ITC shares: Adani group investor GQG Partners' EM fund upped stake in FMCG major for 3rd straight quarter

Rajiv Jain-led GQG Partners Emerging Markets Equity Fund was seen increasing stake in its biggest stock bet ITC for the third straight quarter in a row. Jain's US-based GQG Partners, which manages $88 billion in total assets, was in news recently after it bought Rs 15,446 crore ($1.87 billion) worth stakes in four Adani group companies namely Adani Ports and SEZ, Adani Green Energy, Adani Transmission and Adani Enterprises.

Data showed Jain-led GQG Partners Emerging Markets Equity Fund, which has 33 per cent weight assigned to India, upped stake in cigarette maker ITC to 17,87,71,863 shares or 1.44 per cent in the March quarter from 15,95,99,760 shares or 1.29 per cent stake in the December quarter.

The $11.43 billion fund has been among ITC shareholders at least since June quarter of 2022. It increased stake in ITC to 1.15 per cent in September quarter and to 1.29 per cent in December quarter from 1.10 per cent in June quarter of 2022.

ITC accounted for 7.3 per cent of the fund's holdings as on March 31, its factsheet revealed. Among Indian stocks, HDFC comprised of 4.9 per cent of its holdings and ICICI Bank 2.5 per cent.  In its investment rationale, GQG Partners Emerging Markets Equity Fund said it seeks to invest in high-quality, attractively priced companies exhibiting competitive advantages.

"Our fundamental investment process aims to evaluate each business with a focus on financial strength, sustainability of earnings growth, and quality of management. The resulting portfolio seeks to manage the downside risk of equity investments while providing attractive returns to long-term investors over a full market cycle," it read. The fund is managed by Jain, Brian Kersmanc and Sudarshan Murthy.

Overall, Jain-led GQG Partners manages $88 billion in total assets.

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