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

14 Dec 2023 , 10:42 AM

The enduring lure of AUM leaders in mutual funds

The month of November 2023 was a special month for mutual funds in two different ways. Firstly, it was the month that the total AUM of mutual funds in India crossed the Rs49 trillion mark for the first time. That takes the dollar AUM close to $600 billion and that means the heft of mutual funds in the Indian market is increasing by the day. The second big record was the all-time high collections of SIP (systematic investment plans), with SIP flows at Rs17,073 crore for the month of November 2023. But, that is the macro picture. How do you get a micro picture of what these mutual funds are actually buying and selling in the market? There are two ways to evaluate the mutual fund action. One is at a stock level and the other is at a fund level. While both are important, here we will look at specific stock buying and selling by individual AMCs and obviously, the focus will be on the big AMCs.

When you look at the actions of the big funds, you obviously cannot be looking at all the AMCs. India has over 45 AMCs and the number are growing by the day. Even as some funds are merging with bigger names, there are new funds that are emerging with new ideas and a new approach to markets. It would be next to impossible to look at the buying and selling actions of all AMCs; and in fact, may be redundant too. We can get a fairly reliable picture by looking at the top 10 AMCs by equity fund AUM. As per the latest AMFI data, these top 10 funds by equity AUM would cover more than 92% of the overall equity AUM and over 80% of all the mutual fund churn happening in Indian equities. That is the focus group, and our accent will be on the buy and sell side action of these leaders

Bank sponsored AMCs are 50% of the Big-10

The top-10 AMC list continues to be dominated by the bancassurance plays; which are essentially mutual funds backed by banks. These bank-backed funds account for half of the top 10 by equity AUM. At this stage, we evaluate shifts in equity portfolio at 2 levels. At the first level, we look at the large cap stocks which the fund purchased, sold or even the stocks where these funds were neutral during the month of November 2023. At the second level, we check out the most preferred stocks of each fund house from an alpha perspective. Alpha hunting can take the form of fresh additions or accretion to existing holdings.

SBI Mutual Fund: equity portfolio churn in November 2023

Let us first look at the shares that SBI Mutual Fund bought in the month of November 2023, across all market cap classes but predominantly large caps. In terms of MOM percentage increase, SBI MF added to its positions substantially in Bajaj Finance and to a lesser extent in Infosys Ltd. There appears to be caution from SBI Mutual Fund on the long side. SBI was neutral on 3 stocks viz., ICICI Bank, Reliance Industries and Larsen & Toubro.

SBI MF also cut its stakes in several stocks and this list included, a substantial cut in positions in HDFC Bank and smaller position reductions in TCS, State Bank of India and Bharti Airtel Ltd. The fund’s top 5 stock picks for November 2023 in terms of percentage accretion in holdings include smart additions to stocks like Aptus Value Housing, Bank of India, Petronet LNG, Dalmia Bharat and India Energy Exchange. There were no significant new additions.

ICICI Prudential Mutual Fund: equity portfolio churn in November 2023

Let us turn to the large cap shares that ICICI Prudential Mutual Fund bought in November 2023. It is not often that you get this kind of a situation wherein the second largest fund in terms of AUM in India is a seller on all the top stocks and to a substantial degree. The ICICI AMC was not a buyer nor was it neutral on any of these stocks. In all these 10 major action stocks, ICICI Prudential AMC was a net seller, with substantial selling.

The bias of ICICI Prudential Mutual Fund in November 2023 was largely on the sell side in November 2023. It sold substantial quantities of NTPC Ltd, HDFC Bank, Infosys, Bharti Airtel, Maruti Suzuki, Sun Pharma, Axis Bank, ICICI Bank and Larsen & Toubro (L&T). In addition, the fund also sold smaller quantities of Reliance Industries. The fund’s top 5 stock picks for November 2023 included additions to stocks like Gujarat Narmada Valley Fertilizers, Indiamart Intermesh, United Spirits, CIE Automotive India, and Finolex Cables.

HDFC Mutual Fund: equity portfolio churn in November 2023

Let us first look at the shares that HDFC Mutual Fund bought in November 2023, mainly  in the large cap space. In terms of MOM percentage increase, HDFC Mutual Fund added to its positions aggressively in Bharti Airtel and ICICI Bank. It also added to its positions in HDFC Bank, Axis Bank, Reliance Industries, Larsen & Toubro (L&T), and ITC Ltd to a lesser extent. However, HDFC Mutual Fund chose to be neutral on NTPC Ltd during November 2023.

On the sell side, HDFC mutual Fund cut positions in stocks like Infosys Ltd and State Bank of India quite aggressively. The fund’s top 5 stock picks for November 2023 based on percentage increase in holdings and fresh additions included stocks like Piramal Pharma, Ion Exchange, Petronet LNG, Piramal Enterprises Ltd, and AU Small Finance Bank.

Nippon India Mutual Fund: equity portfolio churn in November 2023

Let us move on to the stocks Nippon India MF bought in November 2023, across large caps. In terms of MOM percentage increase, Nippon India MF added to positions substantially in Infosys Ltd, ICICI Bank Ltd, and Reliance Industries. In addition, it also added to its positions in Powergrid Corporation, NTPC Ltd and ONGC Ltd . Nippon Fund stayed neutral on just one stock in the month of November 2023, viz, HDFC Bank Ltd.

What about the large cap stock exits? During November 2023, Nippon India MF cut its positions in Axis Bank, State Bank of India, and Coal India Ltd. The fund’s top 5 stock picks for November 2023 based on percentage increase in holdings included fresh buying in Gujarat Fluorochemicals and enhancement of stake in stocks like Bharat Dynamics, Bharat Forge, Balkrishna Industries and Granules India Ltd.

