Parag Parikh Flexi Cap Fund: Investing across Geographies to Reduce Risk

Oct 07, 2021

Listen to Parag Parikh Flexi Cap Fund: Investing across Geographies to Reduce Risk

00:00 00:00

The Flexi-Cap Funds category has generated stable returns across most time frames. The schemes in this category have the flexibility to dynamically allocate assets across market segments viz. large-caps, mid-caps, and small-caps without any ceiling limit.

The fund managers of Flexi-Cap Funds can invest in whatever segment they spot a growth or value opportunity. Unlike Multi-Cap Funds, Flexi-Cap Funds can reduce allocation to riskier segments such as small-caps and mid-caps to zero if the market conditions are unfavourable. This flexibility gives Flexi-cap funds the advantage of generating better risk-adjusted returns. As a result, Flexi-Cap Funds are a preferred choice for investors who want to invest in a well-diversified portfolio of stocks.

That said, the fund manager's ability to identify opportunities in various market caps/sectors is the key for the growth of Flexi-Cap Funds. This makes it critical to choose Flexi-Cap Funds carefully.

Parag Parikh Flexi Cap Fund is a value-oriented Flexi-Cap Fund that has a track record of standing strong during extreme market conditions and generating superior returns.

Graph 1: Growth of Rs 10,000 if invested in Parag Parikh Flexi Cap Fund 5 years ago

Launched in May 2013, Parag Parikh Flexi Cap Fund has registered consistency in terms of outperformance across bull and bear market phases. The fund has a mandate to invest dynamically across large-cap, mid-cap, and small-cap stocks. It also invests nearly one-third of its corpus in stocks of offshore companies. However, the fund’s orientation remains more towards value style of investing, whereby it aims to invest in quality stocks available at reasonable or attractive valuations. Following a conservative investment approach, Parag Parikh Flexi Cap Fund has done remarkably well to curb the downside during market corrections, as seen in the 2020 market crash. In the current bull phase, Parag Parikh Flexi Cap Fund has outscored the benchmark and many of its Flexi-cap peers by a significant margin. An investment of Rs 10,000 in Parag Parikh Flexi Cap Fund five years back would have appreciated to Rs 27,299 at a CAGR of 22.2%. A similar investment in the benchmark Nifty 500 – TRI would have grown to Rs 21,276, at a CAGR of about 16.3%.

Graph 1
Data as on October 06, 2021
(Source: ACE MF)
 

Table: Parag Parikh Flexi Cap Fund's performance vis-á-vis category peers

Scheme Name Corpus (Cr.) 1 Year 2 Year 3 Year 5 Year 7 Year Std Dev Sharpe
PGIM India Flexi Cap Fund 2,031 74.41 45.98 33.12 21.14 -- 22.89 0.30
Parag Parikh Flexi Cap Fund 16,076 57.01 41.95 28.77 22.23 19.60 19.02 0.33
UTI Flexi Cap Fund 22,592 65.73 38.86 27.87 19.55 16.90 21.45 0.26
DSP Flexi Cap Fund 6,744 64.55 31.26 27.01 17.60 16.25 21.90 0.25
Axis Flexi Cap Fund 9,783 57.35 28.19 26.04 -- -- 18.03 0.28
Canara Rob Flexi Cap Fund 5,730 55.39 33.18 25.82 18.79 15.69 19.71 0.26
Union Flexi Cap Fund 724 60.88 33.73 24.84 16.25 13.37 21.08 0.24
JM Flexicap Fund 187 67.68 26.72 24.52 16.58 16.37 21.45 0.21
IDBI Flexi Cap Fund 366 59.50 29.86 22.94 15.13 14.91 20.07 0.22
Aditya Birla SL Flexi Cap Fund 15,677 61.63 31.26 22.54 15.43 16.67 22.87 0.20
NIFTY 500 - TRI 58.98 30.23 21.90 16.29 14.33 22.59 0.19
Returns are point to point and in %, calculated using Direct Plan - Growth option. Those depicted over 1-Yr are compounded annualised.
Data as on October 06, 2021
(Source: ACE MF)
*Please note, this table only represents the best performing funds based solely on past returns and is NOT a recommendation. Mutual Fund investments are subject to market risks. Read all scheme related documents carefully. Past performance is not an indicator for future returns. The percentage returns shown are only for indicative purposes.
 

