The West Asia conflict rattled Dalal Street earlier this year, but easing crude oil prices and a rebound in broad market sentiment over the past few weeks have helped several prominent investors recover the losses they suffered during the March selloff. Some of these portfolios are now well above where they were before the selloff.
A Mint analysis of shareholding data from Primeinfobase showed that by 21 May, the holdings of nearly 60% of prominent investors were already back to or above where they were on 27 February, the day before the latest round of the US-Israel-Iran conflict began. From 27 February and 31 March 2026, the value of holdings of more than 88% of prominent investors had declined.
The study defined ‘prominent investors’ as those holding more than 1% in a listed company and a portfolio exceeding ₹1,000 crore.
The rebound came as crude oil prices cooled from $114 per barrel on 19 March to $92.7 per barrel on 27 May and early signs of progress in US-Iran peace talks eased some concerns about imported inflation, fiscal pressure, and risk to corporate margins.
Smids recover, benchmarks languish
However, benchmark indices remain under pressure despite the recovery. The Nifty has fallen about 6% since 27 February and is still nearly 9% below its 2 January peak. However, the broader market has shown signs of resilience.
Over the same period, the BSE LargeCap index fell nearly 4%, while the BSE MidCap and SmallCap indices gained about 3% and 9%, respectively, indicating a recovery in select pockets after the sharp, broad-based correction in March. That month, the BSE Largecap index fell about 12%, while the BSE Midcap and Smallcap indices dropped about 11.2% and 10.9% respectively. Nifty and Sensex declined 11.3% and 11.5%, respectively in March.
Shouraya Khadgawat, lead strategist for equities at Centricity WealthTech, said, “The recovery in 60% of prominent investor portfolios is real, supported by a sharp rebound in small and mid caps, domestic institutional flows, and selective earnings momentum. But calling it structural would be premature unless next quarter’s earnings hold up, crude does not spike again on fresh Hormuz headlines, and the macro environment remains stable. Mid and small cap earnings have clearly outpaced those of large caps, explaining why concentrated portfolios recovered faster.”
Oil exposure to the rescue
Among prominent investors, Vanaja Sundar Iyer’s portfolio recorded the sharpest rebound by 21 May, up 126% since 27 February. Ashish Kacholia’s holdings were up 24.3% to around ₹1,841 crore over the same period, while Hemendra Kothari’s portfolio rose 15.2% to nearly ₹6,268 crore.
Ashish Dhawan and Akash Manek Bhanshali also saw their portfolios rise more than 12% each to about ₹2,272 crore and ₹7,403 crore, respectively. Anil Kumar Goel’s holdings grew about 10%, while Mukul Agrawal and Radhakishan Damani saw portfolio gains of more than 7%. Madhusudan Kela and the late Rakesh Jhunjhunwala’s portfolios gained more than 4% each.
The recovery in some portfolios was aided by exposure to companies that benefited from cooling crude prices or were indirectly linked to oil, gas and petrochemical capital expenditure. Kacholia holds a 4% stake in Agarwal Industrial Corp., which has exposure to the bitumen business. His holdings in Man Industries and Aeroflex Industries also offer indirect exposure to oil and gas pipelines, refinery and petrochemical capex.
Hemendra Kothari owns a 62% stake in Alkyl Amines Chemicals, which depends on petrochemical feedstocks. Ashish Dhawan holds a 5% stake in AGI Greenpac, where lower crude prices can ease energy and logistics costs.
Consumer stocks remain a drag
However, not all prominent investors have seen their portfolios recover. On 21 May, the holdings of about 41% of prominent investors were still down 3% and 25% from their 27 February levels.
Tejas Trivedi’s portfolio dropped 25.4% to around ₹1,300 crore, Sunil Munjal saw his holdings decline by 13.2%, while Govindlal Parikh and Anuj Sheth saw their portfolios fall 6.8% and 5.5%, respectively.
A closer look at their holdings showed that many remained concentrated in consumption-oriented stocks, especially consumer discretionary and fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) companies. As crude-driven volatility hit markets, some of these stocks corrected sharply after clocking strong gains in 2025.
This trend was also apparent in the 27 February-31 March period. Tejas Trivedi’s portfolio recorded the steepest fall, declining more than 33% to about ₹1,165 crore. Hemendra Kothari’s holdings dropped 17.6% to around ₹4,482 crore, while the portfolios of Nirajkumar Bajaj and Nemish Shah shed more than 15% each.
Geopolitical déjà vu
Geopolitical conflicts often trigger severe portfolio volatility, as seen during the onset of the Russia-Ukraine war. That conflict, which began on 24 February 2022, disrupted global energy markets and pushed Brent crude to $133.90 per barrel on 8 March 2022. Consequently, several prominent investors experienced notable drawdowns in their listed equity portfolios during the last quarter of FY22 (December 2021 to March 2022).
Madhusudan Kela’s portfolio fell about 30% over that period, while Hemendra Kothari’s holdings declined nearly 19%. Radhakishan Damani’s portfolio dropped around 14%, Sunil Kant Munjal’s holdings slipped nearly 11%, and Nemish Shah’s portfolio declined about 14.6%. Niraj Bajaj saw a 6.8% fall, while Mukul Agrawal and Akash Bhanshali recorded declines of about 4.9% and 4.2%, respectively.