Raunak Onkar

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Raunak Onkar is the Head of Research at PPFAS Asset Management Private Limited, the asset management company of PPFAS Mutual Fund, and a co-fund manager of the Parag Parikh Flexi Cap Fund (PPFCF) since the scheme’s launch on 24 May 2013. Onkar has been associated with the PPFAS group since 2008, when he joined as a research intern, and is one of the longest-tenured members of the AMC’s investment team after Rajeev Thakkar, the Chief Investment Officer (Equity).

Onkar’s role within PPFAS sits at the intersection of bottom-up equity research and portfolio construction. He leads the research function across the AMC’s actively managed equity schemes and is one of the sector specialists for Technology, Pharma and Media, three of the most analytically demanding sectors covered by the PPFCF portfolio. His co-management of PPFCF since 24 May 2013 makes him, alongside Rajeev Thakkar, one of only two named individuals with continuous involvement in the flagship fund across its entire history, including its 16 February 2018 reclassification from a multi-cap to a multi-cap-categorised scheme under the SEBI Scheme Categorisation and Rationalisation circular and its 13 January 2021 migration to the Flexi Cap category.

Onkar is also publicly identified as one of the four passengers in the 3 May 2015 Omaha, Nebraska road accident that took the life of founder Parag Parikh. The vehicle, driven by Rajeev Thakkar, was struck by a pickup truck near a signal on the route to Eppley Airfield. Onkar was treated for minor injuries and released. The accident occurred while the PPFAS team was returning from Parag Parikh’s first attendance at the Berkshire Hathaway Annual General Meeting.

This article is the principal biographical reference on Raunak Onkar in the context of PPFAS and the Indian mutual fund industry. Related references include PPFAS Mutual Fund, the Parag Parikh Flexi Cap Fund, Parag Parikh, Neil Parikh and Rajeev Thakkar.

Education and qualifications

Raunak Onkar’s published educational qualifications, as disclosed on the PPFAS AMC fund-manager profiles page and in scheme information documents lodged with the Securities and Exchange Board of India, are:

  • Bachelor of Science (Information Technology) (BSc IT), University of Mumbai. This is a three-year undergraduate degree typically undertaken at affiliated colleges of the University of Mumbai, with a curriculum covering computer programming, database systems, software engineering, web technologies and the foundations of information systems.
  • Master of Management Studies (MMS) in Finance, University of Mumbai. The MMS is a two-year postgraduate management degree affiliated to the University of Mumbai and conducted at recognised business schools, with a finance specialisation covering corporate finance, security analysis, portfolio management and investment banking.

The combination of an information technology undergraduate degree with a finance-specialised MMS provides Onkar with a relatively distinctive analytical background within the PPFAS investment team. The IT-plus-Finance qualification set is particularly relevant to his sector coverage of the technology sector, which on Indian listed markets covers business-process outsourcing, IT services, software product companies, internet platforms and the listed depositories. The same training also supports analytical engagement with the international technology equities that historically formed a substantial weight in PPFCF (Alphabet Inc., Microsoft Corporation, Amazon, Meta Platforms and others).

Unlike several senior PPFAS investment professionals, Onkar’s published profile does not list the Chartered Accountant or CFA Charterholder credentials. His professional qualifications path has instead progressed through internal exposure within PPFAS to value-investing methodology, sectoral research apprenticeship under Rajeev Thakkar and founder Parag Parikh, and direct portfolio-management experience from 2013 onwards.

Career timeline

2008: Joining PPFAS as a research intern

In 2008, Raunak Onkar joined Parag Parikh Financial Advisory Services Limited (PPFAS Ltd), the broking and advisory firm that operated the discretionary “Cognito” Portfolio Management Service from October 1996. Onkar’s entry into PPFAS was as an intern in the Research Team. The internship period coincided with the global financial crisis of 2008 and the subsequent Indian equity-market dislocation, an environment that provided early career exposure to deep-value opportunities and to the behavioural-finance themes that founder Parag Parikh wrote about in his 2009 book “Value Investing and Behavioral Finance: Insights into Indian Stock Market Realities” (Tata McGraw-Hill, ISBN 978-0-07-007763-8).

