India’s biggest equity fund makes contrarian bet on IT stocks

PPFAS Mutual Fund's $14.9 billion Flexi Cap Fund has increased exposure to IT services stocks over the three months to May, pushing tech allocation to about 19% of the portfolio, with HCL Technologies and Infosys among its top 10 holdings. CIO Rajeev Thakkar described the prevailing pessimism around AI-driven disruption and outsourcing decline as unrealistic, arguing IT firms will benefit from productivity gains. The fund also added financials, utilities and coal mining while cutting debt and money-market holdings to 14.03% from 23.77% a year ago, as foreign investors have pulled out nearly $30 billion from Indian stocks year-to-date.