Whalesbook
ICICI Prudential Mutual Fund significantly reduced its international equity holdings in October, selling shares worth over Rs 5,800 crore. The fund house drastically cut its global portfolio, exiting many foreign companies like Microsoft, Nvidia, and Apple, while increasing its investments in Indian stocks.
ICICI Prudential Mutual Fund has made a substantial shift in its investment strategy, offloading foreign equity holdings valued at more than Rs 5,800 crore during October. This move drastically reduced its global portfolio from Rs 7,987 crore across 151 stocks in September to Rs 2,243 crore in just 11 stocks by the end of October. The fund house fully exited 140 foreign companies, reduced positions in eight, and maintained holdings in three others.
Key individual sales included shedding 57,496 shares of Microsoft Corp worth Rs 265 crore, its entire holding in Nvidia (approximately Rs 251 crore), and exiting Apple Inc with shares previously valued at Rs 210 crore. Alphabet Inc also saw a complete exit with shares worth Rs 172 crore, while Amazon.com Inc was partially trimmed with sales of 89,372 shares for about Rs 169 crore. Numerous other global companies such as Broadcom Inc, Tesla Inc, Meta Platforms, Pfizer Inc, and Amgen Inc were also completely exited.
Conversely, ICICI Prudential Mutual Fund strengthened its domestic equity portfolio, increasing its holdings to 696 Indian stocks valued at approximately Rs 6.53 lakh crore in October, up from Rs 6.27 lakh crore in September.
This significant reallocation of capital by a major fund house signals a potential shift in investor sentiment towards domestic markets. The large-scale selling of foreign equities could impact those specific global stocks and the broader foreign markets, while the increased investment in Indian equities could provide a boost to Indian companies and the domestic stock market. The exact reasons for this strategic shift remain undisclosed by the fund house.
Impact: 7/10
