Samir Arora’s Flagship Helios Flexi Cap fund doubled AUM in a year: These are the high conviction bets

Performance has been steady with the fund outpacing peers in the flexi-cap category. Over one year, the fund delivered a 7.82% annualised return. Year-to-date, the fund delivered 20.42%, ahead of competitors such as Motilal Oswal Flexi Cap Fund (17.96%) and Canara Robeco Flexi Cap Fund (17.34%).

Over the past year, veteran money manager Samir Arora’s flagship Helios Flexi Cap Fund has seen its assets under management (AUM) more than double to Rs 4,362 crore in September 2025, compared to Rs 2,054 crore in September 2024.

The fund’s portfolio has broadened across sectors, reflecting a shift toward high-conviction midcap, fintech, retail and electric vehicle plays, while trimming certain largecap holdings in banks and IT.

The fund’s bank holdings declined from around 21% of AUM to 15%, with HDFC Bank (5.8%), ICICI Bank (4.02%), and State Bank of India (2.13%) now as core positions. Financial services exposure increased from 5.7% to 9%, anchored by PNB Housing Finance, Bajaj Finance, REC, Aadhar Housing Finance, and fintech names One97 Communications (3.13%) and PB Fintech (1.5%).

Retailing and consumer-focused companies have been a major area of increased conviction, doubling from 4.4% in 2024 to 8.8% in 2025, led by Eternal (4.26%), Swiggy (1.43%), Vishal Mega Mart (1.14%), Urban Company (0.31%), and CarTrade Tech (1.94%). The fund also entered the electric vehicle and automobile space - now comprising 6.3% of AUM - through Hero MotoCorp (2.27%), Bajaj Auto (0.99%), Ather Energy (1.49%), and Ola Electric (1.52%). IT holdings shrank, with exits from TCS, Infosys, and HCL, leaving KPIT Technologies (1.62%) as the primary IT exposure with Helios Flexi Cap Fund.

During a previous conversation with Moneycontrol, Samir Arora had said that survivorship, penetration, and monetisation are the core drivers behind his high conviction on new-age companies such as Eternal, Paytm, Ather and Ola.

“Big picture logic is simple. These companies are the survivors of a hard-fought battle that began when they were all unlisted. You started with perhaps 100 fintech companies and are left with seven, eight, or ten. In food delivery, the story is similar: 20 started, now there are two. The game is to bet with the winners,” Samir Arora said. He emphasised that growth comes from penetration rather than overall sector expansion. “We’re betting that people choose quick commerce over traditional shops. Penetration is low and adoption is useful for customers — faster delivery without higher costs. And these companies are already making money: roughly Rs 8-10 per order, with Rs 5 from margin and Rs 3–4 from advertising revenue,” he said.

Among other major sectoral allocations are capital markets (6.9%), featuring Motilal Oswal Financial Services (1.83%), 360 ONE WAM (1.43%), Multi Commodity Exchange (1.39%), and HDFC AMC (1.21%), while healthcare services including Fortis Healthcare (1.6%), Apollo Hospitals (1.19%), and Indegene (1.09%) make up 4.9%. Energy exposure reduced to 3.5%, with NTPC (1.26%) and Adani Energy Solutions (1.04%) forming the core positions. Leisure, realty, industrials, textiles, insurance, and specialty manufacturing collectively constitute around 10% of the AUM.

As of September 2025, the top 10 holdings are HDFC Bank (5.8%), Eternal (4.26%), Adani Ports and SEZ (4.05%), ICICI Bank (4.02%), One97 Communications (3.13%), Bharti Airtel (2.96%), Bajaj Finance (2.81%), Bharat Electronics (2.5%), Hindustan Petroleum (2.29%), and Hero MotoCorp (2.27%). In comparison, in September 2024, the top 10 comprised HDFC Bank (7.65%), ICICI Bank (6.68%), Zomato (4.42%), Reliance Industries (3.86%), State Bank of India (3.66%), TCS (3.61%), Varun Beverages (2.89%), Axis Bank (2.89%), Bharti Airtel (2.79%), and NTPC (2.66%).

Performance has been steady with the fund outpacing peers in the flexi-cap category. Over one year, the fund delivered a 7.82% annualised return. Year-to-date, the fund delivered 20.42%, ahead of competitors such as Motilal Oswal Flexi Cap Fund (17.96%) and Canara Robeco Flexi Cap Fund (17.34%). Since inception, the fund has achieved a 54.5% absolute return and 25.58% annualised return, above the category average of 15.99%.

During September 2025, the fund increased its holdings in HDFC Bank and Adani Ports while trimming exposure to Ola Electric. Cash and equivalents fell from 1.57% in August to 1.14% in September, indicating higher equity deployment.