Parag Parikh ELSS Tax Saver Fund has emerged as the worst-performing fund among all equity , excluding sectoral and thematic schemes, over the past year. The fund fell 9.52% during the period.
The comparison is notable because another fund from the same fund house, Parag Parikh Flexi Cap Fund, fell 2.71% over the same period. That leaves a 6.81 percentage-point gap between the two schemes.
Yet, the two funds had around 71% portfolio overlap. Their portfolios as of 31 August 2026 show that the two schemes held 38 of the same stocks. But the allocation to these common holdings was not always similar. Flexi Cap also had exposure to US equities, while ELSS had a higher overall equity allocation.
Here is what the August-end portfolio data reveals.
Same stocks, but very different portfolio weights
As of 31 August 2026, Parag Parikh Flexi Cap Fund and Parag Parikh ELSS Tax Saver Fund held 38 of the same stocks. These common holdings accounted for around 71% portfolio overlap between the two schemes.
But the overlap does not mean the two funds had similar exposure to each company. The weights assigned to several common stocks were significantly different.
Maharashtra Scooters, for instance, accounted for 5.76% of Parag Parikh ELSS Tax Saver Fund’s portfolio, compared with just 0.10% in Parag Parikh Flexi Cap Fund. The stock declined 26.36% over one year.
CMS Info Systems had a 2.62% allocation in ELSS, compared with 0.16% in Flexi Cap. The stock fell around 46% over the same period.
Wipro accounted for 1.53% of the ELSS, while it did not feature in the Flexi Cap portfolio. Wipro’s one-year return was around -34.82%.
|
Stock |
Parag Parikh Flexi Cap |
Parag Parikh ELSS |
1-year return |
| Maharashtra Scooters | 0.10% | 5.76% | -26.36% |
| CMS Info Systems | 0.16% | 2.62% | -46.01% |
| Wipro | NA | 1.53% | -34.82% |
| Combined allocation | 0.26% | 9.91% | — |
| Source: PPFAS Mutual Fund. Allocation data as of 31st Aug 2026. Returns as of 10th Sep 2026. | |||
Together, these three stocks represented 9.91% of the ELSS portfolio at the end of August, compared with only 0.26% in Flexi Cap.
Other common holdings also had different weights. Bajaj Holdings accounted for 7.32% in ELSS versus 5.14% in Flexi Cap. Coal India stood at 5.88% versus 5.02%, while Power Grid accounted for 6.41% versus 5.58%.
Some large common holdings had relatively similar allocations. HDFC Bank, for example, accounted for 7.29% of ELSS and 7.63% of Flexi Cap, while ICICI Bank had weights of 5.14% and 5.67%, respectively.
The data shows that substantial portfolio overlap can coexist with significant differences in individual stock weights.
Parag Parikh Flexi Cap has 11% in US stocks
The August-end portfolios also show a clear difference in overseas exposure.
Parag Parikh Flexi Cap Fund had 11.05% of its portfolio in foreign equities as of 31 August 2026. The comprised four US technology companies.
|
US stock |
Flexi Cap allocation |
| Alphabet | 4.14% |
| Microsoft | 2.40% |
| Amazon | 2.33% |
| Meta Platforms | 2.18% |
| Total | 11.05% |
| Source: PPFAS Mutual Fund. Data as of 31st Aug 2026. | |
Parag Parikh ELSS Tax Saver Fund had no foreign equity exposure in the portfolio analysed.
Within Flexi Cap’s US allocation, Alphabet returned 37.08% over one year, while Amazon gained 9.58%. Microsoft and Meta Platforms made up the remaining exposure.
The portfolio data therefore shows another difference between the two schemes. Flexi Cap had an additional allocation to four US companies, while ELSS had no foreign equity allocation in the analysed portfolio.
ELSS has higher equity exposure than Flexi Cap
The two schemes also differed in their overall asset allocation at the end of August.
Equity and related assets accounted for 96.78% of the ELSS portfolio, compared with 90.30% for Flexi Cap.
Flexi Cap had a larger allocation to certificates of deposit, commercial paper, treasury bills, liquid fund units and reverse repo or TREPS.
|
Allocation |
Flexi Cap |
ELSS |
| Total equity | 90.30% | 96.78% |
| Debt and cash-equivalent holdings | 11.14% | 3.72% |
| Source: PPFAS Mutual Fund. Data as of 31st Aug 2026. | ||
The portfolio data shows that ELSS was more heavily invested in equity at the end of August, while Flexi Cap had a larger allocation outside conventional equity.
The one-year performance gap also sits alongside a different long-term return record.
Parag Parikh ELSS Tax Saver Fund’s five-year return of 11.19% was slightly above the ELSS category average of 11.12%. Its seven-year return of 17.29% was also above the category average of 16.28%.
For investors comparing Parag Parikh ELSS vs Parag Parikh Flexi Cap, the August-end portfolio data shows that the two schemes can have substantial overlap while still differing meaningfully in individual stock weights, overseas exposure and overall equity allocation. These are the key differences visible in the portfolios alongside the sharp divergence in their one-year returns.