Small-cap mutual funds remained popular with investors in August, attracting ₹7,973 crore, the highest inflow among equity fund categories, according to AMFI data. Bandhan Small Cap Fund led individual small-cap schemes with an estimated ₹2,187 crore of net inflows during the month. Its assets under management rose from ₹31,103 crore in July to ₹34,176 crore in August.
The fresh money came alongside several portfolio changes. Bandhan increased its shareholding in 87 existing companies and reduced the number of shares held in 39 others. Cyient, P N Gadgil Jewellers and Strides Pharma Science were among the stocks where its holdings increased, while Torrent Pharmaceuticals, Laser Power and Infra and Craftsman Automation saw sharp reductions in shareholding.
Bandhan Small Cap Fund adds four stocks, exits six
The fund added four stocks to its August portfolio, according to its official disclosure. These were Lalithaa Jewellery Mart, ESDS Software Solution, Lumino Industries and Happiest Minds Technologies.
Lalithaa Jewellery Mart was the largest new position, accounting for 0.49% of the portfolio. ESDS Software Solution and Lumino Industries had allocations of 0.06% and 0.03%, respectively, while Happiest Minds Technologies was disclosed at 0.00%.
At the same time, the fund completely exited six stocks, namely Baazar Style Retail, Motilal Oswal Financial Services, Lumax Auto Technologies, TBO Tek, Poly Medicure and City Union Bank.
Cyient, P N Gadgil among stocks where holdings increased
Cyient was among the notable increases in the portfolio. Bandhan Small Cap Fund raised its holding from 42.82 lakh shares in July to 48.42 lakh shares in August, an increase of 13.1%. Its portfolio weight rose from 1.17% to 1.66%.
P N Gadgil Jewellers saw a much sharper increase. The fund raised its holding from 10.02 lakh shares to 28 lakh shares, an increase of nearly 180%. Its portfolio allocation rose from 0.22% to 0.48%.
Strides Pharma Science was another significant increase. The fund’s holding rose from 17.97 lakh shares to 25.58 lakh shares, up 42.3%. Its portfolio weight increased from 0.59% to 0.77%.
HDFC Bank also saw its shareholding rise from 39 lakh shares to 49.5 lakh shares, an increase of 26.9%. Its portfolio weight increased from 0.94% to 1.03%.
Stock | July shares | August shares | Change |
| P N Gadgil Jewellers | 10.02 lakh | 28.00 lakh | +179.5% |
| Kamdhenu | 8.07 lakh | 21.99 lakh | +172.6% |
| Emami | 3.06 lakh | 5.11 lakh | +67.2% |
| Alicon Castalloy | 2.46 lakh | 4.05 lakh | +64.8% |
| Archean Chemical Industries | 5.68 lakh | 8.80 lakh | +54.9% |
| CSB Bank | 8.22 lakh | 12.58 lakh | +53.0% |
| Strides Pharma Science | 17.97 lakh | 25.58 lakh | +42.3% |
| HDFC Bank | 39.00 lakh | 49.50 lakh | +26.9% |
| Source: Bandhan Mutual Fund | |||
Torrent Pharma, Laser Power among stocks where holdings fell
The fund reduced its shareholding in 39 existing companies during August. Torrent Pharmaceuticals saw its holding fall from 53,835 shares in July to 26,917 shares in August, a 50% reduction.
Laser Power and Infra saw its holding decline from 7.94 lakh shares to 3.98 lakh shares, while Craftsman Automation fell from 17,305 shares to 9,905 shares.
Stock | July shares | August shares | Change |
| Torrent Pharmaceuticals | 53,835 | 26,917 | -50.0% |
| Laser Power and Infra | 7.94 lakh | 3.98 lakh | -49.9% |
| Craftsman Automation | 17,305 | 9,905 | -42.8% |
| Finolex Cables | 3.33 lakh | 2.37 lakh | -28.8% |
| Syrma SGS Technology | 4.11 lakh | 3.00 lakh | -27.0% |
| Artemis Medicare Services | 6.10 lakh | 4.75 lakh | -22.1% |
| Source: Bandhan Mutual Fund | |||
The fund also reduced its holdings in Voltamp Transformers, Apar Industries, Vintage Coffee and Beverages, Samvardhana Motherson International and One 97 Communications, among others.
Bandhan Small Cap Fund has delivered a 10.95% return in 2026 so far, while its one-month return stood at -0.40%. Over three years, the fund has generated an annualised return of 23.90%, compared with 12.33% for the BSE 250 SmallCap TRI. According to Value Research data, the fund ranked first among 34 small-cap funds on the three-year return metric.
