Jefferies' Chris Wood Replaces Axis Bank, Godrej Properties With These Stocks In Portfolio Rejig

Jefferies' Chris Wood has made several notable adjustments to its Long-Only portfolios. One of the significant changes in the global long-only equity portfolio and the Greed and Fear portfolio is the introduction of an investment in MakeMyTrip Ltd., an online travel company. This addition comes with a 4% weighting in the Greed & Fear portfolio, which is funded by removing the investment in Axis Bank Ltd.

MakeMyTrip’s inclusion reflects a growing optimism about the recovery of India's travel sector, particularly as domestic and international travel demand rebounds.

Wood has also made adjustments in the Indian real estate space. The investment in Godrej Properties Ltd. has been removed from the Asia ex-Japan long-only portfolio, with the proceeds used to increase the position in Macrotech Developers Ltd. by one percentage point to 4%. Additionally, DLF Ltd., another major Indian property developer, will be introduced with a 3% weighting.

Asia ex-Japan long-only portfolio also includes SBI Life Insurance Co., ICICI Bank Ltd., JSW Energy Ltd., Larsen & Toubro Ltd. and GMR Airports Infrastructure Ltd.

A similar change has been made in the global long-only equity portfolio, with Macrotech Developers replacing Godrej Properties.

The investment in Zomato Ltd., the Indian online food delivery giant, will be increased by one percentage point. This increase will be funded by reducing the portfolio's exposure to Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company. Zomato’s enhanced positioning aligns with the broader growth in India's tech and e-commerce space, particularly as consumer behavior increasingly shifts toward digital platforms for food delivery.

In the India long-only portfolio, Wood is increasing its allocation to Reliance Industries Ltd. by two percentage points. To finance these, investments in HDFC Bank Ltd. and State Bank of India have been cut by one percentage point each.

Jefferies sees Indian equities poised for a near-term bounce, driven by favourable factors, and prefers banks, NBFCs, metals, autos, property and power companies. At the same time, it is underweight on information technology and pharma, the brokerage said in a note earlier this month.

Nifty valuations are nearing long-term averages, while government spending is boosting economic growth. Additionally, regulatory easing by RBI and positive reforms newsflow are contributing to the optimistic outlook. Strong domestic flows and a potential reduction in FPI selling could drive good returns in the near term, the strategy note said.