Resurgent Monkey 1 climbs on top of Sensex, Monkey 2 slips

Welcome back, Monkey 1! Seems like the losing streak has been broken, finally. After a disappointing few weeks, Monkey portfolio 1 sprang into the lead for the seven days ending 4 November with a gain of 0.6 percent.

That might sound piddly but the performance of the portfolio of 10 randomly picked stocks from the BSE 100 was better than that of all its rivals, which lost ground this week.

While the benchmark Sensex and Nifty lost 1.36-1.43 percent, Monkey portfolio 2 ( view table ), a collection of 10 randomly picked stocks from the BSE 500 , remained nearly flat as it fell by a marginal 0.2 percent.

The experts’ portfolio ( view table ), comprising 10 stocks from 10 brokerages , also slipped 1.1 percent.

Word is, Monkey 1 ( view table ), the fund manager of Monkey portfolio 1, has returned from a spiritual retreat up north of the country all charged up.Will his improved zen skills rejuvenate his portfolio’s performance? Fingers crossed!

Even for the 11 weeks since inception (19 August), Monkey portfolio 1 managed to maintain its lead over Monkey portfolio 2 and the brokers as it advanced 8 percent. However, it was bested by the Sensex and Nifty, both of which rose 8.8-9.1 percent.

Boosting the value of the portfolio was DLF, which pocketed an impressive 32 percent gain, and Grasim and Yes bank, both of which gained 21 percent during the same period. Seven out of 10 stocks gained, while one (Siemens) remained unchanged.

The experts’ picks came in next, notching a 7.3 percent gain for the period since 19 August. Infosys led the pack of winners with a 27 percent gain, followed by Bajaj Auto (22 percent) and Reliance Industries (20 percent). Here also, seven stocks ended in the green.

Finally, Monkey 2, until recently the most aggressive portfolio manager of the bunch, ended the period with a 6.7 percent gain. The portfolio was buoyed by hefty advances in Aban Offshore (up 25 percent) and Manappuram Finance (up 20 percent). Eight stocks out of 10 ended in positive territory.

The rumour doing the rounds is that Monkey 2, who’s quite a natural food fanatic, slipped on a banana peel while walking around reading a story on food inflation, which has surged 12.21 percent. That means Monkey 2’s favourite fruit and veggie smoothies are only getting costlier by the day.

Still, he’s not one to stress himself over the fact, so rivals, don’t expect him to mope and hobble around for too long. A break seems to have done Monkey 1 some good. Maybe Monkey 2 will borrow a leaf out of that book too as he recuperates from a sprained ankle after taking a toss on that banana peel.

Join us next week for more stock market adventures of the happy-go-lucky Monkeys and the master brokers.