2008 to 2013: Pre-AMC research apprenticeship

Between 2008 and 2013, Onkar progressed within PPFAS Ltd’s research function, working directly with founder Parag Parikh and with Rajeev Thakkar, who was then CEO of PPFAS Ltd (2007 to 2012) and the existing fund manager of the Cognito PMS. The pre-AMC period at PPFAS Ltd was structurally important for Onkar in three respects:

  • Direct exposure to the PPFAS investment philosophy under its founder, including focused portfolio construction (25 to 35 stocks), the use of cash as a tactical tool, contrarian buying at margins of safety, tax-aware low-turnover management, and the avoidance of directional derivatives.
  • Apprenticeship in a small, lean research team where the same analyst typically covered company filings, management interactions, sectoral models and write-ups, allowing him to develop full-stack analytical skills relatively early in his career.
  • Participation in the preparatory work surrounding the 8 August 2011 incorporation of PPFAS Asset Management Private Limited and the 10 October 2012 setup of PPFAS Mutual Fund (SEBI registration MF/069/12/01), including portfolio research that fed into the launch of the flagship scheme.

24 May 2013: Co-Fund Manager at PPFCF launch

On 24 May 2013, Parag Parikh Long Term Value Fund (PPLTVF), the AMC’s flagship and at the time its only mutual fund scheme, was launched as an open-ended multi-cap equity scheme. Raunak Onkar was named at launch as a co-fund manager alongside Rajeev Thakkar (lead) and dedicated overseas-securities specialist designations. Onkar’s continuous fund-management association with the scheme from its 24 May 2013 launch makes him, alongside Rajeev Thakkar, one of only two named PPFAS investment professionals with unbroken fund-management association across the flagship scheme’s complete history through May 2026.

3 May 2015: Omaha accident and aftermath

On 3 May 2015, while returning from the Berkshire Hathaway Annual General Meeting at Omaha, Nebraska, the vehicle carrying Parag Parikh, his wife Geeta Parikh, Rajeev Thakkar (driving) and Raunak Onkar was struck by a pickup truck near a traffic signal on the route to Eppley Airfield, at approximately 6:45 am local time. Founder Parag Parikh, aged 60, died at the Nebraska Medical Center. Geeta Parikh was severely injured. Rajeev Thakkar and Raunak Onkar were treated for minor injuries and released. The accident was widely reported in the Indian financial press, including Business Standard, American Bazaar Online and the AMC’s own communications.

The accident immediately preceded the leadership transition under which Neil Parag Parikh, son of the founder, succeeded as Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of PPFAS AMC in 2015. The investment-process continuity of PPFCF through that transition rested substantially on Rajeev Thakkar (CIO) and Raunak Onkar (Head of Research), and the unchanged composition of the named fund-management team was a key signal of philosophical continuity to unit-holders and distributors.

2018 to 2021: Scheme rationalisation and Flexi Cap migration

Between 2018 and 2021, Onkar continued as a named co-fund manager through two formal scheme reclassifications:

  • 16 February 2018: PPLTVF was renamed Parag Parikh Long Term Equity Fund (PPLTEF) and categorised as a Multi-Cap Fund under the SEBI Scheme Categorisation and Rationalisation circular of October 2017.
  • 13 January 2021: PPLTEF was renamed Parag Parikh Flexi Cap Fund (PPFCF) and migrated to the new Flexi Cap category that SEBI created in November 2020.

Through both reclassifications, the fund-management roster was preserved, with Raunak Onkar continuing as co-fund manager throughout.

2018 to 2024: Multi-scheme involvement

As the PPFAS scheme menu expanded from a single equity scheme (PPLTVF) to a broader range, Onkar was named to fund-management roles across additional schemes:

  • 9 May 2018: Launch of Parag Parikh Liquid Fund; Onkar’s involvement on the equity side of the AMC operated alongside the debt-side leadership of the liquid scheme.
  • 4 July 2019: Launch of Parag Parikh ELSS Tax Saver Fund (originally Parag Parikh Tax Saver Fund), an ELSS scheme with a three-year lock-in eligible for the Section 80C deduction; Onkar serves as a co-fund manager.
  • 28 May 2021: Launch of Parag Parikh Conservative Hybrid Fund after its 7 to 21 May 2021 NFO; the fund-management roster at launch included Rajeev Thakkar, Raunak Onkar and Raj Mehta.
  • 27 October 2023: Launch of Parag Parikh Arbitrage Fund (NFO 23 to 27 October 2023); fund-management roster includes Rajeev Thakkar, Raunak Onkar, Raj Mehta and Rukun Tarachandani.
  • 22 February 2024: Launch of Parag Parikh Dynamic Asset Allocation Fund (PPDAAF, NFO 20 to 22 February 2024); co-managed by Rajeev Thakkar, Raunak Onkar, Raj Mehta, Rukun Tarachandani and Mansi Kariya.
  • 4 February 2026: Launch of Parag Parikh Large Cap Fund (PPLCF, NFO 19 to 30 January 2026); fund-management roster includes Rajeev Thakkar, Raunak Onkar, Raj Mehta, Rukun Tarachandani, Tejas Soman and Aishwarya Dhar.

