HDFC Defence Fund, India’s only actively managed fund focused on the defence sector, updated its portfolio in July 2025 by increasing stakes in Bharat Dynamics and three other stocks while reducing exposure in five other companies.
Key Portfolio Changes in July 2025
Stocks with Increased Stake:
- Bharat Dynamics: Added 10.77 lakh shares, taking the total to 17.10 lakh (up from 6.32 lakh in June)
- Bharat Forge: Added 1.64 lakh shares
- Data Patterns (India): Added 1.63 lakh shares
- Astra Microwave Products: Added 1.33 lakh shares
Stocks with Reduced Exposure:
- BEML
- Diffusion Engineers
- Rishabh Instruments
- Power Mech Projects (4,274 shares sold)
- JNK India (1.40 lakh shares sold)
New Additions:
- Cummins India: Around 1.38 lakh shares added
Exits:
- Bansal Wire Industries: Complete exit, selling 2.65 lakh shares
Unchanged Holdings:
- 15 stocks including Bharat Electronics, Larsen & Toubro, Centum Electronics, Cyient DLM, Hindustan Aeronautics, Interglobe Aviation, Dee Developments Engineers, Ideaforge Technology, and The Anup Engineering
Fund Overview
- AUM: Rs 6,497 crore in July (down from Rs 7,055 crore in June)
- Portfolio Size: 24 stocks
- Objective: Long-term capital appreciation by investing in equity and equity-related securities of defence and allied sector companies
- Benchmark: Nifty India Defence – TRI
- Fund Managers: Rahul Baijal & Priya Ranjan
- Launch Date: June 2, 2023
Sector & Allocation Breakdown (July 2025)
- Capital Goods: 61.84%
- Chemicals: 16.66%
- Electricals: 6.54%
- Automobiles & Ancillaries: 3.82%
- Infrastructure: 3.34%
- Aviation: 2.41%
Top 3 Holdings:
- Bharat Electronics: 19.36%
- Hindustan Aeronautics: 15.70%
- Solar Industries: 14.20%
Market Cap Exposure:
- Large Cap: 52%
- Mid Cap: 8.08%
- Small Cap: 34.52%
- Others: 5.38%
Equity Exposure: 94.62%
Other Assets: 5.39%
Performance Snapshot
- Last 3 Months: 29.93%
- Last 1 Year: 3.10%
- Since Inception: 45.63% CAGR
HDFC Defence Fund continues to be a top choice for investors looking to tap into the growth potential of India’s defence and allied sector, offering a mix of large, mid, and small-cap exposure with strong long-term returns.