Parag Parikh Flexi Cap Fund has generated high alpha over the past few years which has been exceedingly rewarding for its long term investors. Over the last 3-year, 5-year, and 7-year periods, the fund has generated substantial alpha over its benchmark Nifty 500 - TRI as well as category peers. Even on the shorter 2-year horizon, Parag Parikh Flexi Cap Fund has outpaced the broader benchmark by around 12 percentage point CAGR.

Parag Parikh Flexi Cap Fund holds an unbeatable track record on the risk-return parameters. With a Standard Deviation of 19.02, the fund's volatility has been the lowest in the category and far below the benchmark (22.59). Moreover, the Sharpe Ratio of the fund at 0.33 is the highest in the category and much ahead of its benchmark. This shows Parag Parikh Flexi Cap Fund's potential to deliver superior risk-adjusted returns for its investors.

Investment strategy of Parag Parikh Flexi Cap Fund

Parag Parikh Flexi Cap Fund seeks to generate long-term capital appreciation from an actively managed portfolio primarily of equity and equity related securities. Its investment universe is not restricted to any specific sector, market capitalisation, or geography. Other than domestic equities, the fund has flexibility to invest up to 35% of its assets in foreign securities.

While picking stocks for the portfolio, the fund managers follow an active investment strategy primarily based on the approach of fundamental research-driven, bottom-up stock selection. They focus on key parameters like growth opportunities, sustainable competitive advantage, industry structure, margins, quality of the management, and protection of minority shareholders.

The fund managers give high importance to intrinsic value of the business and endeavour to purchase stocks that represent a discount to this value in an effort to create value for investors, maintain a margin of safety, preserve capital, and generate superior growth. They have high conviction in their stocks and hold a pure long-term focus on each of their investments. That's the reason why many of its holdings have been in the portfolio for multiple years now.

Graph 2: Top portfolio holdings in Parag Parikh Flexi Cap Fund

Graph 2 Graph 2
Holding in (%) as on September 30, 2021
(Source: ACE MF)
 

As on September 30, 2021 Parag Parikh Flexi Cap Fund held 22 domestic equities in its portfolio. Among these the fund holds top exposure in Bajaj Holdings & Investment (8.7%), ITC (8.4%), Indian Energy Exchange (5.9%), HCL Technologies (5.3%), Hero MotoCorp (4.9%), and Central Depository Services (3.9%). These stocks collectively account for around 37% of its assets.

Alphabet Inc. is the fund's largest foreign exposure (about 8.2% of its corpus), followed by Amazon (6%), Microsoft Corp (6.6%), Facebook (6.1%), and Suzuki Motor Corporation (1.2%).

Among domestic equities, Persistent Systems, Indian Energy Exchange, and Mphasis turned out to be a multi-bagger in the portfolio. Bajaj Holdings & Investment, ICICI Bank, ITC, Balkrishna Industries, Axis Bank, among others also boosted the fund's performance in the last one year.

About 28.9% of Parag Parikh Flexi Cap Fund's portfolio is exposed to offshore equities. Banking and Finance form another 24.6% of its assets, followed by Infotech, Power, Consumption, Auto, Pharma, and Auto Ancillaries.

Suitability

Parag Parikh Flexi Cap Fund's ability to stand strong even during depressed market conditions has enabled it to generate meaningful alpha over its benchmark and thereby has exuded confidence among its investors. The high alpha that this fund has generated over the past few years has proved to be exceedingly rewarding for long term investors.

Its bet on fundamentally sound undervalued stocks has benefited the fund so far. Moreover, its focus across market caps and geographies enables it to remain flexible enough to deal with the changing market sentiments. The fund managers do not compromise on risk management aspects to generate higher returns. The fund is well equipped to manage market volatility and reward investors over complete market cycles.