By May 2026, Onkar’s name appears on the fund-management mandate of multiple schemes across the PPFAS active range, reflecting his Head-of-Research designation and the AMC’s preference for shared, named fund-management responsibility across team members.

Role at PPFAS Mutual Fund

Raunak Onkar’s current role as Head of Research and co-fund manager at PPFAS AMC has several distinct functional components:

  • Research leadership: Onkar leads the equity research function across the AMC’s actively managed equity schemes. The research function feeds bottom-up stock recommendations into the portfolio-construction process led by CIO Rajeev Thakkar.
  • Sectoral coverage: Onkar’s primary sector specialisations are Technology, Pharma and Media. These three sectors are some of the most analytically complex coverage areas on the Indian equity market, with technology and pharma in particular requiring blending of domestic and international market data given the export-orientation of the underlying businesses.
  • Co-fund management of the flagship: As a co-fund manager of PPFCF, Onkar shares formal investment-decision responsibility for the AMC’s largest scheme. PPFCF, which crossed Rs 1 lakh crore in AUM in May 2025 and reached Rs 1,60,952 crore as of 15 May 2026, is India’s largest actively managed equity mutual fund.
  • Multi-scheme co-fund management: Onkar’s name appears across the ELSS Tax Saver Fund, Conservative Hybrid Fund, Arbitrage Fund, Dynamic Asset Allocation Fund and Large Cap Fund fund-management rosters.
  • Communications and investor education: Onkar contributes commentary in the AMC’s monthly factsheets, the Annual Unitholders’ Meet (a Berkshire-style open meeting held annually since the AMC’s inception), and the Financial Opportunities Forum (FoF) educational platform at ppfasfof.com.

The Head-of-Research role is supplemented by Onkar’s involvement in operational disclosures required under the SEBI Mutual Funds Regulations, 1996, including the monthly portfolio disclosures, the half-yearly trustee report covered under the SEBI MF half-yearly trustee report framework, and the SEBI MF compliance audit inputs related to investment-process compliance.

Sector research and investment approach

Raunak Onkar’s sectoral coverage and analytical approach reflect the broader PPFAS philosophy of focused, bottom-up, value-oriented investing while incorporating sector-specific frameworks for his coverage universe.

Technology

The technology sector covered by Onkar spans:

  • Indian large-cap IT services companies (Infosys, Tata Consultancy Services, HCL Technologies, Wipro).
  • Indian mid-cap IT services (Persistent Systems, LTIMindtree, Mphasis, Coforge).
  • Listed international technology equities (Alphabet Inc., Microsoft Corporation, Amazon, Meta Platforms, historically Berkshire Hathaway Class B).
  • Indian internet platforms and consumer-tech companies as they listed.

The technology coverage interacts directly with PPFCF’s international diversification mandate, which permits up to 35% of AUM in overseas listed equities subject to a minimum 65% in Indian equities to retain equity-oriented tax status under Section 112A of the Income-tax Act, 1961. The foreign technology exposure, historically over 5% per holding for the global majors, declined after the February 2022 SEBI MF overseas investment cap freeze, with PPFCF’s foreign exposure dropping from around 28% of AUM to about 11 to 16% by 2026.

Pharma

The pharma sector covered by Onkar spans:

  • Indian large-cap generics manufacturers (Sun Pharmaceutical, Cipla, Dr Reddy’s Laboratories, Lupin).
  • Specialty pharma and active pharmaceutical ingredient (API) producers.
  • Hospitals and healthcare-services providers (where included in pharma-adjacent research).

PPFCF’s historical pharma holdings have included Cipla and IPCA Laboratories, reflecting a preference for businesses with sustainable competitive positions and reasonable valuations.

