MFs cut positions in Nifty biggies

NEW DELHI: As equity and equity-linked mutual funds witnessed outflow of funds for the seventh consecutive month in January, domestic mutual funds trimmed positions in Nifty heavyweights including Reliance Industries (RIL), Infosys and Bharti Airtel, showed an Edelweiss report.

It noted that alhough MFs were net sellers in the telecom major Bharti Airtel, foreign portfolio investors (FPI) increased their bet in telecom stocks in January.

"In January, domestic MFs trimmed positions in Nifty heavyweights like Reliance Industries (Rs 2,081 crore), Infosys (Rs 2,011 crore),

Bharti Airtel (Rs 1,200 billion), PowerGrid and TCS (Rs 1,000 crore each)," it said.

The report titled 'Edelweiss Fund Insight: Feb 2021' noted that MFs partcipated in all the IPOs last month.

The funds also bought IPOs worth Rs 1,200 crore and out of this, IRFC got the major chunk with Rs 927 crore while Indigo Paints garnered Rs 140 crore and Home First received Rs 120 crore in Januuary.

As per the data from the Association of Mutual Funds in India (AMFI), equity-linked mutual fund schemes saw a net outflow of Rs 9,253.22 crore last month.

The net outflow stood at Rs 10,147.12 crore in December, Rs 12,917.36 crore in November, Rs 2,724.95 crore in October, and Rs 734.40 crore in September.

Equity funds have witnessed net outflow for the last seven months, largely due to profit booking by traders.