JioBlackRock Flexi Cap Fund: 13 new stocks added, including Hindustan Zinc & IIFL Finance; 21 exits in October

JioBlackRock Flexi Cap Fund increased its holdings in 27 stocks in October, led by Punjab National Bank (PNB), Bank of India and GAIL (India), while adding Hindustan Zinc and 12 other companies to its portfolio. The fund also exited 21 stocks, including Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), ITC and Yes Bank, and reduced its positions in HDFC Bank and Adani Energy Solutions.

The fund’s October portfolio disclosure shows that it raised its holding in PNB by nearly 23.38 lakh shares and Bank of India by 20.18 lakh shares. It also increased its positions in Steel Authority of India (SAIL), Tata Steel and Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC).

The fund’s portfolio contained 129 stocks at the end of October, compared with 137 in September. It increased holdings in 27 existing stocks and reduced positions in 18 others, while keeping its share quantities unchanged in 71 companies.

Hindustan Zinc, IIFL Finance among new additions; TCS and ITC exited

Hindustan Zinc was the largest new addition to the fund’s portfolio in October. The fund purchased 8.81 lakh shares of the company, representing 1.41% of its net assets at the end of the month. IIFL Finance was another notable addition, with 3.38 lakh shares and a portfolio allocation of 0.57%.

The fund also added South Indian Bank, Mahindra & Mahindra Financial Services, Bajaj Consumer Care, Tanla Platforms, Tips Music, Indian Energy Exchange, International Gemological Institute, Sky Gold and Diamonds, DCB Bank, Gujarat Ambuja Exports and Quess Corp.

At the other end, the fund completely exited 21 stocks. TCS was the largest exit by portfolio value, with its September holding of 2.25 lakh shares accounting for 1.45% of net assets. It also sold its entire holding of 38,510 shares in UltraTech Cement, which represented 1.33% of its September portfolio.

Yes Bank was another major exit, with the fund selling approximately 1.83 crore shares. Other companies from which it exited included TVS Motor Company, Hindalco Industries, Axis Bank, Bajaj Finserv, ITC, Solar Industries India, REC, Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone, CESC, MCX, NTPC and BSE.

The fund also reduced its holdings in 18 existing stocks. HDFC Bank saw the largest reduction, with the fund selling 3.94 lakh shares and bringing its holding down to 22.48 lakh shares from 26.42 lakh shares in September.

PNB, Bank of India and GAIL see biggest additions

PNB was the largest addition by share quantity in October. JioBlackRock Flexi Cap Fund purchased nearly 23.38 lakh shares, taking its total holding to 50.78 lakh shares from 27.40 lakh shares in September.

Bank of India followed, with the fund adding 20.18 lakh shares and taking its total holding to 26.07 lakh shares. It also purchased 13.85 lakh shares of GAIL, increasing its holding to 19.45 lakh shares.

Here are the stocks that saw the biggest increases in shareholding in October:

The fund also increased its holding in State Bank of India (SBI) by 1.72 lakh shares, taking its total position to 13.39 lakh shares. Its holding in Bharti Airtel increased by 52,296 shares to 8.32 lakh shares. Other stocks that saw higher holdings included Castrol India, Ujjivan Small Finance Bank, Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC), Honasa Consumer and Lupin.

Banks remain the largest sectoral exposure

Despite the changes in individual stocks, banking remained the fund’s largest sectoral exposure in October, accounting for 20.22% of its portfolio. Automobiles and ancillaries followed with an allocation of 10.76%. The portfolio was spread across 30 sectors.

ICICI Bank was the fund’s largest individual holding at the end of October, accounting for 6.07% of net assets. Bharti Airtel followed with 5.21%, while HDFC Bank accounted for 4.94%.

The fund’s assets under management (AUM) stood at ₹3,149.79 crore in October, compared with ₹3,175.44 crore in September.

JioBlackRock Flexi Cap Fund is an open-ended equity scheme investing across large-cap, mid-cap and small-cap stocks. It is benchmarked against the Nifty 500 TRI and managed by Tanvi Kacheria and Sahil Chaudhary.