Top 5 Stocks Mutual Funds Bought and Sold in January 2023

Investing in equity mutual funds has become increasingly popular in recent years, with the steady influx of SIP (Systematic Investment Plan) flows indicating a growing interest in this asset class.

Despite recent volatility in Indian stock markets, January 2023 saw the highest net infusion of funds in the past four months with equity mutual funds attracting a whopping Rs 125.5 billion (bn).

This was a significant increase from the inflows seen in the previous three months, and comes on the back of a strong September 2022, when equity mutual funds witnessed an inflow of Rs 141 bn.

Note that strong inflows came at a time when the primary market has dried up. There aren't many IPOs coming up at present, but companies are waiting for the right time to launch their offers.

Drone company ideaForge Technology recently filed draft papers with the market regulator for the first mainboard drone IPO.

Coming back to inflows, this was the 23rd straight month of inflows.

The net assets under management (AUM) of the mutual fund industry stood at Rs 39.6 trillion (tn) as on 31 January 2023, down marginally from Rs 39.9 tn in December 2022.

Within the debt category, liquid funds saw highest outflows to the tune of Rs 50.4 bn, while money market funds witnessed inflows of Rs 64.6 bn.

Now coming to SIPs...

Inflows through systematic investment plans (SIP) again rose to a record in January 2023 and stood at Rs 138.6 bn. This compared with December inflows of Rs 135.7 bn.

Let's take a look at the stocks that mutual funds traded the most during this period...

Top Stocks Sold by Mutual Funds in January 2023

Largecaps: Indian mutual funds trimmed their positions in largecap stocks such as Indus Towers, Adani Enterprises, and HCL Technologies.

HCL Tech has seen heavy selling by mutual funds for the past few months.

This could be due to the IT company trimming its revenue growth and margin guidance for FY23.

Midcaps: From the midcap space, mutual funds offloaded Vodafone Idea, IDFC First Bank, and REC.

Laurus Labs and Route Mobile also witnessed selling by mutual funds.

Smallcaps: Heritage Foods, Indiabulls Housing Finance, and Tata Metaliks saw maximum selling by MFs from the smallcap space in January 2023.

Top Stocks Bought by Mutual Funds in January 2023

Largecaps: Coming to buying, Nykaa, Tata Motors, and Apollo Hospitals witnessed massive inflows.

Amid the selloff in Adani group stocks, several mutual funds added Adani Ports in January 2023. Mutual funds could be of the view that Adani Ports is the only Adani stock worth looking at.

Midcaps: From the midcap space, mutual funds bought shares of Dixon Technologies, Paytm, and Bank of India.

One of the best defence stocks in India Hindustan Aeronautics (HAL) also witnessed buying.

Smallcaps: South Indian Bank, Hindware Home, and Sula Vineyards were the top smallcap buys.

Top Equity Mutual Funds in January 2023

Here is the list of top 10 mutual fund houses as per their equity asset under management (AUM) as of January 2023.

Top 10 Equity Mutual Funds as per AUM

Top Fund Houses	Equity AUM (Rs bn)
SBI Mutual Fund	4,581.5
ICICI Prudential Mutual Fund	2,410.6
HDFC Mutual Fund	2,174.0
Nippon India Mutual Fund	1,633.5
UTI Mutual Fund	1,623.0
Kotak Mutual Fund	1,382.3
Axis Mutual Fund	1,320.0
Aditya Birla SL Mutual Fund	1,096.7
Mirae Asset Mutual Fund	1,010.3
DSP Mutual Fund	661.9

Data Source: ACE MF, PersonalFN Research

What India's Top Mutual Funds Bought and Sold in January 2023

• SBI Mutual Fund

  India's largest equity fund held Rs 4,582 bn in equities as of January 2023. The December 2022 figure was Rs 4,660 bn.

  The top equity holdings of the fund include HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank, and Reliance Industries.

  Here's what SBI Mutual Fund bought and sold in January 2023.

