Dalal Street veteran Parag Parikh dies in car accident in US

Noted investor Parag Parikh, founder of mutual fund house PPFAS, died in a car accident in Omaha in the US on Sunday.

Parikh's office in Mumbai confirmed his demise, who was in the US to attend the annual shareholder meeting of Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway Corporation.

"Parikh had a very good understanding of the market and he was a seasoned value investor. He was very much committed and talking to him was very good learning experience for me," Union KBC Mutual fund Chief Executive G Pradeepkumar told PTI.

"It's a big loss for the AMC industry. As a Dalal street veteran, Parekh tried to make investing a simple business for investors by having just one simple product. He was one of the few investment experts, who saw a potential in the direct-to-investor route of investing," Quantum AMC Chief Executive Jimmy Patel said. "He practised good ethics in the business of fund management. He had great stock picking skills too. Among his top parameters for investing in a stock was the credibility of its management. He would only invest in stocks whose managements treated minority shareholders well. It was always nice to know that there were people who believed that investors come always first," he added.

Parag Parikh Financial Advisory Services Asset Management Company (PPFAS), which became operational in 2013, has a single product, known as PPFAS Long Term Value Fund, a diversified equity scheme.

The AMC is a mid-sized mutual fund house which was having total assets under management of Rs 572 crore as on March 31. As of now, the company is having 4,000 folios and it employs 35 staff at present, a company executive said.