Parag Parikh Flexi Cap Fund is suitable for pure long term investors looking for a value-oriented Flexi-cap fund that can offer diversification along with decent margin of safety and stability.

 

Warm Regards,
Divya Grover
Research Analyst

 

PS: If you are looking for quality mutual fund schemes (including Equity-linked Saving Schemes) to add to your investment portfolio, I suggest you subscribe to PersonalFN's premium research service, FundSelect. PersonalFN's FundSelect service provides insightful and practical guidance on which mutual fund schemes to Buy, Hold, and Sell.

Currently, with the subscription to FundSelect, you could also get Free Bonus access to PersonalFN's Debt Fund recommendation service DebtSelect.

If you are serious about investing in a rewarding mutual fund scheme, subscribe now!

Note: This write up is for information purpose and does not constitute any kind of investment advice or a recommendation to Buy / Hold / Sell a fund. Returns mentioned herein are in no way a guarantee or promise of future returns. As an investor, you need to pick the right fund to meet your financial goals. If you are not sure about your risk appetite, do consult your investment consultant/advisor. Mutual Fund Investments are subject to market risks, read all scheme related documents carefully.

 

Join Now: PersonalFN is now on Telegram. Join FREE Today to get "Daily Wealth Letter" and Exclusive Updates on Mutual Funds

 

DISCLOSURE AS PER SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE BOARD OF INDIA (RESEARCH ANALYSTS) REGULATIONS, 2014

About the Company including business activity

Quantum Information Services Private Limited (QIS) was incorporated on December 19, 1989.

QIS was promoted by Mr Ajit Dayal with an objective of providing value-based information/views on news related to equity markets, the economy in general, sector analysis, budget review and various personal products and investments options available to the Public. It was the first company to start equity research on an institutional level.

'PersonalFN' is a service brand of QIS and was started in the year 1999. In 1999, the Company registered the Domain name www.personalfn.com for providing information on mutual funds and personal financial planning, financial markets in general, etc. and services related to financial planning and research in various financial instruments including mutual funds, insurance and fixed income products to customers. It offers asset allocation and researched investment recommendations through its financial planning services.

Quantum Information Services Private Limited (QIS) is registered as Investment Adviser under SEBI (Investment Adviser) Regulations, 2013 and having Registration No.: INA000000680. In terms of the second proviso to Regulation 3 (1) of SEBI (Research Analysts) Regulations, 2014 the Company is not required to obtain Certificate of registration from SEBI.

Disciplinary history

There are no outstanding litigations against the Company, its subsidiaries and its Directors.

Terms and condition on which its offer research report

For the terms and condition for research report click here.

Details of associates

  1. Money Simplified Services Private Limited;

  2. PersonalFN Insurance Services India Private Limited;

  3. Equitymaster Agora Research Private Limited;

  4. Common Sense Living Private Limited;

  5. Quantum Advisors Private Limited;

  6. Quantum Asset Management Company Private Limited;

  7. HelpYourNGO.com India Private Limited;

  8. HelpYourNGO Foundation;

  9. Natural Streets for Performing Arts Foundation;

  10. Primary Real Estate Advisors Private Limited;

  11. HYNGO India Private Limited;

  12. Suresh Lulla;

  13. I V Subramaniam.

Disclosure with regard to ownership and material conflicts of interest
  1. ‘subject company’ is a scheme on which a buy/sell/hold view or target price is given/changed in this Research Report;

  2. Neither QIS, it's Associates, Research Analyst or his/her relative have any financial interest in the subject Company; except for some of the Research Analysts holding units of Parag Parikh Flexi Cap Fund;

  3. Neither QIS, it's Associates, Research Analyst or his/her relative have actual/beneficial ownership of one per cent or more securities of the subject Company, at the end of the month immediately preceding the date of publication of the research report;

  4. Neither QIS, it's Associates, Research Analyst or his/her relative has any other material conflict of interest at the time of publication of the research report except that QIS (PersonalFN) is, as per SEBI (Mutual Funds) Regulations 1996, an associate / group Company of Quantum Asset Management Company Private Limited and Trustees and Sponsor of Quantum Mutual Fund (QMF) and to that extent there may be conflict of interest while recommending any schemes of QMF. However, any such recommendation or reference made is based on the standard evaluation and selection process, which applies uniformly for all Mutual Fund Schemes. The payment of commission (upfront / annualized & trail), if any, for any Schemes by QMF to QIS (PersonalFN) is also at arm's length and as per prevailing market practices.

