'Fund managers await fresh policy reforms in July'

The markets remained range-bound for the major part of the week under review (June 20-27), ahead of the expiry of June futures and options and a two-day European Union (EU) summit. In the meantime, in a move to attract foreign funds, the Reserve Bank of India announced some extensions in the foreign institutional investor limit in government securities. Also, the rupee touched a new low of Rs 56.87 against the US dollar.

All four fund managers of Smart Portfolios Season 4 remained active over June 20-27.

RIKESH PARIKH
VP (equity strategies), Motilal Oswal Securities
Parikh carried out eight transactions during the period under review. He bought Lupin Ltd, Dr Reddys Laboratories Ltd and HCL Technologies Ltd, and exited Jaiprakash Associates Ltd, ICICI Bank Ltd, Jindal Steel and Power Ltd and Madras Cements Ltd.

On the markets, he expects to see some movement on the either side in July, considering RBI’s first quarter review of monetary policy 2012-13, Q1FY12 results and the monsoon session in Parliament. Also, any happening in the international market will have only a short-term impact on markets, he added. On the quarterly result front, he doesn’t see much happening during this quarterly season.
 

RIKESH PARIKH
Top holdings	Cost price (Rs)	Current price (Rs)	Value  (Rs lakh)
HCL Technologies	495.96	459.05	0.57
ICICI Bank	853.73	856.95	0.51
Hindalco Industries	124.15	115.15	0.46
Dr Reddys Laboratories	1575.64	1611.50	0.37
McLeod Russel India	287.10	294.00	0.37
Total investments			3.78
Cash			6.29
Net worth			10.07

His current top holdings include HCL Technologies, ICICI Bank, Hindalco Industries Ltd, McLeod Russel India Ltd and Dr Reddys Laboratories.

Parikhs’s net worth is at Rs 10.07 lakh, up 0.72 per cent.

ASHISH MITTAL
Fund Manager (PMS), Centrum Wealth
Mittal carried out a single transaction during the week as he exited JB Chemicals and Pharmaceuticals Ltd. His top holdings, as of now, include Balmer Lawrie and Co Ltd, Karur Vysya Bank, Tide Water Oil Co India Ltd, Unichem Laboratories Ltd and Bombay Burmah Trading Corp.

Ashish expects markets to be positive in the second half of the current year, as the global issues are largely discounted by the markets. Also, he anticipates the government to take some serious measures in ending the policy logjam and use the cabinet executive order route for implementing crucial economic policies like allowing foreign direct investment (FDI) in multi-brand retail. With falling commodity prices and crude oil prices, he considers RBI to announce a rate cut in its next monetary policy review meet or may be earlier, provided monsoon doesn’t fail in a significant manner.
 

ASHISH MITTAL
Top holdings	Cost price (Rs)	Current price (Rs)	Value  (Rs lakh)
Balmer Lawrie & Company	618.48	583.35	0.76
Karur Vysya Bank	372.59	420.20	0.71
Tide Water Oil Co (I)	6988.28	7111.45	0.71
Unichem Laboratories	144.82	127.20	0.70
Bombay Burmah Trading Corp	490.42	558.00	0.70
Total investments			9.18
Cash			1.02
Net worth			10.20

Mittal’s net worth stands at Rs 10.20 lakh, up 2.02 per cent.

ALEX MATHEWS
Head (technical and derivatives research), Geojit BNP Paribas Financial Services
Mathews carried out only two transactions, both on the buy side, during the period. Raymond and Tata Coffee were the picks.

According to Mathews, the outcome of the EU summit, upcoming Q1 results, inflation for June, RBI’s first quarter review towards the end of July, decision on who will hold the finance minister’s post are some of the factors that will weigh on the markets in the short term. However, he does not expect any surprises in the upcoming Q1 corporate numbers given the higher input cost, higher borrowing cost, etc.
 

ALEX MATHEWS
Top holdings	Cost price (Rs)	Current price (Rs)	Value  (Rs lakh)
Tata Coffee	954.03	925.75	0.93
Raymond	396.29	397.50	0.57
MMTC	771.42	736.65	0.40
MRF	11318.02	9861.35	0.30
Hindalco Industries	128.83	115.15	0.23
Total investments			4.67
Cash			4.90
Net worth			9.57

His top holdings, as of now include Tata Coffee, Raymond, MMTC Ltd, MRF Ltd and Hindalco Industries.

Mathews’ net worth totals Rs 9.57 lakh, down 4.25 per cent.

AJAY PARMAR
Co-head (investment banking), Emkay Global
Parmar was the most active through the week with a total of 19 transactions. He bought Tata Consultancy Services Ltd, Hexaware Technologies Ltd, Suzlon Energy Ltd and State Bank of India as they were at attractive levels. He believes a stock-specific approach in this range-bound market is more appropriate than waiting for corrections. Also, the unpredictable international markets can play spoilsport.

In the meantime, he booked profit/losses from several counters like Nestle India, Tata Motors Ltd, Bajaj Auto Ltd, Jubilant Foodworks Ltd, Indiabulls Power Ltd, Central Bank of India, Adhunik Metaliks Ltd, Lovable Lingerie, ICICI Bank, Kingfisher Airlines Ltd, Hathway Cable and Datacom Ltd, and Larsen and Toubro Ltd.
 

AJAY PARMAR
Top holdings	Cost price (Rs)	Current price (Rs)	Value  (Rs lakh)
State Bank of India	2,167.28	2,098.30	0.84
Hero MotoCorp	1,957.88	2,087.00	0.42
Essar Oil	53.18	53.30	0.40
IVRCL	42.26	51.70	0.39
Strides Arcolab	735.99	741.85	0.37
Total investments			4.00
Cash			5.60
Net worth			9.60

His current top holdings include SBI, Hero MotoCorp Ltd, Essar Oil Ltd, IVRCL and Allahabad Bank. Parmar’s net worth is valued at Rs 9.60 lakh, down 3.99 per cent.

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