- What changed in PPFAS Flexi Cap's April portfolio
- How PPFAS compares with other large AMCs on cash
- Sector-level movement inside the fund
- Why PPFAS hold so much cash
- Things to keep in mind
- Conclusion
Even after deploying part of its cash in April, Parag Parikh Flexi Cap Fund still holds 15.51% of its scheme in cash, debt and arbitrage, a higher liquidity cushion than most large equity funds in India. At the AMC level, PPFAS held ₹29,327 crore in cash in March 2026, equal to 21.76% of its total AUM, the highest among large fund houses.
This blog covers the key changes in the fund's April 2026 portfolio, what got added and trimmed, and how PPFAS compares with other large AMCs on cash holdings.
What changed in PPFAS Flexi Cap's April portfolio
The fund deployed part of its liquidity buffer in April but did not turn aggressive. Four shifts stand out.
1. The cash buffer came down, but is still large
PPFAS reports a combined "deployable buffer" that includes cash, debt and money market instruments, and arbitrage positions. This bucket fell from 18.94% in March to 15.51% in April, a drop of 3.43 percentage points.
| Metric | March 2026 | April 2026 | Change |
| Cash & cash equivalent | 5.14% | 4.23% | -0.91 pp |
| Debt & money market | 13.40% | 10.88% | -2.52 pp |
| Arbitrage / special situations | 0.40% | 0.40% | No change |
| Total deployable buffer | 18.94% | 15.51% | -3.43 pp |
| AUM (₹ crore) | 1,28,966 | 1,40,949 | +9.29% |
Most of the reduction came from the debt and money market portion, not from pure cash.
2. Big additions in IT, banks, FMCG and a fresh push into gas
The fund added across several large names in April. ITC saw an addition of 1.91 crore shares, taking the total holding to around 24 crore shares. TCS got 34.62 lakh fresh shares, and HDFC Bank got 47.60 lakh shares.
The largest share addition by quantity was in Indraprastha Gas (IGL) at 3.73 crore shares, followed by HCL Technologies at 1.04 crore shares. Other additions included Bajaj Holdings & Investment, Cipla, Dr. Reddy's Laboratories, EID Parry, ICICI Bank, Infosys, Kotak Mahindra Bank, Mahindra & Mahindra and Zydus Lifesciences.
3. Trimming, not exiting, on the PSU side
The fund reduced Coal India by about 6.75 lakh shares and Power Grid by 26.29 lakh shares. It fully exited Balkrishna Industries, selling 22.74 lakh shares. The total number of stocks fell from 33 in March to 32 in April, with no new entrants in the portfolio. Despite the trims, both PSU names remained large allocations, Power Grid stayed at 6.99% and Coal India at 5.95%.
4. AUM jumped sharply during a recovery month
The fund's AUM rose from ₹1,28,966 crore in March to ₹1,40,949 crore in April, a 9.29% increase. April was a strong recovery month for Indian equities, with the Nifty up 7.46%, Sensex up 6.90%, and Nifty 500 up 10.50%. This means the share additions were funded by a mix of cash deployment, fresh inflows, and price appreciation — not cash drawdown alone.
How PPFAS compares with other large AMCs on cash
PPFAS is an outlier not just in absolute cash but in cash as a percentage of AUM.
| AMC | Cash in portfolio | Cash as % of AUM |
| PPFAS Mutual Fund | ₹29,327 crore | 21.76% |
| SBI Mutual Fund | ₹27,463 crore | 3.98% |
| HDFC Mutual Fund | ₹21,352 crore | 5.08% |
| ICICI Prudential | ₹17,289 crore | 3.53% |
| Axis Mutual Fund | ₹16,469 crore | 9.31% |
| Quant Mutual Fund | ₹10,004 crore | 13.82% |
Around 97.9% of PPFAS AMC's reported cash came from the Parag Parikh Flexi Cap Fund alone. Methodology varies across source. Motilal Oswal report also ranks PPFAS as the most cash-heavy fund house, though its percentages for some other AMCs differ from ET's.
Sector-level movement inside the fund
The fund did not make one big sector bet. Additions were spread across banks, IT, pharma, FMCG, autos and gas.
| Sector / Bucket | March 2026 | April 2026 |
| Banks | 20.00% | 19.88% |
| Debt & money market | 13.40% | 10.88% |
| Computer software | 8.47% | 9.35% |
| IT software | 7.99% | 9.25% |
| Power | 7.16% | 6.99% |
| Automobiles | 6.26% | 6.39% |
| Consumable fuels | 6.11% | 5.95% |
| Diversified FMCG | 5.00% | 5.43% |
| Cash & cash equivalent | 5.14% | 4.23% |
| Gas | 0.01% | 0.48% |
The two clearest shifts are in IT software (7.99% to 9.25%), reflecting the TCS, Infosys and HCL Tech additions, and Gas (0.01% to 0.48%), driven by the IGL purchase.
Why PPFAS hold so much cash
Parag Parikh Flexi Cap Fund is not restricted by sector, market cap or geography, but it maintains an average 65% allocation to listed Indian equities to qualify for equity-fund tax treatment. The fund follows a long-term, valuation-conscious approach and prefers to deploy when prices and valuations are low.
There is also a structural constraint. Fresh investments in foreign securities have been temporarily suspended since February 2, 2022, and are now allowed only up to available headroom within India's overseas investment limits. This restricts where the fund can deploy globally and is one reason cash sits idle.
Things to keep in mind
- A cash drop is not the same as a directional call. PPFAS still retains a 15.51% buffer.
- Cash percentage data varies by source. The 21.76% figure is from ET / ACE MF March data.
- April's AUM jump partly reflects market gains, not only fresh inflows.
- PSU trimming does not mean an exit. Power Grid and Coal India remain among the largest holdings.
- The overseas investment cap is a structural reason cash sits idle, not just a fund manager preference.
Conclusion
PPFAS deployed part of its cash in April across IT, banks, FMCG and gas names, but the fund still holds a higher liquidity buffer than most large equity peers. The cash level is a feature of how this fund is run, not a signal investors need to act on by itself.