Fund managers bought Bharti Airtel, sold Reliance Industries in January

Large-cap holdings of equity MFs saw significant churn at the start of the new calendar year. Fund managers upped their wager on Bharti Airtel

In January alone, they invested nearly Rs 3,700 crore in the counter, aiding a 9 per cent jump in the stock price. Many investors on the Street are betting on a further consolidation in the telecom sector, with Bharti Airtel and Reliance Jio emerging as big beneficiaries in the long-run. 

The second most-bought stock in January was Indian Oil, which saw MF investment worth Rs 850 crore. Shares of the largest oil marketing company have underperformed BPCL — by 45 percentage points in 2019. Industry players say the valuation differential between the two could have prompted fund managers to invest in Indian Oil. 

Index heavyweights ICICI Bank and HDFC Bank also witnessed good investments by MFs. Meanwhile, Reliance Industries was the most-sold stock in January. Fund managers pulled out Rs 3,000 crore from the counter in January, leading to a 7 per cent decline in the stock. Tata Consultancy Services and Bajaj Finance were the other two counters that saw MFs taking money off the table.