Mutual funds crowd into energy, cements and a handful of banks

In a month still dominated by macro cross-currents – from inflation prints to energy price headlines – the industry’s positioning has a clear centre of gravity: energy, power and a tight cluster of blue-chip cyclicals, according to Arif Habib Ltd’s analysis of mutual fund equity holdings.

Among the ten most widely owned shares across funds, state-linked oil and gas champion OGDC, cement bellwether Lucky Cement (LUCK), energy marketer PSO, explorer PPL and Meezan Bank (MEBL) form the top five. In breadth terms, OGDC appears in 87 mutual funds; by depth, funds collectively hold 20.2% of the company’s free float. LUCK features in 79 funds with 13.1% of its float owned by funds, while PSO and PPL are each in 69 funds – and, strikingly, funds account for 43.9% of PSO’s free float and 14.8% of PPL’s. MEBL rounds out the top five with 57 funds and 10.7% of its free float in institutional hands.

There is some evidence as to how “institutionalised” some mid-caps have become in this cycle. Cement producer Kohat Cement (KOHC) has 27.5% of its free float owned by funds; textile player Kohinoor Textile (KTML) is close behind at 24.2%. Sui Northern Gas Pipelines (SNGP) clocks in at 18.7% and Mari Petroleum (MARI) at 13.2%, underscoring the industry’s comfort with energy infrastructure and E&P cash-flows. On the flip side, big banks such as UBL and MCB have only 2.6% and 2.1% of their free float owned by funds, respectively – far lower than PSO’s 43.9% – a gap that speaks to a different kind of conviction (or caution).