ICICI Prudential Top 200: Prudent picks from banking, software::Business Line

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What portfolio choices have helped the ICICI Prudential Top 200 Fund deliver a 16.6 per cent return in one year, beating its benchmark - BSE 200 - which returned 14.4 per cent? We analyse its portfolio over the past one year to find out what sectors and stocks the fund had held to aid out-performance.

ICICI Prudential Top 200 Fund predominantly invests in large and mid-cap stocks across select sectors. It focuses mainly on large-cap stocks with limited exposure to mid-caps. The fund has beaten the BSE 200 over one-, three- and five-year periods, giving returns of 16.6 per cent, 7 per cent and 3.2 per cent, respectively.

SECTOR TRENDS, STOCK MOVES

The fund has been maintaining banks as its top sector and has increased exposure in this segment from 16.3 per cent a year ago to 20.6 per cent currently. This increase could be in anticipation of revival in the banking space in the second half of the year as the segment saw a sluggish performance till August this year.

The fund’s top banking stocks are HDFC Bank and ICICI Bank. They have delivered returns of 37 per cent and 18 per cent, respectively, over the past one year. The fund exited its holdings in the PSU banking giant State Bank of India in June this year. It included, on the other hand, YES Bank. Software was the second most preferred sector with a holding of 11.5 per cent. In this space, the fund has major exposure to Infosys and Wipro with 5.3 and 4 per cent weightage, respectively. Top player TCS, though, hasn’t found too much favour.

The fund upped its sector allocation in consumer non-durables and pharma, while trimming its allocation in petroleum products, finance, telecommunication services and oil in the same period.

Automobiles was another sector where the fund reduced its holdings from 9.8 per cent six months ago to 5.8 per cent. The fund took exposure to Bajaj Auto stock and has enhanced its holdings to 3 per cent. But Tata Motors, which was among the top three holdings six months ago with 7 per cent allocation, was moved out of the top ten. The stocks that recently found place in the portfolio are Tech Mahindra, Jaiprakash Associates and Mangalore Refinery.

The fund’s cash and other equivalents were 2.4 per cent of the total holdings a year back, but were dramatically increased to as high as 11.5 per cent in July this year as the markets turned volatile, before the fund reduced them again.