Equity MFs pruned holdings in Infosys, Airtel and Tata Steel in August

On the other hand, they increased exposure to ICICI Bank and TCS, and invested heavily in the initial public offerings of chemical company Chemplast Sanmar and cement maker Nuvoco Vistas

Domestic mutual fund (MF) managers pruned their holdings in several bluechip stocks such as Infosys, Bharti Airtel and Tata Steel in August amid a sharp up move in stock prices. On the other hand, they increased exposure to ICICI Bank and Tata Consultancy Services (TCS).

Besides, they invested heavily in the initial public offerings (IPOs) of chemical company Chemplast Sanmar and cement maker Nuvoco Vistas. Moderation in flows into equity schemes limited MF buying.

“In August, equity MFs saw inflows of Rs 8,667 crore, which was lower than the previous month’s collections of Rs 22,600 crore. In the secondary markets, funds deployment lowered too at Rs 11,500 crore from Rs 19,700 crore in July,” said Abhilash Pagaria, assistant vice-president, Edelweiss Alternative Research.

In August, the Sensex had rallied 9.4 per cent, while the Nifty Midcap 100 rose 2.2 per cent and the Nifty Smallcap 100 fell 2.5 per cent. In the midcap space, Coforge (Rs 601 crore net investment), Minda Industries (Rs 464 crore) and LIC Housing Finance (Rs 272 crore) were among the major buys for equity MFs.

In the smallcap space, RBL Bank (Rs 161 crore), Mahindra CIE (Rs 156 crore) and Can Fin Homes (Rs 137 crore) were major buys. GMM Pfaudler, Just Dial and KPIT Tech were stocks that saw fund managers reduce their holdings.