15 funds exit Avenue Supermarts

Just a month ago, the whole world was going gaga over the shares of Avenue Supermarts, the most profitable value retailer in India that runs the D-Mart brand of hybrid supermarkets. After reaping big gains since the stock more than doubled its IPO price, it seems some mutual fund managers are calling a top.

According to Value Research data, as many as 15 equity funds have exited the stock, which has slipped 9.2% since hitting a peak of Rs 825 on May 8. Although, 5 new funds have added the stock to their portfolio in April. Avenue Supermarts shares have disappeared from the April-17 fund portfolios of fund houses including Franklin Templeton, Reliance and Union.

To get the full list of funds that own this stock, you can use our Who Owns What tool. You will also find the tool on our homepage.

At the end of March 2017, as many as 81 equity funds held shares of Avenue Supermarts, led by stock guru Radhakishan S Damani. The mad rush for the stock even made it the most expensive retail stock. However, end of April 2017 data shows that 71 equity funds hold the shares of D-Mart.

A deeper study shows 6 insights
1. Fifteen equity funds have completely exited Avenue Supermarts. These include Birla Sun Life Balanced Advantage Fund, Franklin India Prima Fund, HDFC Mid-Cap Opportunities Fund, IDFC Tax Advantage (ELSS) Fund, Kotak 50 Regular Plan, L&T Monthly Income Plan, SBI Magnum Balanced Fund, Sundaram Select Midcap Fund, Reliance Growth Fund and Union Small and Midcap Fund.

2. Three AMCs---Franklin Templeton, Reliance and Union---have completely exited the stock by the end of April.

3. As many as 8 funds have cut exposure in Avenue Supermarts in April. These include Birla Sun Life Small & Midcap Fund, ICICI Prudential Multicap Fund, Kotak Mid-Cap Regular Plan, SBI Magnum Equity Fund and Sundaram Select Focus Fund.

4. Five new funds---Axis Focused 25 Fund, Axis Long Term Equity Fund, BNP Paribas Balanced Fund - Regular Plan, DSP BlackRock Top 100 Equity Fund - Regular Plan, and ICICI Prudential India Recovery Fund Series 4---have bought Avenue Supermarts in April.

5. Some funds have tried to raise exposure. Axis Equity Fund, BNP Paribas Equity Fund, DSP BlackRock Small and Mid Cap Fund, HDFC Equity Fund, ICICI Prudential Balanced Advantage Fund and Tata Retirement Savings Fund--Conservative Plan are among the 12 funds that raised holdings.

6. As many as 46 funds did not tweak their holdings in Avenue Supermarts in April.