Disclosure with regard to receipt of Compensation
  1. Neither QIS nor it's Associates have received any compensation from the subject Company in the past twelve months;

  2. Neither QIS nor it's Associates have managed or co-managed public offering of securities for the subject Company;

  3. Neither QIS nor it's Associates have received any compensation for investment banking or merchant banking or brokerage services from the subject Company;

  4. Neither QIS nor it's Associates have received any compensation for products or services other than investment banking or merchant banking or brokerage services from the subject company in the past twelve months.

  5. Neither QIS nor it's Associates have received any compensation or other benefits from the subject Company or third party in connection with the research report

General disclosure
  1. The Research Analyst has not served as an officer, director or employee of the subject Company.

  2. QIS or the Research Analyst has not been engaged in market making activity for the subject Company.

Click here to read PersonalFN's Mutual Fund Rating Methodology

Subject Company means Mutual Fund Schemes

Quantum Information Services Private Limited CIN: U65990MH1989PTC054667 Regd. & Corp. Office: 103, Regent Chambers, 1st Floor, Nariman Point, Mumbai - 400 021

Email:info@personalfn.com Website: www.personalfn.com Tel.: 022 61361200 Fax.: 022 61361222 SEBI-registered Investment Adviser. Registration No. INA000000680, SEBI (Investment Advisers) Regulation, 2013

PersonalFN' requests your view! Post a comment on "Parag Parikh Flexi Cap Fund: Investing across Geographies to Reduce Risk". Click here!

Most Related Articles

JM Flexi Cap Fund: Rewarding Investors with Robust Returns JM Flexi Cap Fund is a lesser-known Flexi Cap Fund that has turned out to be a category outperformer by delivering superior gains in recent years. 

Apr 10, 2025

HDFC Large Cap Fund: Benefitting from Fundamentally Strong Large-cap Stocks HDFC Large Cap Fund is a popular Large Cap Fund known for its strong performance during bull markets.

Mar 27, 2025

Tata Small Cap Fund: Targeting Growth at Reasonable Valuations Tata Small Cap Fund is a growth-oriented scheme in the Small Cap Fund category that has exhibited a noteworthy track record since its inception.

Mar 20, 2025

SBI Long Term Equity Fund: Tapping Opportunities through Value-conscious Approach SBI Long Term Equity Fund is among the oldest and most well-known schemes in the ELSS category, that has effectively tapped into the recent broad-based market rally. 

Mar 06, 2025

HDFC Focused 30 Fund: Excelling through High Conviction Stocks HDFC Focused 30 Fund is a high-conviction Focused Fund that has demonstrated a strong rebound after a period of subdued performance, through its high conviction bets  

Feb 27, 2025

Most Popular

Manufacturing Mutual Funds Shine. Are they Worthy of Your Investment Portfolio?Currently contributing around 17% to the GDP, the manufacturing sector is expected to grow to 21% in the next 6-7 years.

May 06, 2024

6 Equity Mutual Funds to Benefit from India’s Defence SectorThe potential to benefit by sensibly taking exposure to defence sector stocks is huge!

Apr 17, 2024

Top 5 Mutual Funds with High Exposure to EV RevolutionThis article will evaluate the top mutual funds to invest in 2024 that have a high allocation to EV stocks.

Feb 06, 2024

Top Manufacturing Mutual Funds in India to Boost Your PortfolioThis article will evaluate the top mutual funds to invest in 2024 that have a high allocation to Manufacturing stocks.

Oct 28, 2024

HDFC Mutual Fund launches HDFC Manufacturing FundHDFC Mutual Fund launches HDFC Manufacturing Fund

May 08, 2024