  New Buys	Value as on 31 January 2023 (Rs m)
  Aarti Industries Ltd.	0.90
  Complete Sell	Value as on 31 December 2022 (Rs m)
  JMC Projects (India) Ltd. - (Amalgamated)	673.50
  Chennai Petroleum Corporation Ltd.	40.30
  Top Increase / Decrease in Stakes	Change in No. of Shares
  Zydus Lifesciences Ltd.	707,079
  Syngene International Ltd.	29,372
  Supreme Industries Ltd.	55,174
  Cholamandalam Financial Holdings Ltd.	-1,005,629
  Apollo Tyres Ltd.	-819,062
  Glenmark Pharmaceuticals Ltd.	-246,545

  Data Source: ACE MF, PersonalFN Research

• ICICI Prudential Mutual Fund

  ICICI Prudential Mutual Fund was the second largest equity fund house with Rs 2,411 bn in equities as of January 2023. The same figure in the month of December 2022 was Rs 2,418 bn.

  The top three equity holdings of ICICI Prudential Mutual Fund include ICICI Bank, Infosys, and HDFC Bank.

  Interestingly, the fund house did not buy stake in any new company in January 2023.

  Here's what the fund bought and sold in January 2023.

  Complete Sell	Value as on 31 December 2022 (Rs m)
  Tata Metaliks Ltd.	456.10
  JMC Projects (India) Ltd. - (Amalgamated)	340.40
  Repco Home Finance Ltd.	5.00
  Top Increase / Decrease in Stakes	Change in No. of Shares
  Mastek Ltd.	113,626
  Alembic Pharmaceuticals Ltd.	111,157
  Atul Ltd.	31,029
  Can Fin Homes Ltd.	-203,956
  Supreme Industries Ltd.	-140,116
  Metropolis Healthcare Ltd.	-38,157

  Data Source: ACE MF, PersonalFN Research

• HDFC Mutual Fund

  Following ICICI Prudential Mutual Fund we have HDFC Mutual Fund with Rs 2,174 bn in equities as of January 2023. The December 2022 figure was Rs 2,172 bn.

  The top five equity holdings of the fund include ICICI Bank, HDFC Bank, State Bank of India, Infosys, and Reliance Industries.

  Here's what HDFC Mutual Fund bought and sold in January 2023.

  New Buys	Value as on 31 January 2023 (Rs m)
  Aarti Pharmalabs Ltd.	660.50
  Angel One Ltd.	122.80
  Radiant Cash Management Services Ltd.	97.30
  Westlife Foodworld Ltd	59.40
  Complete Sell	Value as on 31 December 2022 (Rs m)
  JMC Projects (India) Ltd. - (Amalgamated)	1,992.30
  Manappuram Finance Ltd.	66.90
  Top Increase / Decrease in Stakes	Change in No. of Shares
  Astral Ltd.	76,590
  Vodafone Idea Ltd.	7,000,000
  Gland Pharma Ltd.	500,360
  Coromandel International Ltd.	-174,300
  Jubilant FoodWorks Ltd.	-256,250
  Alembic Pharmaceuticals Ltd.	-348,844

  Data Source: ACE MF, PersonalFN Research

Final words...

Overall, the recent trend in equity mutual fund inflows highlights the growing appetite for this asset class among investors, despite short-term market volatility.

The fact that some previously beaten-down stocks have now become favorites among mutual funds further underscores the value of a well-diversified portfolio that can weather market ups and downs.

It's worth noting that mutual funds have reduced their stake in Adani group stocks. Within the 10 listed Adani companies, only Adani Ports saw decent buying while other saw selling by mutual funds.

Adani group stocks started to fall in late January 2023, triggered by the Hindenburg Research report. A lot of buying and selling took place in the last week of January amid the selloff.

How the mutual fund buying and selling trend pans out in the month of February 2023 remains to be seen. We will keep you updated on all the developments from this space.

Stay tuned.

As you're interested in what mutual funds are buying and selling, check out Equitymaster's Indian Stock Screener.

This tool tracks the stocks recently bought by mutual funds along with the stocks recently sold by them.

Happy investing!

PS: The above piece relies on data from PersonalFN. PersonalFN is a Mumbai based personal finance firm offering Financial Planning and Mutual Fund Research services.

Disclaimer: This article is for information purposes only. It is not a stock recommendation and should not be treated as such. Learn more about our recommendation services here...