Investment veteran Rajeev Thakkar, chief investment officer of PPFAS Mutual Fund, sold approximately 0.33% stake in its unlisted parent company Parag Parikh Financial Advisory Services to WhiteOak Capital's Alternative Investment Fund (AIF). According to sources familiar with the matter, this transaction valued the asset management company at nearly ₹15,800 crore. The deal involved a ₹52-crore stake sale to the alternative investment fund, which specializes in unlisted shares. A WhiteOak spokesperson confirmed the investment, while PPFAS did not respond to queries at press time.
PPFAS Mutual Fund demonstrated remarkable growth in its investor base during FY26, with the total number of investors rising from 49,05,542 at the start of the financial year to 71,97,905 by the end, representing a 46.73% increase. As per the latest annual report, the number of retail investors grew by 46% from 46,78,588 as on March 31, 2025, to 68,61,476 as on March 31, 2026. The fund house recorded a 40.56% increase in the number of SIPs registered from B30 cities and a 26.03% jump from top 30 cities. The number of SIP registered from beyond the top 30 cities increased from 14,28,458 to 20,07,799 during the same period.
The Assets Under Management (AUM) of PPFAS Mutual Fund rose significantly from ₹1,06,357.72 crore to ₹1,47,954.75 crore by the end of FY26. However, the percentage of PPFAS Mutual Fund's AUM from SIP contribution decreased by 1.10%, from 39.05% as on March 31, 2025 to 37.95% as on March 31, 2026. According to the annual report, the fund house has continued to invest in companies that are robust in terms of not having too much leverage, with investments driven by valuations and the merits of individual companies. The fund house noted that while long-term scheme performance has been satisfactory, short-term performance is weighed down by subdued equity market conditions and higher bond yields due to inflation fears.
Chairman and CEO Neil Parag Parikh highlighted in the annual report that holding cash helped PPFAS Mutual Fund limit losses during FY26, with the fund's flagship equity fund falling only 0.63% while protecting downside well. As Parikh noted, the markets took a breather after a strong bull run post Covid in 2020, with mainline indexes falling between 4-5% due to high valuations and global turmoil. The fund house has now started deploying some of its cash pile as market valuations appear reasonable. The fund house's flagship scheme, Parag Parikh Flexi Cap Fund, managed by Thakkar, managed ₹1.42 lakh crore of assets as of June 30. The market value of the recently-listed SBI Funds Management was at ₹1.17 lakh crore, while that of ICICI Prudential AMC was at ₹1.53 lakh crore on Tuesday, with PPFAS valuation comparing favorably to these listed peers.