Media

The media sector covered by Onkar includes traditional broadcast and content companies, print, exhibition and digital content businesses. The Indian listed media universe is comparatively narrow, and Onkar’s coverage feeds case-by-case stock selection rather than thematic sector allocation.

Application of PPFAS philosophy

Across his three sector areas, Onkar applies the PPFAS investment doctrines summarised on the AMC’s Investment Process page:

  • Focused portfolio (25 to 35 stocks): A small number of high-conviction names, rather than diffused exposure across the sector.
  • Margin of safety: Buy at valuations that allow for adverse outcomes; the core Graham/Buffett discipline.
  • Tax-aware low-turnover management: Minimise portfolio churn to defer long-term capital gains under Section 112A; short-term gains under Section 111A are even less desirable. See also general capital gains tax in India.
  • No directional derivatives: Equity funds avoid futures and options for directional bets; derivatives appear only in the Arbitrage Fund and (for hedging) where permitted.
  • Cash as a tool: PPFCF has held cash levels in the 18 to 25% range during 2026 when valuations are unattractive.

Public engagement

Monthly factsheets

The PPFAS monthly factsheet, published at https://amc.ppfas.com/downloads/factsheet/, is one of the most substantive investor communications in the Indian mutual fund industry. It typically includes long-form commentary by Rajeev Thakkar (CIO) and Neil Parikh (CEO), and references the research outputs of the broader investment team. Onkar’s research outputs feed into the underlying portfolio decisions disclosed in the factsheet’s holdings tables, and into PPFAS’s investor-education materials. The factsheet structure adheres to disclosures expected under SEBI norms and follows the AMFI factsheet template guidance.

Annual Unitholders’ Meet

PPFAS is the only Indian mutual fund holding a Berkshire-style annual open meeting where unit-holders ask the fund team direct questions on holdings. The 12th edition was held on 22 November 2025 at Birla Matushree Sabhaghar, Marine Lines, Mumbai at 4 PM IST, live-streamed on YouTube. Raunak Onkar typically participates on the panel alongside CIO Rajeev Thakkar, CEO Neil Parikh and other named investment-team members, taking questions specifically related to his sector coverage.

Investor education and platforms

Onkar contributes to investor-education content through the AMC’s Knowledge Centre at https://amc.ppfas.com/knowledge-center/ and via the Financial Opportunities Forum at https://ppfasfof.com/, which hosts presentations and analyses by PPFAS team members. The PPFAS Mutual Fund YouTube channel at https://www.youtube.com/user/ppfasltd/videos features panel discussions and quarterly call recordings where Onkar’s commentary appears.

Conferences and interviews

Onkar has appeared in interviews focused on the technology and overseas equity components of PPFCF, including conversations published in trade publications and broker-distribution conferences. While Rajeev Thakkar remains the principal public spokesperson of PPFAS in the Indian financial press, Onkar appears regularly in technology-sector and research-method discussions.

Comparison with industry peers

Raunak Onkar’s profile is comparatively distinctive within the Indian mutual fund industry for several reasons:

  • Unbroken fund-management association with a single flagship scheme: Onkar’s continuous co-fund management of PPFCF from 24 May 2013 to mid-2026 (more than 13 years) is unusual; most Indian fund managers either move between AMCs or rotate across schemes. Among peers with comparable tenure on a single scheme, only Rajeev Thakkar at PPFAS, Prashant Jain (formerly HDFC Mutual Fund and then 3P Investment Managers) and a handful of others have similarly long unbroken associations.
  • Non-CA, non-CFA educational profile: Onkar’s BSc IT plus MMS Finance qualification set is unusual among Indian equity fund managers, the majority of whom are Chartered Accountants, CFAs, or both. The qualification difference reflects PPFAS’s preference for internal training over external credential-gating.
  • Sector specialist as Head of Research: The combination of being Head of Research and a sector specialist for Technology, Pharma and Media is unusual; many AMCs separate the Head-of-Research title from active sector coverage, while PPFAS prefers a flatter, all-hands research structure.
  • Internal career progression from intern to Head of Research: Onkar’s progression from a 2008 research-team intern at PPFAS Ltd to the Head-of-Research designation at PPFAS AMC is a notable internal-promotion case in an industry where lateral hires from larger AMCs or sell-side research dominate senior research roles.

