HDFC Bank, Reliance, ICICI Bank, and Infosys were the four top large caps in the equity portfolio of various life insurance companies in India during the month of May, according to a Nuvama report. During the month, the key additions to various portfolios were Vedant Fashions, IDFC First Bank, Star Health, ITC and Rainbow Children. The insurance players offloaded significant portions of their stakes in Kotak Mahindra Bank, Interglobe Aviation, L&T, Axis Bank and Ultratech Cement.
Discounting LIC, the aggregate equity AUM of life insurance in India clocked in at Rs 3.7 lakh crore, out of which ICICI Prudential Life Insurance, SBI Life Insurance, HDFC Life Insurance, Tata AIA Life Insurance and Kotak Life Insurance are the largest players. These five players make up 75% of the life insurance AUM, said Nuvama.
Source: Nuvama
Similarly, capital goods, chemicals & fertilisers, and consumer goods were all sectors wherein the life insurance players allocated a higher portion of their portfolio compared to Nifty 100. Conversely, IT, oil & gas, and power were two sectors that Nifty 100 had a higher sector allocation in compared to the life insurance players’ portfolios.
Midcap and smallcap shares held
The top midcap stocks held by the five players were Trent, Indian Hotels, Federal Bank, AU Small Finance Bank, and Ashok Leyland. The top smallcaps shares held by the insurance companies were Krishna Institute of Medical Sciences, KPIT Tech, Redington, Narayana Hrudavalava, and Capri Global.
Insurance houses additions, exits in May
ICICI Pru Life
The player’s prominent additions were Vedant Fashions, Star Health and Bajaj Finserv. They reduced Kotak Mahindra Bank, Interglobe Aviation and L&T. New entrants included Star Health and Jubilant Foodworks while Canara Bank and Go Fashion were complete exits.
SBI Life
SBI Life’s large additions were Kotak Mahindra Bank, HDFC and ITC. Its major reductions included Cummins, SRF and Infosys. Mankind Pharma and Dalmia Bharat were new entrants while Ami Organics completely exited.
Source: Nuvama
HDFC Life
The firm’s large additions were Rainbow Childrens, HDFC and LTI Mindtree. Its prominent reductions were HDFC Bank, Indian Hotels and Godrej Consumer. Max Healthcare and Equitas Small Finance Bank were new entrants while Pfizer and UPL were complete exits.
Tata AIA Life
Tata AIA Life’s major additions were ITC, IDFC First Bank and Indian Hotels. The fund reducedvholdings in Axis Bank, Bharat Forge and L&T Technology Services. Alembic Pharma and Zomato were new entrants while Grasim Industries and Samvardhana Motherson were complete exits.
Kotak Life
Kotak Life’s large additions were Mankind Pharma, Eicher Motors and Biocon. Its prominent reductions included Tech Mahindra, Apollo Hospitals and KPIT Technologies. New entrants included Vedant Fashions and Poly Medicure while KPIT Technologies and Lakshmi Machine were complete exits.