Persistent Systems at PPFCF

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Persistent Systems Limited is among the periodic mid-cap Indian-IT-services holdings of the Parag Parikh Flexi Cap Fund (PPFCF). The position has appeared in PPFCF factsheet portfolio listings across multiple cycles, alongside other technology-sector holdings such as Infosys at PPFCF, TCS at PPFCF and HCL Technologies at PPFCF.

The Persistent Systems thesis combines several elements of the broader PPFAS investment philosophy. First, engineering-services and platform-engineering exposure: Persistent has historically specialised in software product engineering, intellectual property (IP)-led services and platform development for global software and technology clients. Second, mid-cap operational beta: Persistent’s smaller scale (relative to TCS and Infosys) translates into higher growth potential when client wins materialise, providing different return characteristics from the large-cap IT cluster. Third, disciplined valuation-driven entry: the team has typically built or added to the position during cyclical compression windows.

The position is also a useful illustration of PPFAS value investing and PPFAS focused portfolio doctrines applied to the mid-cap IT segment. Persistent’s product-engineering franchise provides a distinct exposure within the broader Indian-IT-services cluster, complementing the BFSI-heavy mix of TCS and Infosys and the infrastructure-and-products mix of HCL Technologies.

This article documents Persistent Systems’ role in PPFCF: the company background, the investment thesis articulated by Rajeev Thakkar and Raunak Onkar, the position history across multiple factsheet cycles, recent positioning, and the comparison with peer holdings.

Company background

Persistent Systems Limited was incorporated on 16 May 1990 in Pune by Anand Deshpande. The company started as a product-engineering services provider and listed on the National Stock Exchange and the Bombay Stock Exchange in April 2010. Persistent specialises in software product development, intellectual property (IP)-led services and platform engineering, with a particularly strong franchise in the technology, life-sciences-and-healthcare and BFSI verticals.

Persistent’s business is structured across three segments: Digital Engineering Services (DES), Cloud and Infrastructure (C&I) and IP-led platforms (including offerings such as Persistent Compass, Sprout AI and others). The company has built strategic partnerships with major global technology vendors including IBM, Microsoft, Salesforce, AWS and others. Persistent has been an early adopter of AI-led service offerings.

The company is a constituent of the Nifty 500 TRI and several mid-cap indices. The official corporate website is persistent.com. The registered office is at Hinjawadi, Pune.

Anand Deshpande serves as Chairman and Managing Director. Sandeep Kalra has been the chief executive officer.

For Indian retail investors, exposure to Persistent is straightforward through direct equity purchase on the NSE/BSE or through diversified equity mutual fund schemes. PPFCF’s exposure delivers indirect ownership through a SEBI Mutual Funds Regulations 1996 registered scheme.

Investment thesis at PPFCF

The PPFAS thesis on Persistent Systems has been articulated across monthly factsheets and at the PPFAS Annual Unitholders Meet. The argument rests on several pillars.

First, PPFAS margin of safety. Persistent’s price-to-earnings multiple has compressed in cyclical periods, providing valuation-driven entry windows.

Second, product-engineering franchise. Persistent’s specialisation in software product development for global ISVs (independent software vendors) and large enterprises provides differentiated exposure within Indian IT-services. The company’s IP-led offerings and platform investments support higher gross margins on certain engagements relative to traditional staff-augmentation models.

Third, mid-cap operational beta. Persistent’s smaller scale (revenue in the low USD billions versus TCS’s USD 30+ billion) means that new client wins translate into meaningful revenue growth. The team has historically liked this operating leverage when valuations have been reasonable.

Fourth, AI and platform investments. Persistent’s early investments in AI-led offerings (Persistent Compass, Sprout AI and others) position the company for the next wave of enterprise spending on AI integration.

Fifth, PPFAS focused portfolio discipline. Persistent meets the team’s quality bar through its differentiated service mix, growth profile and disciplined balance-sheet management.

Position history

Persistent Systems has appeared in PPFCF disclosures across multiple periods. The position has been mentioned in PPFCF factsheet portfolio listings as one of the recurring Indian holdings within the IT-services cluster, alongside Infosys, TCS and HCL Technologies.

