Top 5 Stocks Mutual Funds Bought and Sold in March 2022

Tracking the rebound in Indian share markets in the month of March 2022, retail investors doubled down on their mutual fund investments.

This was the case in February 2022 too but at that time, investors were loading on beaten down quality stocks.

In March 2022, investors poured in a net Rs 284.6 bn in equity mutual fund schemes, compared to Rs 197.1 bn in the previous month.

That's a 44% rise over the previous month, according to data released by the Association of Mutual Funds in India (AMFI).

It appears investors are showing more faith in Indian equities now that foreign investors (FIIs) have slowed down their selling and as crude oil prices stabilize.

Also, the sharp jump in inflows can be attributed to SBI Multicap Fund's new fund offer (NFO) during the month that garnered Rs 81.7 bn.

Note that this is the thirteenth straight month of inflows, and also the highest since at least April 2018 when AMFI revised reporting format.

If we see category wise, the debt segment saw net outflows of Rs 1,148.2 bn. This is because corporates withdraw their deposits during the quarter ending month to pay their obligations.

Meanwhile, multi-cap funds witnessed the highest investments among all categories, while small-caps saw the least.

Large-cap and mid-cap funds saw the biggest inflows since AMFI started reported granular data in April 2019.

On the SIP front, it's the same good old story. The contributions into systematic investment plans (SIPs) hit an all-time high of Rs 123.3 bn in March.

A lot of the surge in SIP flows in March 2022 has been driven by the surge in ELSS inflows, on the back of phased tax planning.

In another first, contributions from SIPs crossed Rs 120 bn. Just a few months ago (September 2021 to be precise), the contributions were at Rs 100 bn.

For long now, SIPs have emerged as the primary driver of equity fund flows. Investors are not only particular about having SIP accounts, but they don't seem to be redeeming the funds at the first sign of correction.

If we see all mutual fund schemes, debt and equity combined, the total AUM saw net outflows of Rs 698.8 bn. This is the biggest outflow since March 2020.

The total AUM of the mutual fund industry stood at Rs 37.56 lakh crore at the end of March 2022.

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

Top Stocks Sold by Mutual Funds in March 2022

Largecaps: Indian mutual funds trimmed their positions in largecap stocks such as IRCTC, UPL, JSW Steel, HDFC AMC, and Adani Green Energy.

This was the third consecutive month of selling for HDFC AMC and IRCTC.

Meanwhile, the hot favourite ITC also saw heavy selling in March. Reportedly, fund managers sold a total of 119.9 m shares of ITC.

Midcaps: From the midcap space, mutual funds offloaded L&T Finance, Vodafone Idea, Union Bank of India, and Godrej Industries.

Heavy selling was also seen in NALCO.

Smallcaps: Gujarat Narmada, Mahanagar Gas, GMDC, Dwarikesh Sugar, and Schneider Electric saw maximum selling by MFs from the smallcap space in March 2022.

Top Stocks Bought by Mutual Funds in March 2022

Largecaps: Coming to buying, Kotak Mahindra Bank, Vedanta, Indus Towers, and Godrej Consumer among other largecaps, witnessed massive inflows.

Fund managers hands down bought Kotak Mahindra Bank shares, worth Rs 27.2 bn. Mutual funds held 173.6 m shares of Kotak Bank as of 31 March 2022 compared with 158.1 m shares as of 28 February 2022.

HDFC also saw heavy buying (shares worth Rs 21.3 bn).

Midcaps: From the midcap space, fund managers loaded up shares of GMR Infra, Coforge, Biocon, Sundaram Finance, and Star Health Insurance.

Smallcaps: Gulshan Polyols, HEG, Stove Kraft, and Supreme Petrochem were the top smallcap buys.

Apart from the above smallcaps, fund managers also increased stakes in TV18 Broadcast, Intellect Design, Avanti Feeds, and Dodla Dairy.

Top Equity Mutual Funds in March 2022

Here is the list of top 10 mutual fund houses as per their equity asset under management (AUM) as of March 2022.

Top 10 Equity Mutual Funds as per AUM

Top Fund Houses	Equity AUM (Rs bn)
SBI Mutual Fund	3,923.9
ICICI Prudential Mutual Fund	2,131.6
HDFC Mutual Fund	1,901.0
Nippon India Mutual Fund	1,484.7
UTI Mutual Fund	1,469.8
Axis Mutual Fund	1,417.5
Kotak Mutual Fund	1,267.9
Aditya Birla SL Mutual Fund	1,119.3
Mirae Asset Mutual Fund	910.8
DSP Mutual Fund	654.8

Data Source: ACE MF, PersonalFN Research

What India's Top Mutual Funds Bought and Sold in March 2022

• SBI Mutual Fund

  India's largest equity fund held Rs 3,924 bn in equities as of March 2022.

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

  Here's what SBI Mutual Fund bought and sold in March 2022.

  New Buys	Value as on 31 March 2022 (Rs m)
  Motherson Sumi Wiring India Ltd.	2,353.40
  Gateway Distriparks Ltd.	1,831.40
  One97 Communications Ltd.	36.70
  Amara Raja Batteries Ltd.	12.90
  Indiamart Intermesh Ltd.	0.60

  Complete Sell	Value as on 28 February 2022 (Rs m)
  Indian Railway Catering And Tourism Corporation Ltd.	202.50
  L&T Finance Holdings Ltd.	130.10
  Krsnaa Diagnostics Ltd.	123.60
  Dixon Technologies (India) Ltd.	8.60
  Gujarat Narmada Valley Fertilizers & Chemicals Ltd.	5.00

  Top Increase / Decrease in Stakes	Change in No. of Shares
  Laurus Labs Ltd.	15,300
  Indiabulls Housing Finance Ltd.	1,283,400
  Avanti Feeds Ltd.	1,440,000
  Max Financial Services Ltd.	-664,249
  Ipca Laboratories Ltd.	-157,950
  Yes Bank Ltd.	-11,081,689

  Data Source: ACE MF, PersonalFN Research

• ICICI Prudential Mutual Fund

  ICICI Prudential Mutual Fund stands as the second largest equity fund with Rs 2,132 bn in equities as of March 2022. The same figure in the month of February 2022 was Rs 2,060 bn.

