10 mid-cap stocks that large-cap MFs love to hold for higher returns

The tide has turned for large-cap funds. After struggling to beat their benchmark indices between 2018-2022, large-cap funds started to outrun post 2022. And thanks to the great equity run in 2023, 2/3rd of actively managed large-cap funds outperformed their benchmark indices, as per ACEMF data. Their secret? The way fund managers manage the 20% of their corpus which they are allowed to invest outside the large-cap basket of stocks. Here, fund managers opportunistically aim to invest in small- and mid-cap stocks to earn the returns kicker. As per the latest data, the largecap category held about Rs 2.7 lakh crore, Rs 26,447 crore and Rs 5,720 crore in the largecap, midcap and smallcap stocks respectively. These cherry-picked mid and smallcap stocks tend to spice up the return of large-cap funds thus, in turn, likely to outperform the benchmarks. Here are the most popular mid-cap stocks among the 31 active large-cap funds. Portfolio data as of March 31, 2024. Source: ACEMF.

Samvardhana Motherson International
Number of large-cap funds holding the stock: 12
Sample of large-cap funds holding the stock: DSP Top 100 Equity, Groww Largecap and SBI BlueChip

Hero MotoCorp
Number of large-cap funds holding the stock: 10
Sample of large-cap funds holding the stock: JM Large Cap, ICICI Pru Bluechip and Bank of India Bluechip

Also see: Midcap and smallcap funds: How should retail investors approach them?

Info Edge (India)
Number of large-cap funds holding the stock: 9
Sample of large-cap funds holding the stock: Taurus Large Cap, Axis Bluechip and UTI Large Cap

The Indian Hotels Company
Number of large-cap funds holding the stock: 8
Sample of large-cap funds holding the stock: Nippon India Large Cap, Baroda BNP Paribas Large Cap and PGIM India Large Cap

Cummins India
Number of large-cap funds holding the stock: 7
Sample of large-cap funds holding the stock: Groww Largecap, SBI BlueChip and Union Largecap

Also see: Top 10 stocks that power MC30 equity schemes

The Phoenix Mills
Number of large-cap funds holding the stock: 6
Sample of large-cap funds holding the stock: Motilal Oswal Large Cap, HSBC Large Cap and Bandhan Large Cap

PI Industries
Number of large-cap funds holding the stock: 6
Sample of large-cap funds holding the stock: Invesco India Largecap, Tata Large Cap and ITI Large Cap

Sona BLW Precision Forgings
Number of large-cap funds holding the stock: 6
Sample of large-cap funds holding the stock: Union Largecap, SBI BlueChip and Sundaram Large Cap

Also see: SIPs in MC30 top mutual funds deliver consistent returns

FSN E-Commerce Ventures
Number of large-cap funds holding the stock: 6
Sample of large-cap funds holding the stock: Mirae Asset Large Cap, Tata Large Cap and Mahindra Manulife Large Cap

Zydus Lifesciences
Number of large-cap funds holding the stock: 6
Sample of large-cap funds holding the stock: Kotak Bluechip, HSBC Large Cap and Union Largecap

Also see: Midcap stocks that active fund managers avoid. Check your portfolio