ICICI Prudential Infrastructure Fund Optimistic On Power Sector

ICICI Prudential Infrastructure Fund is an open-ended scheme with the objective of infusing in industries, which aid growth in infrastructure. This comprises sectors such as banks, cement, construction and power. Over the year, the fund pruned exposure to sectors such as ferrous metals, construction, capital goods and oil. The power sector, which is hoped to see huge capacity additions, appeared to be the fund's favourite as it nearly doubled allocation to this segment. It accumulated stocks such as NTPC and Tata Power over the past six months, resulting in a four-fold increase in holdings in each of the stocks.

Allocation to banking space appeared sizeable in comparison to peers. The fund missed the strong rally in HDFC Bank as the stock increased about 40 per cent after the fund's exit in the last quarter. It instead added public sector giant State Bank of India to the portfolio. Exposures to ICICI Bank and Andhra Bank were decreased. Reliance Industries, a preferred stock for many a fund house, saw increased weight of 9.2 per cent to enter the fund's top 10 holdings. While allocation to the construction sector has not moved much relative to the increasing asset size, the fund stepped up exposure to Jaiprakash Associates. The oil sector underwent minor rejig with increased exposure to frontline stock ONGC and pruning of holdings in Hindustan Oil Exploration. In the capital goods space, the fund decreased allocation to Kalpataru Power Transmission and instead stepped up investments in Larsen and Toubro.