Indian stocks are on a tear this year as investors have looked past the devastating impact of the second wave of the Covid-19 pandemic and as corporate earnings continued to surge with help from the accommodative policies of central banks at home and globally.
While a 600-basis point outperformance to the Nifty500 index is no small feat, the performance of Jhunjhunwala’s portfolio would have improved further if not for the underperformance of a large number of stocks.
It should be noted that the Nifty500 index is not a true benchmark of the billionaire investor’s portfolio, given that many of his stock picks do not feature in the index. However, given that the Nifty500 index is the widest reference for the Indian stock market, covering 97 per cent of the market capitalisation of all listed entities on NSE, it acts as a fair gauge of comparison.
Of the 39 stocks that are part of the maverick investor’s portfolio, 17 have underperformed the Nifty500 index with four stocks – MCX, Wockhardt,
Pharmova and Karur Vysya Bank – giving negative returns year to date.
Other major drags on the Big Bull’s portfolio so far this year have been large bets like Lupin, Escorts,
and Edelweiss Financial Services. The underperformance of the 17 stocks has ranged from 1 to 4,800 basis points to the Nifty500 index.
Curiously, the biggest winners of Jhunjhunwala’s portfolio in the year so far are actually among the smaller holdings such as Anant Raj Limited, Man Infraconstruction, DB Realty and Orient Cement. Shares of Anant Raj Limited, Man Infraconstruction, DB Realty and have risen 85-150 per cent in 2021 so far.
Fortunately for the Big Bull, four out of five of his biggest portfolio holdings have also outperformed the benchmark index, helping significantly in the overall portfolio’s 36 per cent gains. Shares of
, Fortis Healthcare, Crisil and Tata Motors have risen 35-76 per cent in the year so far.
Two stocks that have also significantly aided Jhunjhunwala’s performance in 2021 are newly-listed Nazara Technologies and Jubilant Ingrevia, which have given hefty returns since their listing.
