Mutual funds raise cash by Rs 3,500 crore in February amid volatility; kitty at Rs 2.09 lakh crore
With the benchmark indices Nifty50 and BSE Sensex remaining volatile in February and ending the month with 1.4% and 0.7% gain respectively, mutual funds have increased their cash allocation by Rs 3,544 crore to Rs 2.09 lakh crore as of February 27, 2026.
As a percentage of total AUM, the cash allocation was recorded at 4.89% in February compared to 4.87% in the previous month. The total equity AUM was recorded at Rs 42.86 lakh crore.
Out of 49 AMCs in the market, six AMCs had over Rs 10,000 crore cash in their respective portfolios. SBI Mutual Fund, the largest fund house based on assets managed, had Rs 34,704 crore cash in its portfolio which was 4.5% of the total AUM.
Also Read | Planning your MF investment for FY27? Experts advice flexicap, multi-cap with gold & silver ETF exposure
This was followed by PPFAS Mutual Fund who had Rs 29,740 crore cash in its portfolio which was 21.19% of the total AUM. Among the three funds - Parag Parikh ELSS Tax Saver Fund, Parag Parikh Flexi Cap Fund, and Parag Parikh Large Cap Fund - the flexi cap fund had the highest cash allocation of Rs 1.05 lakh crore in the month of February.
The ELSS fund managed by PPFAS Mutual Fund had Rs 5,026 crore cash in its portfolio and the large cap fund which is a new fund launched by PPFAS Mutual Fund had Rs 405 crore cash in its portfolio.
“We continue to look at individual investments on their own merits and will not hesitate to invest if an opportunity looks attractive. As usual, our investment stance does not depend much on the macro-economic situation but is focussed on individual companies. We have about 19.99% in cash holdings, debt & money market instruments and arbitrage positions which can be deployed in long term investments at appropriate levels,” PPFAS Mutual Fund said in its monthly release for the cash allocation in its flexi cap fund.
ICICI Prudential Mutual Fund and HDFC Mutual Fund had Rs 23,815 crore and Rs 23,578 crore cash in their respective portfolios.
Axis Mutual Fund had Rs 15,296 crore cash in its portfolio which was 7.73% of the total AUM and the fund house had an equity AUM of Rs 1.82 lakh crore. Quant Mutual Fund had Rs 13,005 crore cash allocation in its portfolio. This cash allocation was 16.43% of the total AUM.
Kotak Mutual Fund had a cash holding of Rs 5,652 crore in February. This was followed by Bandhan Mutual Fund who had Rs 5,086 crore cash in its portfolio. The cash allocation in the portfolio of Mirae Asset Mutual Fund was Rs 1,939 crore which was 1.16% of the total AUM.
Edelweiss Mutual Fund had Rs 1,183 crore cash in its portfolio and this was 2.87% of the total AUM. Sunil Singhania led Abakkus Mutual Fund had Rs 208 crore cash in its portfolio.
Helios Mutual Fund and Groww Mutual Fund had Rs 166 crore and Rs 146 crore cash in their respective portfolios. The Wealth Company Mutual Fund which is led by Madhu Lunawat had nearly Rs 19.69 crore cash in its portfolio which was 6.56% of the total portfolio.
JioBlackRock Mutual Fund had Rs 18.51 crore cash in its portfolio which was nearly 6.56% of the total AUM. Unifi Mutual Fund had Rs 8.10 crore cash in its portfolio. Angel One Mutual Fund was the last one in the list and had Rs 0.19 crore cash in its portfolio.
Also Read | “Kuch aisa karke dikha, khud khush ho jaye khuda…”: Radhika Gupta said after winning Asset Manager of Year for second time
SIFs cash holding
According to the data available in ACE MF, Diviniti SIF by ITI Mutual Fund had Rs 119 crore cash in its portfolio. iSIF by ICICI Prudential Mutual Fund had Rs 173 crore in its portfolio.
The data for QSIF by Quant Mutual Fund and Titanium SIF by Tata Mutual Fund was not available in ACE MF for the month of February.
Fund managers are allowed to keep a part of their portfolio in cash to meet events like redemptions or make investments when they see a possible opportunity in the market.
