Damani Defies The Rout As India’s Ace Investors Nurse March-Quarter Losses

India’s best-known ace investors saw sharp portfolio erosion in the March quarter as a broad-based correction hit midcaps and smallcaps, but Radhakishan Damani managed to exit the period with gains. Data from Prime Database shows marquee names like Hemendra Kothari, Mukul Agrawal, Madhusudan Kela, Nimesh Shah, Ashish Kacholia, Akash Bhanshali and Ashish Dhawan all ended Q4 FY26 in deep red even as indices slid amid global volatility.

Market Sell-Off Hits Star Portfolios

The January–March quarter saw Sensex and Nifty each fall around 15%, with the BSE 150 MidCap and BSE 250 SmallCap indices dropping 13–15% as geopolitics and crude spikes drove risk-off sentiment. Against this backdrop, concentrated, midcap-heavy portfolios of India’s ace investors underperformed, amplifying losses versus the benchmarks.

Who Lost How Much

Hemendra Kothari and Mukul Agrawal were among the worst hit, with their portfolio values shrinking about 26% quarter-on-quarter. Veteran investor Madhusudan Kela’s holdings fell roughly 21%, while Nimesh Shah and Ashish Kacholia saw 19% and 17% erosion respectively, as core positions corrected sharply. Akash Bhanshali and Ashish Dhawan reported portfolio declines of 16% and 13%, and even the late Rakesh Jhunjhunwala’s estate saw value drop 10% to about Rs 57,600 crore.

Damani Stands Out With Gains

In contrast, Radhakishan Damani bucked the trend, posting around 4% portfolio gains, taking the value of his holdings to roughly Rs 1.76 lakh crore from Rs 1.68 lakh crore in the previous quarter. Damani’s relatively defensive, high-quality tilt and large exposure to Avenue Supermarts and select financials appears to have cushioned him from the worst of the sell-off, underlining how portfolio construction and sector mix can materially alter outcomes in turbulent quarters.

Key highlights

1. Sensex, Nifty fell about 15% in the March quarter amid global risk-off sentiment
2. Most marquee investors Kothari, Agrawal, Kela, Shah, Kacholia, Bhanshali, Dhawan saw double-digit portfolio declines
3. Estate of Rakesh Jhunjhunwala also recorded a roughly 10% drop in equity holdings
4. Radhakishan Damani was the notable outlier, with about 4% portfolio gains in Q4 FY26

Sources: Moneycontrol