Investors Bhanshali, Dhawan, Shah stay largely on sidelines in volatile quarter

The restrained activity comes in a quarter defined by sharp swings

Star investors Akash Bhanshali, Ashish Dhawan and Nemish S. Shah chose calm over churn in the September quarter, barely altering their portfolios even as Indian equities swung sharply. Despite heightened global uncertainty and foreign investor selling weighing on sentiment, the trio preferred minor adjustments to major portfolio reshuffles.

Bhanshali, known for his high-conviction style, added just one stock while trimming positions in two. His portfolio now consists of 17 companies worth nearly Rs 6,320 crore, up from 16 stocks valued at Rs 6,107 crore in the June quarter.

He re-entered Natco Pharma with 18.01 lakh shares valued at around Rs 147 crore after exiting the stock previously. He pared Amber Enterprises to 4.88 lakh shares from 5 lakh shares, now worth about Rs 395 crore, and reduced his holding in Pan Electronics to 54,034 shares from 61,626 shares, with the position valued at roughly Rs 26 lakh.

Dhawan kept his portfolio adjustments measured. He inched up his stake in Equitas Small Finance Bank to 4.53 crore shares from 4.40 crore shares, taking the value to about Rs 268 crore. However, he no longer appears in Glenmark Pharma’s shareholding disclosures, where he earlier held 35 lakh shares valued near Rs 614 crore.

Dhawan now holds 13 stocks worth around Rs 3,332 crore, compared with Rs 3,282 crore across 12 holdings in the previous quarter.

Shah also remained largely inactive, modestly increasing his exposure to Lakshmi Machine Works while trimming his position in Asahi Glass. His name was absent from The Hi-Tech Gears’ latest shareholder list, though it is unclear whether he has exited completely or slipped below the one percent disclosure mark.

Shah now holds five stocks worth around Rs 3,068 crore, down from six stocks valued at around Rs 3,182 crore in June.

The restrained activity comes in a quarter defined by sharp swings. The Sensex dropped 4 percent and the Nifty declined 3.6 percent, while the BSE MidCap and SmallCap indices fell 4.5 percent and 4.2 percent respectively amid geopolitical jitters and aggressive foreign institutional selling.