Kotak MF in recent deals

Kotak Mutual Fund showed up on both sides of India’s March market story: as the biggest named allottee in Poonawalla Fincorp’s ₹2,500 crore share sale and as one of the fund houses putting cash to work during the selloff. (cnbctv18.com 1) (cnbctv18.com 2) Poonawalla Fincorp said on April 13 that it raised ₹2,500 crore through a Qualified Institutional Placement, a route listed companies use to sell new shares to large investors without a public offer. The issue opened on April 9, closed on April 13, and was priced at ₹370.75 a share, a 5% discount to the floor price of ₹390.26. (bseindia.com) (cnbctv18.com) Kotak Mutual Fund schemes received 24% of the shares issued in that placement, ahead of Nippon Life India Mutual Fund at 13.6%, Societe Generale at 9.3%, ICICI Prudential Life Insurance at 7%, HDFC Life Insurance at 6.7%, Bandhan Mutual Fund at 6%, and Franklin India Midcap Fund at 5%. Poonawalla Fincorp issued 6.74 crore shares in the deal. (cnbctv18.com) The company said the new equity will support lending growth and help diversify its asset book. As of December 31, 2025, Poonawalla Fincorp reported assets under management of ₹55,017 crore and 5,264 employees. (bseindia.com) At the same time, Indian mutual funds were buying into the broader March correction. Nuvama Alternative and Quantitative Research data, cited by CNBC-TV18, showed industry cash and cash equivalents fell to ₹2.11 lakh crore in March from ₹2.40 lakh crore in February, implying ₹29,300 crore of deployment. (cnbctv18.com) March was a sharp down month for Indian equities. CNBC-TV18 said both the Nifty and Nifty Bank fell in double digits, while AMFI data showed equity mutual funds still took in a net ₹40,450 crore and systematic investment plan contributions hit a record ₹32,087 crore. (cnbctv18.com) (moneycontrol.com) Kotak Mutual Fund’s disclosed March additions included Shriram Finance at ₹801 crore, Axis Bank at ₹641 crore, and State Bank of India at ₹569 crore. Its reductions included Infosys at ₹413 crore and HDFC Bank at ₹356 crore, according to the CNBC-TV18 compilation. (cnbctv18.com) That puts the Poonawalla Fincorp allotment in context: Kotak was not just rotating within listed stocks during the correction, but also taking part in fresh primary issuance. Poonawalla Fincorp shares ended 2.2% higher on April 13, though the stock remained down 28% from its 52-week high of ₹570 and down more than 15% in 2026, CNBC-TV18 reported. (cnbctv18.com) The wider mutual fund numbers still had a countercurrent. AMFI data showed the industry logged a net withdrawal of ₹2.4 lakh crore in March because debt funds saw ₹2.95 lakh crore of outflows, a year-end pattern that often reflects corporate redemptions from liquid funds. (moneycontrol.com) So the recent Kotak readout is less about one trade than two linked signals: a large allocation in a non-bank lender’s capital raise, and active stock buying while fund-industry cash balances were falling. Both happened in the same March-April stretch. (cnbctv18.com 1) (cnbctv18.com 2)