The Hindu Business Line : MFs make stock-specific additions in February

Domestic mutual funds may have net sold equities worth Rs 1,495 crore in February, but insights into what they bought and sold can come in handy in your investment decisions, especially as these funds put together made a gross equity purchase of four times the net amount. So, wondering which stocks made it to the funds’ portfolio and which lost out? Here’s a look at what the funds did, based on end-February portfolios.

What’s in?

GVK Power & Infrastructure was among the most loved of all the stocks last month with more than 14 million shares of the company being accumulated by various fund houses. Idea Cellular, Exide Industries, Suzlon Energy and Chambal Fertilisers were among other stocks that found themselves in the MF buy radar.

GVK Power & Infra also topped the list of stocks that saw the highest number of funds adding it to their respective portfolios; a total of 8 fund houses added the stock. Glenmark Pharmaceuticals came in second with over four funds adding to the stock. Among other stocks that saw a good number of funds show interest were Crompton Greaves (three), Tata Chemicals (three), UltraTech Cement (three) and Allahabad Bank (two). And since these stocks are of varied sectors and market caps, it suggests that mutual fund purchases may have been driven more by the individual stock’s fundamentals and valuations than on anything else.

L&T, however, was the most sought after stock in terms of top additions (market value added) to the existing holdings of equity funds; Alstom Projects and ACC closely followed it. Among others that made it to this list were Reliance Infrastructure, Hindustan Zinc and Ranbaxy Laboratories.

But was there any new stock that got added to the funds’ portfolios? Bannari Amman Sugars, Golden Laminates, Goldstone Technologies and GTL Infrastructure marked their presence on this list.

What’s out?

Sugar stock Balrampur Chini found itself in a not-so-sweet spot; the stock was heavily offloaded by a handful of fund houses last month.

Much like fund purchases, the mutual funds’ selling was also oblivious of the sector and market cap preferences as even the large-cap banking major, State Bank of India, came in for selling.

Hindalco, Tube Investments, Mercator Lines and Tata Teleservices were among other stocks that were sold by the funds.

That said stocks such as Whirlpool of India, Swaraj Mazda and State Bank of Mysore suffered absolute desertion by the MF clan as funds made complete exits from them.

Related Stories:
Fund houses cautious on portfolio changes