Where are mutual funds placing their bets? A look at May’s sectoral trends

Mutual funds increased exposure to Capital Goods, Healthcare, Automobiles, E-Commerce, NBFC – Non-Lending, and Cement in May, leading to a month-on-month rise in portfolio weights, according to a report by Motilal Oswal Financial Services.

Sectors including Oil & Gas, PSU Banks, Technology, Consumer, Metals, Retail, and Real Estate witnessed a month-on-month decline in portfolio weights.

Private Banks remained the most preferred sector, accounting for around 17.3% of total weightage in May. Exposure to the sector remained unchanged compared with the previous month.

Apart from private banks, mutual funds increased allocations towards Automobiles (8.5%), Capital Goods (8.1%), and Healthcare (7.8%).

Around 15 sectors recorded a month-on-month increase in value. The biggest gainers were NBFC – Non-Lending, Healthcare, E-Commerce, Capital Goods, and Cement. Meanwhile, Media, PSU Banks, Oil & Gas, Retail, Infrastructure, Real Estate, Technology, Chemicals, Consumer, Textiles, and Metals saw declines.

The sectors where mutual fund ownership versus the BSE 200 remained at least 1% lower included Oil & Gas (19 funds under-owned), Private Banks (15), Consumer (15), PSU Banks (14), and Utilities (12).

The sectors where mutual fund ownership versus the BSE 200 stood at least 1% higher included NBFC – Non-Lending (16 funds over-owned), Healthcare (14), Consumer Durables (11), Chemicals (9), and Capital Goods (8).