The country’s largest insurance company and the largest domestic institutional Investor Indian Life Insurance Corporation i.e. LIC has made a big change in its Rs 15.5 lakh crore equity portfolio. The company has reduced its stake in 81 companies during the June quarter, while strategically added shares of four public sector defense companies. The special thing is that LIC has reduced its stake in popular retail favorite shares including Suzlon Energy, Anil Ambani’s Reliance Power and Anil Aggarwal’s Vedanta – these shares have been a favorite of small investors despite their unstable performance. According to data received from ACE Equity, the current portfolio of this insurance giant now includes 277 shares.
LIC’s investment in defense sector
LIC has made a big strategic change by adding defense shares to its portfolio. In which a new stake has been taken in Majgaon dock shipbuilders (3.27 percent stake, which costs Rs 3,857 crore). Also, it has increased its stake in established defense companies. LIC has increased its stake in Cochin Shipyard by 13 basis points to 3.05 per cent, India Electronics by 10 basis points to 1.99 per cent and 5 basis points in Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) to 2.77 per cent.
Geo-political stress in various parts of the world, increasing defense expenses after operation vermilion, attention on government’s indigenization and NATO defense expenses have been the topic of discussion for most of the time of 2025, amidst the targets of NATO. In the last six months, the Nifty India Defense Index has increased by 34 per cent, with public sector shipbuilder GRSE shares with 71 per cent returns.
New support to tech and finance services
Apart from the defense sector, LIC has also increased its investment in Tech and Finance Services. The insurance company has increased its stake in Infosys by 43 basis points to 10.88 per cent (now Rs 63,400 crore), while HCL has added 48 basis points to technologies to Rs 5.31 per cent by adding 48 basis points, which is worth Rs 21,900 crore.
Taking a bold step, LIC raised its stake in Jio Financial Services by 55 basis points to 6.68 per cent, which is a sign of faith in Mukesh Ambani’s Finance Service Venture. The insurance company has also raised its stake in Tata Motors by 74 basis points to 3.89 per cent, and bets on changes in the EV sector of this automotive giant.
LIC’s banking portfolio has seen selective repairing, where the insurance company has reduced its heavyweight stake by investing in selected public sector banks. HDFC Bank’s share price fell by 30 basis points to 5.45 per cent, while ICICI Bank’s share value fell by 42 basis points to 6.38 per cent. However, the share price of Bank of Baroda increased to 7.51 per cent with an increase of 61 basis points, while Canara Bank’s share price increased by 13 basis points to 5.85 per cent.
Retail investors’ favorite companies cut
The most dramatic change came in some of the favorite shares of retail investors by LIC as profits. LIC stake in small investors’ favorite multibagger shares, Reliance Power, with a cut of 13 basis points to 2.43 per cent. Vedanta reduced by 6.69 per cent with a cut of 21 basis points while Suzalon Energy was cut by 1 basis point. Hero MotoCorp saw the biggest single cut, in which LIC reduced its stake base points to 6.53 per cent. Other cuts include Naveen Fluorine, Divies Labs, Marico, Apollo Hospitals, Eicher Motors, JSW Energy, Kotak Mahindra Bank, Bharti Airtel and SBI.
LIC’s top holdings
LIC’s largest holding Reliance Industries (RIL) has a Rs 1.3 lakh crore (6.93 per cent stake), with an increase of 19 basis points, which confirmed the trust of the insurance company in India’s largest group. ITC maintained its position as the second largest holding with an increase of 28 basis points with an increase of Rs 82,200 crore (15.8 per cent). The top 10 holdings in LIC’s portfolio are more than Rs 6 lakh crore, with HDFC Bank (Rs 68,600 crore), State Bank of India (Rs 66,300 crore) and Larsen & Toubro (Rs 64,100 crore) are the largest holdings.
Apart from the move of individual shares, sectoral preference also shows a clear reshuffle in LIC’s portfolio. The insurance company has increased investment in renewable energy through EREDA (2.21 per cent new stake), in RVNL to infrastructure (22 basis points to 6.06 per cent), and in consumer goods (148 basis points to 9.14 per cent) in consumer goods through Patanjali Foods.