Raunak Onkar Public Engagement and Research Output

From WebNotes, a public knowledge base. Last updated . Reading time ~19 min.

Raunak Onkar’s public engagement and research output is among the most substantive contributions to the PPFAS Mutual Fund communications and intellectual property base. As Head of Research and co-fund manager of the Parag Parikh Flexi Cap Fund since its 24 May 2013 launch, Onkar has co-managed the AMC’s flagship scheme through more than a decade of evolving market and regulatory conditions and has emerged as the research voice of the AMC. His coverage areas of Technology, Pharma and Media, combined with continuous engagement at the PPFAS Annual Unitholders’ Meet, in the PPFAS monthly factsheet, through the Financial Opportunities Forum platform (ppfasfof.com) and via interviews on PPFAS podcast and interview appearances circuits, make him one of the most influential research-focused fund managers in the Indian asset-management industry.

This article surveys Onkar’s research output, sectoral coverage, conference speaking activity and his role within the AMC’s broader communications tradition.

Background

Raunak Onkar is educated at the University of Mumbai (B.Sc. Information Technology; MMS Finance). He joined PPFAS Ltd in 2008 as an intern in the Research Team and progressed through analyst and senior analyst roles to his current position as Head of Research at PPFAS Asset Management Private Limited and co-fund manager of the AMC’s flagship scheme. He is one of the longest-serving members of the PPFAS investment team.

Onkar was one of the four passengers in the 3 May 2015 road accident in Omaha, Nebraska, that killed the founder Parag Parikh and severely injured Parag’s wife Geeta Parikh. Onkar was treated for minor injuries and released. He has since continued in his role as Head of Research and co-fund manager.

Sectoral coverage

Onkar’s research coverage areas are publicly identified by PPFAS Mutual Fund as Technology, Pharma and Media. These three sectors have been thematically central to the AMC’s investment philosophy and to the Parag Parikh Flexi Cap Fund’s portfolio construction over the years.

Technology

Onkar’s coverage of the Technology sector encompasses both Indian and global technology companies. The PPFCF flagship has historically held substantial positions in:

  • Alphabet Inc. (Google parent) at over 5 per cent weight historically (see Alphabet at PPFCF).
  • Microsoft Corp at over 5 per cent weight historically.
  • Amazon (see Amazon at PPFCF) at over 5 per cent weight historically.
  • Meta Platforms (formerly Facebook) at over 5 per cent weight historically.
  • Indian technology services holdings including Infosys, TCS, HCL Technologies and Persistent Systems.

Onkar’s research on these positions is reflected in the long-form commentary in the PPFAS monthly factsheet, in his presentations at the PPFAS Annual Unitholders’ Meet and in his appearances on podcasts and YouTube creator channels. The thematic case for owning leading US-listed technology platforms from an Indian investor’s perspective has been a recurrent subject of his commentary, both during the period of high overseas allocation in PPFCF before the February 2022 SEBI mutual fund overseas investment cap episode and in the subsequent period when overseas exposure declined from approximately 28 per cent to approximately 11 to 16 per cent.

Pharma

Onkar’s coverage of Pharma includes Indian pharmaceutical companies that have appeared in the PPFCF portfolio at various points, including Cipla and IPCA Laboratories. His Pharma research extends to the broader Indian generics industry, the regulatory environment under the US FDA, and the global pharmaceutical industry.

Media

Onkar’s coverage of Media has included Indian media companies and the global digital-advertising industry that connects to the broader Technology coverage. The advertising-revenue economics of Alphabet and Meta Platforms is in significant respects a Media-sector economic question, and Onkar’s research has reflected this thematic connection.

Conference speaking

Onkar has spoken at conferences and at events including:

Annual Unitholders’ Meet

The PPFAS Annual Unitholders’ Meet features Onkar’s research insights as a standard component of the programme. His presentations typically cover specific portfolio companies or thematic research, with the strongest focus on the Technology, Pharma and Media coverage areas. The 12th edition on 22 November 2025 at Birla Matushree Sabhaghar, Marine Lines, Mumbai included an Onkar presentation on research themes.

Onkar also participates in the extended question-and-answer session that follows the formal presentations, answering audience questions on specific portfolio holdings, sectoral conditions and research methodology.

Financial Opportunities Forum

The Financial Opportunities Forum (FoF) at ppfasfof.com is an educational and content platform run by PPFAS featuring presentations and analyses by PPFAS team members. Onkar has contributed presentations to the platform, particularly on Technology, Pharma and Media themes.

CFA Society India

Onkar has spoken at CFA Society India events, frequently in connection with research-methodology and sector-research topics.

FLAME Investment Lab

Onkar has been a guest speaker at FLAME Investment Lab events, complementing the more frequent appearances of his colleague Rajeev Thakkar (per Rajeev Thakkar public talks).

Investor education seminars

Onkar participates in investor-education seminars hosted by PPFAS in major Indian cities as part of the PPFAS investor education programme. The seminars cover research methodology, sectoral analysis and the application of the PPFAS investment philosophy to specific company analysis.

