The Hindu Business Line : Petro, telecom enhanced

Between February and May, the assets of DSP Merrill Lynch India T.I.G.E.R Fund grew 40 per cent to Rs 1,008 crore. The fund held about 70 stocks in its basket as of May 2006. The top ten holdings accounted for 31 per cent of the portfolio.

The fund pruned sectors such as banks, pharmaceuticals, power and textile products. With a sharp increase in the asset size, the fund increased exposure to several sectors such as cement, telecom services, petroleum and construction.

Brisk activity in the realty sector and heightened domestic infrastructure work may have induced the fund to increase holding in cement stocks. Century Textiles and India Cements were the new entrants in the portfolio while Grasim Industries was accumulated. Holding in Gujarat Ambuja Cements almost doubled. The fund partially booked profits in Associated Cement after a sharp run-up in the stock.

In the construction space, companies such as Unity Infraprojects and DS Kulkarni Developers and Patel Engineering, that recently raised capital, entered the portfolio. Exposure to Nagarjuna Construction and Simplex Infrastructure was increased. The fund's interest in IVRCL Infrastructures was reflected in a 10-fold increase in the number of shares held in the company. The lone stock to exit the sector was Punj Lloyd. Asset allocation to petroleum segment increased. Reliance Industries replaced Larsen & Toubro on the portfolio's top slot. The fund trimmed exposure to frontline stock Indian Oil Corporation and instead added small-cap play Apar Industries in its basket.

Exposure to telecom services sector enhanced. Holding in MTNL stock almost doubled. Similarly Reliance communication cornered 3.3 per cent of the portfolio.

The fund reduced its exposure to the banking space, which was among the worst hit sectors in the past three months.

The fund, however, appeared to remain positive on select stocks such as ICICI Bank, State Bank of India and UTI Bank as they witnessed substantial accumulation over this period. Centurion Bank and Syndicate Bank, lost favour and moved out completely.

While weight of pharma space in the overall portfolio was reduced, exposure to select stocks such as Astrazeneca Pharma, Aventis Pharma and Pfizer were increased.

Fund facts: DSPML India T.I.G.E.R Fund was launched in June 2004. Up to February 2006 Mr Naganath and Mr Soumendra Nath Lahiri managed the fund. The fund is now managed by the latter. The fund charges an entry load of 2.25 per cent and has no exit load. Minimum investment under the systematic investment plan is Rs 1,000.

Suresh Parthasarathy

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