Parag Parikh Flexi Cap Fund cash falls to 9.77% after Rajeev Thakkar's ‘single-digit’ outlook: Where is the money going?

Parag Parikh Flexi Cap Fund, the country’s largest active mutual fund scheme by AUM, has stepped up its investment deployment, reducing its allocation to cash and related instruments over the past six months.

The fund’s factsheets show that its combined allocation to cash, debt and money market instruments, and arbitrage positions fell to 9.77% in September 2026 from 18.94% in March, nearly halving over six months. The share also dropped by 1.81 percentage points from 11.58% in August 2026. Here's what investors need to know.

Parag Parikh Flexi Cap Fund's September 2026 factsheet reiterates its focus on identifying individual investment opportunities rather than making allocation decisions primarily on the basis of macroeconomic conditions.

“We continue to look at individual investments on their own merits and will not hesitate to invest if an opportunity looks attractive,” the factsheet stated.

It added that the fund had about 9.77% in cash holdings, debt and money market instruments, and arbitrage positions that could be deployed into long-term investments at appropriate levels.

The March 2026 factsheet had reported the corresponding allocation at 18.94%, while the August factsheet put it at 11.58%. The successive declines indicate that the fund has been reducing its deployable reserves as investment opportunities emerge.

In his August 2026 communication to unitholders, Rajeev Thakkar, CIO - Equity and Director at PPFAS, said the fund was increasingly finding opportunities to invest.

“Cash levels peaked at about 25%. They are down to about 14%-15% in Flexi Cap. We are increasingly finding opportunities to buy, and one may look forward to single-digit cash levels in some time,” Thakkar said.

He also said that holding cash during the preceding two years had not harmed investor returns and had helped at the margin during a sideways market.

The September allocation of 9.77% seems to be consistent with the direction indicated in his August remarks.

According to the September 2026 factsheet, Parag Parikh Flexi Cap Fund (Direct plan) has delivered a 17.76% return since its inception on 24 May 2013, outperforming the Nifty 500 TRI benchmark's 13.56% return.

Over three years, the fund returned 12.21%, against 9.50% for the benchmark. Its five-year return stood at 11.15%, compared with 9.04% for the index.

However, the fund underperformed over the 1-year period ended 30 September 2026, declining 3.54% against the benchmark's 2.03% fall.

The fund completely exited Great Eastern Shipping Company in September 2026 and did not add any new stock to its portfolio.