The peer comparison also extends to fund-house culture. PPFAS’s preference for low fund-manager turnover, shared and named co-fund-management responsibility (rather than single-manager attribution), and absence of star-manager marketing places Onkar’s role in a structurally different position from peers at larger fund houses where star-manager identity is more prominent.

Raunak Onkar’s fund-management mandate sits within the broader PPFAS scheme menu of seven active schemes as of May 2026:

  1. Parag Parikh Flexi Cap Fund (PPFCF): AMC flagship, launched 24 May 2013, flexi-cap category since 13 January 2021, AUM Rs 1,60,952 crore as of 15 May 2026.
  2. Parag Parikh Liquid Fund: Liquid mutual fund launched 9 May 2018.
  3. Parag Parikh ELSS Tax Saver Fund: ELSS launched 4 July 2019, AUM Rs 5,260.64 crore as of April 2026.
  4. Parag Parikh Conservative Hybrid Fund: Launched 28 May 2021, 10 to 25% equity exposure.
  5. Parag Parikh Arbitrage Fund: Arbitrage scheme launched 27 October 2023, AUM Rs 2,059 crore.
  6. Parag Parikh Dynamic Asset Allocation Fund (PPDAAF): Launched 22 February 2024.
  7. Parag Parikh Large Cap Fund (PPLCF): Launched 4 February 2026.

Onkar’s name appears as a co-fund manager across PPFCF, ELSS, Conservative Hybrid, Arbitrage, Dynamic Asset Allocation and Large Cap funds. The Parag Parikh Liquid Fund is co-managed exclusively by the AMC’s debt-team specialists.

Operational and distribution context

PPFAS Mutual Fund uses CAMS as its registrar and transfer agent, Deutsche Bank AG Mumbai branch as its custodian, and M/s. M. M. Nissim & Co. LLP as its statutory auditor. The AMC’s in-house investor platform PPFAS SelfInvest, at https://selfinvest.ppfas.com/, supports direct plan transactions across the scheme menu. Industry utilities used by PPFAS include MFU, MF Central and the CAMS investor portal at CAMS Online, with KFin Technologies used in industry-wide common services. The combination of utility platforms supports investor access for both regular-plan and direct-plan routes, with the mutual fund trail commission structure applying to regular-plan investments.

Mutual fund net asset values are computed under the mutual fund NAV computation framework and the applicable NAV rules under SEBI regulations. PPFAS publishes NAVs daily for all active schemes.

See also

External references

References

  1. PPFAS AMC, “Fund Managers”, https://amc.ppfas.com/schemes/fund-managers/, accessed May 2026.
  2. PPFAS AMC, “Spokespersons Profiles”, https://amc.ppfas.com/media/spokespersons-profiles/, accessed May 2026.
  3. AMFI India, “PPFAS Asset Management Private Limited (Member 64)”, https://www.amfiindia.com/member/64, accessed May 2026.
  4. PPFAS AMC, “Scheme Name Change Notice”, https://amc.ppfas.com/schemes/scheme-name-change/, accessed May 2026.
  5. PPFAS AMC, “Parag Parikh Flexi Cap Fund Scheme Page”, https://amc.ppfas.com/schemes/parag-parikh-flexi-cap-fund/, accessed May 2026.
  6. American Bazaar Online, “Prominent Mumbai investor Parag Parikh killed in car crash in Nebraska”, 4 May 2015, https://americanbazaaronline.com/2015/05/04/prominent-mumbai-investor-parag-parikh-killed-in-car-crash-in-nebraska/.
  7. Business Standard, “Dalal Street veteran Parag Parikh dies in Omaha”, 4 May 2015, https://www.business-standard.com/article/current-affairs/dalal-street-veteran-parag-parikh-dies-in-omaha-115050400135_1.html.
  8. Angel One, “Parag Parikh Flexi Cap Fund crosses one lakh crore AUM”, https://www.angelone.in/news/parag-parikh-flexi-cap-fund-crosses-one-lakh-crore-aum.
  9. PPFAS AMC, “Monthly Factsheet Hub”, https://amc.ppfas.com/downloads/factsheet/, accessed May 2026.
  10. PPFAS AMC, “Investment Process”, https://amc.ppfas.com/schemes/investment-process/, accessed May 2026.

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