PPFAS Mutual Fund annual report: Holding cash helped limit losses in FY26, says Neil Parag Parikh

Holding cash helped the PPFAS Mutual Fund limit some losses during FY 2025-26, and the fund house has now started deploying some of that cash as the market valuations appear reasonable, according to Neil Parag Parikh, Chairman and CEO of PPFAS Mutual Fund.

"The markets took a breather after a strong bull run post Covid in 2020. This financial year saw the mainline indexes falling between 4-5% due to high valuations, global turmoil and massive selling by FII’s. Our flagship equity fund did better than the mainline indices and fell marginally (-0.63%) while protecting the downside well," Parikh wrote in the annual report of PPFAS Mutual Fund for FY 2025-26.

"Our disciplined investing approach and holding cash (due to lack of opportunities) helped in limiting the fall. As I write this, the markets seem to be more reasonably valued, and we have started deploying some of the cash pile," he added.

How the fund grew in FY26

PPFAS Mutual Fund's investor base grew from 49,05,542 at the start of the financial year to 71,97,905 by the end of it, rising by 46.73%.

The Assets Under Management (AUM) of PPFAS Mutual Fund rose from ₹1,06,357.72 crore to ₹1,47,954.75 crore by the end of the year.

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. PPFAS Mutual Fund recorded a 40.56% increase in the number of SIPs registered from B30 cities and 26.03% jump from top 30 (T30) cities.

The number of SIP registered from beyond the top 30 (B30) cities was 14,28,458 as on March 31, 2025, which increased to 20,07,799 by March 31, 2026.

As per the report, the percentage of PPFAS Mutual Fund's AUM SIP contribution decreased by 1.10%, from 39.05% as on March 31, 2025 to 37.95% as on March 31, 2026.

"Participation from investors across both T30 and B30 cities and towns has increased steadily, while contributions through the SIP route have also demonstrated healthy growth, underscoring investors’ confidence in the Schemes and their preference for disciplined and long-term investing," the report said.

During FY 2025-26, the PPFAS Mutual Fund recording a significant jump in HNI and retail investors.

The annual report says PPFAS Mutual Fund has continued to invest in companies that are robust in terms of not having too much leverage (financial stocks like banks and utilities being the exceptions). The investments are driven by valuations and the merits of individual companies.

The fund house said that the performance of its schemes over the long term has been satisfactory. However, it noted that "in the short run, the scheme performances are weighed down (across the industry) by the subdued conditions in the equity markets and the bond yields moving higher due to inflation fears on account of the energy shock."