Shameless Cloning Portfolio: The Smartest Way to Copy and Win in Investing
In the noisy world of stock investing, the idea of building a portfolio from scratch can be overwhelming. But what if success didn’t require original ideas—just the wisdom to copy the right ones?
Enter the Shameless Cloning Portfolio—a strategy based on the powerful concept of mimicking high-conviction picks from India’s top investors. Inspired by Mohnish Pabrai’s philosophy of “Shameless Cloning,” this approach flips the narrative: instead of chasing the next big tip, it focuses on cloning proven winners with conviction and data.
What is a Shameless Cloning Portfolio?
A Shameless Cloning Portfolio is built by tracking stock picks of seasoned investors who publicly disclose their holdings—particularly those with over 1% ownership in a listed company, as required by SEBI.
Rather than relying on media hype or speculative tips, this method taps into authentic conviction—where investors put real money into their highest-confidence ideas.
Why Shameless Cloning Works: Wisdom from the Masters
There’s an old saying in Hindi:
“Chori bhi akal se karni chahiye.”
(Even copying requires intelligence.)
Copying is not about blindly following. It’s about identifying high-quality signals amid the noise. When a respected investor holds a significant stake—say over 5% or 10%—in a company, it reflects a deep level of research, conviction, and capital commitment.
This is the edge the Shameless Cloning Portfolio leverages—systematically.
The SEBI Rule That Makes Shameless Cloning Possible
Since 2016, SEBI mandates that listed companies disclose their shareholders owning more than 1% of equity. This data, published on exchanges like BSE India, offers an authentic lens into investor conviction.
Platforms like Trendlyne make this data accessible via their “Superstar Shareholders” feature—tracking over 80 renowned investors.
Building the Shameless Cloning Portfolio: Step-by-Step
Creating the Shameless Cloning Portfolio was a thoughtful and data-driven process. Here’s how shameless cloning was done—with real-world examples to show what it (shameless cloning) looked like:
1. Picking India’s Smartest Investors
The first step was to shortlist 10 of India’s most trusted and well-followed stock market investors. These included names like Rakesh Jhunjhunwala, Ashish Kacholia, and Mukul Agrawal, who all have a strong public track record and significant investments in listed companies.
✅ Example: Rakesh Jhunjhunwala held over 43% in Aptech Ltd. as of December 2023—a clear sign of high conviction.
2. Collecting Reliable Data (Last 8 Quarters)
Shareholding data was gathered for these investors over the past two years (8 quarters). The focus was only on stocks where their holding was more than 1%, as required to be disclosed by SEBI. This helped cut through the noise and focus only on meaningful investments.
📊 Example: Mukul Agrawal’s name appeared in several companies’ filings, including Radico Khaitan and Apollo Pipes, where his stake was above the 1% threshold.
3. Measuring Conviction by Ownership %
Rather than just picking the biggest rupee investments, the approach focused on what percentage of a company the investor owned. This helped surface truly high-conviction bets—stocks the investor believed in so strongly, they took a large chunk of it.
📈 Example: While Titan was one of the most valuable holdings of Jhunjhunwala, Aptech made the list instead due to his larger ownership stake (43%).
4. Picking 3–4 Top Stocks per Investor
From each investor’s portfolio, the top 3 or 4 highest-conviction picks (by % shareholding) were selected. After this step, the final list had 57 unique stocks.
🧺 Example Stocks in the Final Portfolio:
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Concord Biotech (24% held by Jhunjhunwala)
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Shivalik Bimetal (held by Ashish Kacholia)
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Apollo Pipes (held by Mukul Agrawal)
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NCC Ltd. (13% stake by Jhunjhunwala)
5. Simulating Real Investments
To keep things simple and consistent, a notional ₹10,000 investment was made in each stock. These investments were “entered” and “exited” in sync with the disclosed dates of the investors’ actual shareholding patterns.
💼 Example: If an investor entered Metro Brands in Q2 2022 and exited in Q3 2023, the portfolio also “bought” in Q2 2022 and “sold” in Q3 2023—at the actual market prices.
6. Measuring Performance
After simulating all 57 stock investments, the total gains and losses were calculated. The outcome? An impressive 41.4% annualized return—outperforming most equity mutual funds and benchmarks like the Nifty.
📈 Example:
An investment of ₹10,000 in Concord Biotech during the investor’s holding period turned into a substantial profit—contributing heavily to the overall portfolio’s stellar return.
This approach proves that with access to publicly available data, a system, and a bit of discipline, it’s possible to build a winning Shameless Cloning Portfolio—without needing to be a stock-picking genius.
The Results: Shameless Cloning Outperformed
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₹5.7 lakhs invested across 57 stocks
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₹3.87 lakhs profit over 2 years
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Annualized Return: 41.4%
To put that in perspective:
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Nifty 50 returned 12.5% during the same period
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Quant Small Cap Fund, one of the best mutual funds, returned 29.9%
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The Shameless Cloning Portfolio beat them all with its 41.4% return
This was achieved without insider access, expensive research reports, or active fund management. Just pure cloning.
What Makes This Strategy Work?
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Conviction-based selection: Focus on stocks with the highest percentage of investor ownership
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Real money signals: High shareholding = strong skin in the game
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Wide diversification: 57 stocks across sectors reduce individual risk
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Small & mid-cap exposure: Higher growth potential, though with volatility
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Systematic filtering: Rules > emotions
Limitations of the Shameless Cloning Portfolio
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Data lag: Shareholding disclosures come 2–3 weeks post-quarter
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Volatility risk: Many holdings are small- or micro-cap stocks
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Not every pick wins: Around 35% of stocks still ended in loss
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Manual work: Requires tools like Google Finance, Trendlyne, and data verification
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Brand concerns: No mutual fund or smallcase provider wants to openly admit they copy ideas—even if it works
The Takeaway: Cloning Isn’t Cheating—It’s Smart Strategy
The Shameless Cloning Portfolio proves that outsized returns are possible without reinventing the wheel. By piggybacking on the conviction of proven investors and applying a disciplined framework, retail investors can create a portfolio that rivals the best funds in India.
Instead of following hype or guesswork, let data-backed conviction be the guide.
Clone the Best. Compound the Rest.
Why reinvent the wheel when the smartest minds have already paved the way?
When stock picking feels overwhelming, turn to the Shameless Cloning Portfolio—a strategy that’s simple, proven, and surprisingly powerful.
Start today, and let the conviction of the greats become the engine of your own financial freedom.
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