Factsheet commentary

Onkar contributes to the PPFAS monthly factsheet commentary on a recurring basis. The PPFAS factsheet is unusual in the Indian mutual fund industry for its multi-page Rajeev Thakkar and Neil Parikh commentary supplemented by team-member contributions. Onkar’s factsheet contributions typically address specific portfolio companies or thematic research insights.

The factsheet hub is at https://amc.ppfas.com/downloads/factsheet/. Recent factsheets including the October 2025 factsheet and successive 2026 monthly factsheets have included Onkar’s research insights on portfolio companies.

Podcast and interview appearances

Onkar appears in long-form interviews on Indian personal-finance podcasts and YouTube creator channels, with a research-analytical framing distinct from the more philosophical orientation of his colleagues. His coverage areas of Technology, Pharma and Media make his appearances particularly relevant when discussions turn to the global technology platform companies in the PPFCF portfolio.

Recurring themes in Onkar’s podcast appearances include:

  • The long-run economics of platform businesses (Alphabet, Microsoft, Amazon, Meta Platforms).
  • The case for owning leading US-listed technology platforms from an Indian investor’s perspective.
  • The behavioural-finance underpinning of holding global mega-caps in a domestic equity scheme (per international diversification PPFAS).
  • The Indian pharmaceutical industry’s structural position and the regulatory environment.
  • The Indian and global media industry’s evolving economics.
  • The application of the PPFAS investment philosophy to specific company analysis.
  • The PPFAS focused portfolio construction approach.
  • The PPFAS intrinsic value methodology and discounted cash flow estimation.

The detailed treatment of PPFAS podcast and interview appearances generally is in PPFAS podcast and interview appearances.

Press interviews

Onkar has given press interviews to major Indian business publications and broadcast networks, though less frequently than Rajeev Thakkar and Neil Parikh. Recurring venues have included CNBC TV18, ET NOW, Bloomberg Quint, Mint, the Economic Times and Moneycontrol. His press interviews typically address research-methodology themes, specific portfolio holdings and sectoral conditions. See PPFAS press coverage.

Research output

Beyond conference speaking and factsheet contributions, Onkar’s research output is reflected in:

  • Internal research notes: The PPFAS research team prepares internal research notes on portfolio companies and prospective holdings. The notes inform the AMC’s investment decisions but are not published externally.
  • Portfolio disclosures: The AMC’s monthly portfolio disclosures and quarterly portfolio reports include holdings that reflect Onkar’s research conclusions in his coverage areas.
  • Risk-o-meter disclosures: The risk-o-meter and portfolio disclosures published on https://amc.ppfas.com/schemes/portfolio-disclosure/ reflect the research team’s positioning.
  • NFO documentation: The Scheme Information Documents (SIDs) for the AMC’s seven active schemes incorporate research-team input on portfolio construction.

Co-fund manager roles

Onkar is a co-fund manager of multiple schemes:

His role as co-fund manager places him at the centre of the investment decision-making process for the AMC’s flagship and other key schemes.

Communications themes

Recurring communications themes across Onkar’s public-engagement activity include:

Platform-business economics

The long-run economics of digital platform businesses, including network effects, scale economies, switching costs and the structural advantages of leading platforms, is a recurring topic.

International diversification

The international diversification PPFAS doctrine and the operational consequences of the SEBI mutual fund overseas investment cap episode are discussed regularly.

Pharma sector economics

The structural position of the Indian pharmaceutical industry, the global generics market and regulatory environment, and specific Indian pharmaceutical companies’ competitive positioning are recurring topics.

Behavioural finance applied to research

The application of PPFAS behavioural finance insights to research methodology, including avoiding common analyst biases such as anchoring on recent earnings, representativeness and overconfidence, is a recurring theme.

Margin of safety in research

The application of the PPFAS margin of safety doctrine to research conclusions, including conservative assumptions in discounted cash flow modelling and explicit consideration of downside scenarios, is regularly addressed.

Recent developments

The 2025-26 cycle has seen significant Onkar public-engagement events:

See also

External references

References

  1. PPFAS Asset Management Pvt Ltd. “Spokespersons profiles.” https://amc.ppfas.com/media/spokespersons-profiles/
  2. PPFAS Asset Management Pvt Ltd. “Fund Managers.” https://amc.ppfas.com/schemes/fund-managers/
  3. PPFAS Asset Management Pvt Ltd. “Monthly Factsheets.” https://amc.ppfas.com/downloads/factsheet/
  4. American Bazaar. “Prominent Mumbai investor Parag Parikh killed in car crash in Nebraska.” 4 May 2015.
  5. Financial Opportunities Forum: https://ppfasfof.com

Reviewed and published by

WebNotes Editorial Team

The WebNotes Editorial Team covers Indian capital markets, payments infrastructure and retail investor procedures. Every article is fact-checked against primary sources, principally SEBI circulars and master directions, NPCI specifications and the official support documentation published by the intermediary in question. Drafts go through a second-pair-of-eyes review and a separate compliance read before publication, and revisions are tracked against the SEBI and NPCI rule changes referenced in the methodology section.

Last reviewed
Conflicts of interest
WebNotes is independent. No relationship with any broker, registrar or bank named in this article.