Parag Parikh Flexi Cap Fund hikes stake in HDFC, 2 bank stocks

The Rs 26,000 crore Parag Parikh Flexi Cap Fund, widely tracked by valued investors, hiked stake in merger-bound HDFC and private lenders ICICI Bank and Axis Bank in September.

During the month, the mutual fund bought 2.5 lakh shares of HDFC, which is now its second-largest bet at 7.88% after Bajaj Holdings.

Fund manager Rajeev Thakkar also picked 1 lakh shares of ICICI Bank and 2.25 lakh shares of Axis Bank, shows monthly portfolio disclosure data.

Amid rising interest rates and improving credit demand, bank stocks have been outperformers this year. Nifty Bank has rallied over 10% so far in the calendar year against a flat return seen in Nifty.

The shares of diversified FMCG conglomerate ITC, which have gone up over 50% so far in the calendar year 2022, remain the third largest holding at 7.75%. Other top bets include HCL Tech, Hero Moto, Coal India, IEX, CDSL and Motilal Oswal Financial Services.

Besides 23 Indian stocks, the fund also has investments in four US stocks - Alphabet, Microsoft, Amazon and Meta Platforms.

The mutual fund has about 10.65% in cash holdings, debt & money market instruments and arbitrage positions which can be deployed in long-term investments at appropriate levels.

Since its inception in 2013, the fund has delivered an annual CAGR return of around 18% but in the last one year it is down by over 5%.

Based on the principles of value investing, the fund is known to pick stocks with low debt, high cash flows and those quoting at a discount to their intrinsic value.