Through the 2018 to 2022 window the position fluctuated with IT-services cycles. The COVID-19 pandemic produced strong upcycles in 2020 and 2021, with Persistent in particular benefiting from accelerated digital and cloud transformation. The 2022 to 2024 deceleration in global enterprise technology spending produced multiple compression that the team has typically interpreted as an entry window for value-oriented IT positions.

The February 2022 SEBI MF overseas investment cap freeze created a structural pivot in which domestic positions received continued allocations.

By 2025 and into 2026 the position continued as a periodic significant holding within the broader PPFCF portfolio, though it did not enter the top three (which by April 2026 was HDFC Bank at PPFCF, Power Grid Corporation at PPFCF and Coal India at PPFCF).

Recent positioning

The April 2026 factsheet, with PPFCF AUM at Rs 1,40,949 crore (up 9.29 per cent month-on-month from Rs 1,28,966 crore in March 2026), continued to include Persistent Systems within the recurring domestic holdings list. The May 2026 commentary on PPFCF carrying around 18 to 22 per cent in PPFAS cash holdings reflected broader valuation caution.

In monthly factsheet commentary, Rajeev Thakkar and Raunak Onkar have referenced Persistent’s product-engineering franchise, the AI-services tailwind and the broader Indian IT-services demand trajectory as supports for continued holding.

Comparison with peer holdings

Within PPFCF’s Indian-IT-services cluster, Persistent Systems sits alongside Infosys, TCS and HCL Technologies. Compared with TCS and Infosys, Persistent provides mid-cap operational beta and differentiated product-engineering exposure. Compared with HCL Technologies, Persistent offers higher growth potential and lower scale, with similar product-and-platform investment narratives but at different valuation profiles.

The cluster of four Indian IT-services holdings provides PPFCF with diversified exposure across delivery models, client verticals, scale and price points within the same broad sector. This is consistent with the PPFAS focused portfolio doctrine.

Compared with international anchors Alphabet at PPFCF, Microsoft at PPFCF, Amazon at PPFCF and Meta Platforms at PPFCF, Persistent provides exposure to outsourced product engineering for these very platforms (with strategic partnerships and client engagements that include the global hyperscalers).

Within the broader PPFAS focused portfolio framework, Persistent Systems is grouped with ITC at PPFCF, the banking cluster (HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank, Kotak Mahindra Bank at PPFCF), the consumer-discretionary cluster (Maruti Suzuki at PPFCF, Mahindra and Mahindra at PPFCF, Bajaj Holdings at PPFCF) and the PSU contrarian positions as anchor Indian holdings.

Context within PPFCF

PPFCF was launched on 24 May 2013 as Parag Parikh Long Term Value Fund (PPLTVF), renamed Parag Parikh Long Term Equity Fund on 16 February 2018 and renamed Parag Parikh Flexi Cap Fund on 13 January 2021. The scheme is benchmarked against the Nifty 500 TRI and has delivered a compound annual growth rate since inception of approximately 19.06 per cent against a category average of 15.22 per cent and the Nifty 500 TRI at 12.4 per cent. AUM crossed Rs 1 lakh crore in May 2025, making PPFCF the first active equity mutual fund scheme in India to do so, and rose to roughly Rs 1.6 lakh crore by 15 May 2026.

The fund is managed by Rajeev Thakkar along with Raunak Onkar, Raj Mehta, Rukun Tarachandani and other team members. Parag Parikh, the founder of the Parag Parikh Financial Advisory Services Limited sponsor entity, established the investing house in 1979 and incorporated PPFAS Ltd in December 1992. The mutual fund was set up with SEBI on 10 October 2012 under registration ID MF/069/12/01.

Persistent Systems has been a recurring topic at the PPFAS Annual Unitholders Meet. The 12th edition was held on 22 November 2025 at Birla Matushree Sabhaghar in Mumbai.

See also

External references

References

  1. PPFAS Mutual Fund, October 2025 factsheet, amc.ppfas.com.
  2. PPFAS Mutual Fund, March 2026 factsheet, amc.ppfas.com.
  3. INDmoney, “PPFAS Flexi Cap April 2026 portfolio update,” indmoney.com.
  4. Angel One, “Parag Parikh Flexi Cap Fund crosses one lakh crore AUM,” angelone.in.
  5. Business Today, May 2026 cash commentary, businesstoday.in.
  6. Persistent Systems Limited, Annual Report 2024-25, persistent.com.
  7. NASSCOM Strategic Review.

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