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

  Here's what the fund bought and sold in March 2022.

  New Buys	Value as on 31 March 2022 (Rs m)
  Motherson Sumi Wiring India Ltd.	3,355.00
  Gateway Distriparks Ltd.	2,825.30
  Zomato Ltd.	149.60
  One97 Communications Ltd.	61.80
  PB Fintech Ltd.	7.80
  Clean Science And Technology Ltd.	3.10
  Star Health and Allied Insurance Company Ltd.	3.00
  Devyani International Ltd.	2.00
  Medplus Health Services Ltd.	1.80
  Sapphire Foods India Ltd.	1.80
  Borosil Renewables Ltd.	1.60
  Shree Renuka Sugars Ltd.	1.60
  Aptus Value Housing Finance India Ltd.	1.50
  Easy Trip Planners Ltd.	1.00
  RattanIndia Enterprises Ltd.	0.90
  Vijaya Diagnostic Centre Ltd.	0.90
  Latent View Analytics Ltd.	0.80
  Privi Speciality Chemicals Ltd.	0.70
  CE Info Systems Ltd.	0.60
  Metro Brands Ltd.	0.60
  Glenmark Life Sciences Ltd.	0.50
  HLE Glascoat Ltd.	0.10

  Complete Sell	Value as on 28 February 2022 (Rs m)
  Godawari Power And Ispat Ltd.	114.80
  Thomas Cook (India) Ltd.	34.10
  Andhra Paper Ltd.	33.40
  Future Retail Ltd.	0.70
  Ujjivan Financial Services Ltd.	0.70
  Valiant Organics Ltd.	0.70
  Bharat Rasayan Ltd.	0.60
  Sharda Cropchem Ltd.	0.60
  Alembic Ltd.	0.30
  National Fertilizers Ltd.	0.30
  Schneider Electric Infrastructure Ltd.	0.30

  Top Increase / Decrease in Stakes	Change in No. of Shares
  Krishna Institute of Medical Sciences Ltd	1,439
  Shyam Metalics And Energy Ltd.	1,711
  Tata Investment Corporation Ltd.	773
  Chemplast Sanmar Ltd.	-1,017,063
  L&T Finance Holdings Ltd.	-5,144,636
  Gujarat Narmada Valley Fertilizers & Chemicals Ltd.	-81,465

  Data Source: ACE MF, PersonalFN Research
  

  It appears ICICI Prudential did a lot of shopping last month and added as many as 22 new companies to its kitty. Though the amount invested in most of them is minimal.

  On the selling front too, the fund did not shy away and exited 11 companies in total.

• HDFC Mutual Fund

  Following ICICI Prudential Mutual Fund we have HDFC Mutual Fund with Rs 1,901 bn in equities as of March 2022.

  The top five equity holdings of the fund include ICICI Bank, State Bank of India, HDFC Bank, Infosys, and Reliance Industries. It also has a good exposure to L&T, ITC and NTPC.

  Here's what HDFC Mutual Fund bought and sold in March 2022.

  New Buys	Value as on 31 March 2022 (Rs m)
  Gateway Distriparks Ltd.	637.70
  Zydus Wellness Ltd.	225.20
  Motherson Sumi Wiring India Ltd.	198.00
  Sudarshan Chemical Industries Ltd.	52.10
  Coromandel International Ltd.	25.00
  Intellect Design Arena Ltd.	21.30
  Astral Ltd.	5.00

  Complete Sell	Value as on 28 February 2022 (Rs m)
  L&T Finance Holdings Ltd.	169.50
  S Chand And Company Ltd.	95.50
  Endurance Technologies Ltd.	93.90
  Rossari Biotech Ltd.	52.20
  Gujarat Narmada Valley Fertilizers & Chemicals Ltd.	11.50
  Tatva Chintan Pharma Chem Ltd.	4.30
  Hitachi Energy India Ltd.	3.30

  Top Increase / Decrease in Stakes	Change in No. of Shares
  Oberoi Realty Ltd.	63,000
  Laurus Labs Ltd.	19,800
  Steel Authority Of India Ltd.	3,261,007
  CG Power and Industrial Solutions Ltd.	-864,312
  Clean Science And Technology Ltd.	-141,808
  Godrej Properties Ltd.	-132,925

  Data Source: ACE MF, PersonalFN Research

Despite the hawkish US Fed stance, rising inflation, crude oil concerns and the Russia-Ukraine war, retail investors' confidence in the India growth story remains intact.

While heavy inflows by mutual funds are always pointed out, individual investors are the ones who are providing the firepower.

No wonder SIP inflows have become the largest contributor for the past couple of months. In fiscal 2022, the SIP route attracted investments worth Rs 1.2 lakh crore.

2022 started on a bumpy note but the geopolitical tensions appear to be easing now. Mind you, the situation can easily escalate. But if you're going through the SIP route, there shouldn't be any reason to worry as long as you have a long term investment time frame.

How the mutual fund buying and selling trend pans out in the month of April 2022 remains to be seen. Industry experts are confident enough that positive flows into equity mutual fund schemes will continue.

We will keep you updated on all the developments from this space.

Stay tuned.

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...