According to The Times of India, Avendus Future Leaders Fund III has successfully closed at ₹1,800 crore by July-end, having invested ₹140 crore to acquire approximately 1% stake in Parag Parikh Financial Advisory Services (PPFAS). The transaction was entirely secondary, with the fund purchasing shares from PPFAS chairman and CEO Neil Parag Parikh and wealth management president Khushboo Joshi. As confirmed by Ritesh Chandra, managing director of Avendus Future Leaders Fund, the deal was completed in about one month. Chandra described the investment as a cash-rich and high-growth business with a great management team.
As reported by The Times of India, PPFAS, founded in 1992, is expanding beyond mutual funds into wealth management, GIFT City funds, private equity and the National Pension System. Its flagship Parag Parikh Flexi Cap Fund manages assets of approximately ₹1.4 lakh crore and has delivered a compounded annual return of around 18% over the past decade. Chandra noted that the company consistently delivered strong growth and is well positioned to capitalize on structural growth opportunities in India's asset management industry, with growing preference for financial investments among Indian households.
According to The Times of India, with the latest investment, Avendus' third fund has deployed about 30% of its targeted ₹1,800 crore corpus and has invested ₹540 crore across four companies. The fund plans to make an additional five to six investments over the next 12 months, taking the portfolio to about 12 companies. The Future Leaders Fund III has a consolidated AUM of over ₹4,000 crore and focuses on investing in late-stage market leaders with strong growth potential. The fund's portfolio includes Lenskart Solutions, Sagility, SBI General Insurance, Licious, Juspay, Zeta, Veritas Finance, and Avanse Financial Services, among others.
As reported by The Times of India, Chandra indicated that manufacturing is "extremely interesting now for us," with healthcare as the next priority. The fund is also open to evaluating businesses in the financial services sector, especially in lending, as they are seeing some correction in valuation multiples. Chandra revealed that PPFAS is evaluating a public listing over the next three to four years, although Avendus' exit is not contingent on an IPO. "If the business continues to perform, there will be enough demand for this stock," he stated. The first Future Leaders Fund, raised in 2019, was about ₹373 crore in size, followed by the second fund in 2022 with a ₹1,500 crore corpus. The first fund has already returned about 151% and is in the process of liquidating existing positions.
According to The Times of India, Neil Parag Parikh, chairman and CEO of PPFAS, stated that the partnership marks an important milestone in their journey as they evolve into a full-service asset management platform. The company spans mutual funds, wealth management, GIFT City funds, private equity, and the National Pension System. Chandra noted that from a channel perspective, wealth management will possibly be one of the largest beneficiaries of the shift as the proportion of the population that is investing has increased.