( Disclaimer : Recommendations, suggestions, views and opinions given by the experts are their own. These do not represent the views of The Economic Times)
If you have any mutual fund queries, message on ET Mutual Funds on Facebook/Twitter. We will get it answered by our panel of experts. Do share your questions on ETMFqueries@timesinternet.in along with your age, risk profile, and Twitter handle.
As a percentage of total AUM, the cash allocation was recorded at 4.89% in February compared to 4.87% in the previous month. The total equity AUM was recorded at Rs 42.86 lakh crore.
Out of 49 AMCs in the market, six AMCs had over Rs 10,000 crore cash in their respective portfolios. SBI Mutual Fund, the largest fund house based on assets managed, had Rs 34,704 crore cash in its portfolio which was 4.5% of the total AUM.
Also Read | Planning your MF investment for FY27? Experts advice flexicap, multi-cap with gold & silver ETF exposure
This was followed by PPFAS Mutual Fund who had Rs 29,740 crore cash in its portfolio which was 21.19% of the total AUM. Among the three funds - Parag Parikh ELSS Tax Saver Fund, Parag Parikh Flexi Cap Fund, and Parag Parikh Large Cap Fund - the flexi cap fund had the highest cash allocation of Rs 1.05 lakh crore in the month of February.
The ELSS fund managed by PPFAS Mutual Fund had Rs 5,026 crore cash in its portfolio and the large cap fund which is a new fund launched by PPFAS Mutual Fund had Rs 405 crore cash in its portfolio.
“We continue to look at individual investments on their own merits and will not hesitate to invest if an opportunity looks attractive. As usual, our investment stance does not depend much on the macro-economic situation but is focussed on individual companies. We have about 19.99% in cash holdings, debt & money market instruments and arbitrage positions which can be deployed in long term investments at appropriate levels,” PPFAS Mutual Fund said in its monthly release for the cash allocation in its flexi cap fund.
ICICI Prudential Mutual Fund and HDFC Mutual Fund had Rs 23,815 crore and Rs 23,578 crore cash in their respective portfolios.
Axis Mutual Fund had Rs 15,296 crore cash in its portfolio which was 7.73% of the total AUM and the fund house had an equity AUM of Rs 1.82 lakh crore. Quant Mutual Fund had Rs 13,005 crore cash allocation in its portfolio. This cash allocation was 16.43% of the total AUM.
Kotak Mutual Fund had a cash holding of Rs 5,652 crore in February. This was followed by Bandhan Mutual Fund who had Rs 5,086 crore cash in its portfolio. The cash allocation in the portfolio of Mirae Asset Mutual Fund was Rs 1,939 crore which was 1.16% of the total AUM.
Edelweiss Mutual Fund had Rs 1,183 crore cash in its portfolio and this was 2.87% of the total AUM. Sunil Singhania led Abakkus Mutual Fund had Rs 208 crore cash in its portfolio.
Helios Mutual Fund and Groww Mutual Fund had Rs 166 crore and Rs 146 crore cash in their respective portfolios. The Wealth Company Mutual Fund which is led by Madhu Lunawat had nearly Rs 19.69 crore cash in its portfolio which was 6.56% of the total portfolio.
JioBlackRock Mutual Fund had Rs 18.51 crore cash in its portfolio which was nearly 6.56% of the total AUM. Unifi Mutual Fund had Rs 8.10 crore cash in its portfolio. Angel One Mutual Fund was the last one in the list and had Rs 0.19 crore cash in its portfolio.
Also Read | “Kuch aisa karke dikha, khud khush ho jaye khuda…”: Radhika Gupta said after winning Asset Manager of Year for second time
SIFs cash holding
According to the data available in ACE MF, Diviniti SIF by ITI Mutual Fund had Rs 119 crore cash in its portfolio. iSIF by ICICI Prudential Mutual Fund had Rs 173 crore in its portfolio.
The data for QSIF by Quant Mutual Fund and Titanium SIF by Tata Mutual Fund was not available in ACE MF for the month of February.
Fund managers are allowed to keep a part of their portfolio in cash to meet events like redemptions or make investments when they see a possible opportunity in the market.
( Disclaimer : Recommendations, suggestions, views and opinions given by the experts are their own. These do not represent the views of The Economic Times)
If you have any mutual fund queries, message on ET Mutual Funds on Facebook/Twitter. We will get it answered by our panel of experts. Do share your questions on ETMFqueries@timesinternet.in along with your age, risk profile, and Twitter handle.
Next Story