From ICICI Securities to Bandhan Bank, MFs load up on banks amid crash

With benchmark indices coming off close to 10 per cent from their 2018 peak in March, equity mutual funds (MFs) had a hectic time rebalancing their portfolios. Taking advantage of the sharp slide, money managers invested in several banking stocks, including State Bank of India (SBI) and ICICI Bank. 

The top-most buy for March was Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), where fund managers pumped in nearly Rs 40 billion amid a six per cent drop in the stock. ICICI Securities and Bandhan Bank, which came out with their initial public offerings (IPOs) in March, were among top three buys. 

MFs also picked up Tata Steel and Reliance Industries (RIL), which corrected 15 per cent and 7.3 per cent, respectively, last month. The stocks in which MFs pruned their holdings were Axis Bank and Larsen and Toubro (L&T). IndusInd Bank, TeamLease and Jubilant Food, which saw sharp up moves, were other stocks that the fund managers sold.