 based on percentage accretion in holdings included ACC, Nestle, JSW Steel, Trent Ltd and Indus Towers.

Mirae Mutual Fund: equity portfolio churn in May 2023

Among the frontline stocks that Mirae Mutual Fund bought in May 2023 were Sun Pharma, HDFC Ltd, Larsen & Toubro, Infosys Ltd and SBI. However, the fund chose to remain neutral on HDFC Bank for the month. 

During the month of May 2023, Mirae MF also sold Axis Bank, Bharti Airtel, ICICI Bank and Reliance Industries Ltd. The fund’s top 5 stock picks for May 2023 based on percentage accretion in holdings included LIC Housing, Coforge, Indian Bank, Trent, and IndusInd Bank.

DSP Mutual Fund: equity portfolio churn in May 2023

DSP Mutual Fund bought a large chunk of stocks like Axis Bank, SBI and Alkem Laboratories and smaller quantities of IPCA Laboratories. However, DSP Mutual Fund remained neutral on Atul Ltd and Emami Ltd in May 2023.

In terms of selling, DSP MF was a heavy seller in HDFC Bank Ltd; but also sold ICICI Bank, Bajaj Finance, and Infosys Ltd during May 2023. The fund’s top 5 stock picks for May 2023 based on percentage increase in holdings were Hero Moto, Engineers India, Kirloskar Oils, Indiabulls Housing and Zee Entertainment.