UTI Mutual Fund: equity portfolio churn in November 2023

Let us now turn to the oldest fund in India and check what are the shares that UTI Mutual Fund bought and sold in November 2023? In terms of MOM percentage increase, UTI MF added to its large cap positions substantially in only one stock; Kotak Mahindra Bank Ltd. In addition, they also added smaller quantities of HDFC Bank Ltd, Reliance Industries, Infosys Ltd, Axis Bank, ITC Ltd, and TCS. The fund was neutral on 2 stocks viz. ICICI Bank Ltd and Bharti Airtel for the month of November 2023.

On the exit side, UTI was a seller in just one stock for the month of November 2023 viz., Larsen & Toubro (L&T). The fund’s top 5 stock picks for November 2023 based on the percentage increase in holdings included enhancement of stake in IFB Industries Ltd, Procter & Gamble Health, 360 One WAM (formerly IIFL Asset Management), Vedant Fashions and Steel Authority of India Ltd (SAIL).

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

Let us now look at the shares that Aditya Birla Sun Life (ABSL) Mutual Fund bought in November 2023; predominantly in the large cap space. In terms of MOM percentage accretion, ABSL MF added to its positions substantially only in Bajaj Finance Ltd and Larsen & Toubro (L&T) and to a lesser extent in stocks like Infosys Ltd. However, ABSL Mutual Fund stayed neutral on 4 stocks viz., HDFC Bank, Reliance Industries, Bharti Airtel, and Sun Pharma for the month of November 2023.

Interestingly, ABSL MF was relatively aggressive on the sell side. The fund cut positions quite aggressively in State Bank of India and Axis Bank, while it cut positions to a moderate level in ICICI Bank Ltd in November 2023. The fund’s top 5 stock picks for November 2023 based on percentage accretion in holdings included enhancement of stake in stocks like Zomato Ltd, Adani Enterprises, Bajaj Auto, Westlife Food World (McDonalds), and CIE Automotive India Ltd.

Axis Mutual Fund: equity portfolio churn in November 2023

Let us now turn to the shares that Axis Mutual Fund traded in November 2023, across market cap classes. In terms of MOM percentage increase, Axis Mutual Fund added aggressively to its positions in ICICI Bank Ltd and to a lesser extent in HDFC Bank too. However, Axis Mutual Fund was neutral in 5 stocks viz., Bajaj Finance, TCS, Cholamandalam Investments & Finance, Torrent Power, and Pidilite Industries. Unlike the last 3 months, the sell side story was relatively subdued for Axis Mutual Fund. 

The story, however, continued to be quite aggressive on the sell side. Axis Mutual Fund was an aggressive seller in November 2023 across Nestle India, Info Edge (Naukri) and Avenue Supermarts (D-Mart) in the month of November 2023. The fund’s top 5 stock picks for November 2023 based on the percentage accretion in holdings were Timken India,  Tata Seel, Coal India, Bharat Dynamics, and Bajaj Auto.

Kotak Mutual Fund: equity portfolio churn in November 2023

Here is a quick look at stocks that Kotak Mutual Fund bought in November 2023, across market cap classes. In terms of MOM percentage increase, Kotak Mahindra MF was extremely aggressive on Maruti Suzuki Ltd, State Bank of India, Infosys Ltd and Bharat Electronics. In addition, Kotak MF added smaller quantities of ICICI Bank, and Reliance Industries Ltd to its shopping basket in the month. However, Kotak Mutual Fund did not stay neutral on any stock in the month of November 2023.

There were 4 stocks in which Kotak Mutual Fund cut positions. It cut positions aggressively in HDFC Bank and Axis Bank, while it cut moderately in Larsen & Toubro (L&T) and Ultratech Cements Ltd. The fund’s top 5 stock picks for November 2023 based on percentage accretion in holdings included enhancement in holdings in Powergrid Corporation, Info Edge (Naukri), ACC Ltd, Nestle India and Oracle Financial Services Software (OFSS). 

Mirae Mutual Fund: equity portfolio churn in November 2023

Mirae has seen one of the fastest growth in equity AUM in last few years. Among the frontline stocks that Mirae Mutual Fund bought aggressively in November 2023 there were none. In fact, Mirae did not add to its positions in any of the frontline stocks. The fund opted to remain neutral on 8 stocks in November 2023 viz, HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank, Reliance Industries, Infosys Ltd, State Bank of India, Larsen & Toubro, NTPC Ltd and HCL Tech.

During the month of November 2023, Mirae MF sold aggressively in Bharti Airtel and in Axis Bank Ltd. The fund’s top 5 stock picks for November 2023 based on percentage accretion in holdings included enhancement in its stake in Schaeffler India, Coal India Ltd, Alkem Laboratories, Campus Activewear, and Container Corporation of India.

DSP Mutual Fund: equity portfolio churn in November 2023

Finally, let us look at what DSP Mutual Fund did in November 2023. The fund increased its holding in HDFC Bank, Bajaj Finance, Power Finance Corporation, and ICICI Bank  substantially and to a lesser extent in Axis Bank Ltd, IPCA Laboratories Ltd and Infosys Ltd. DSP Mutual Fund opted to remain neutral Bharat Forge Ltd and Emami Ltd for the month of November 2023.

In terms of selling, DSP MF was an aggressive seller in Alkem Laboratories Ltd. The fund’s top 5 stock picks for November 2023 based on percentage increase in holdings were PI Industries, Bank of Baroda, AIA Engineering, Schaeffler India and Hindalco Industries Ltd.