Purnartha Pratham Strategy PMS Review: Performance, Fees & Should You Stay Invested?

Quick Summary

✅ What Works	❌ What Doesn’t
Strong recent momentum (1M: +17.28%, 3M: +17.01%) Genuine multi-cap flexibility with meaningful small/mid allocation Concentrated conviction portfolio — clear mandate discipline Transparent fund manager with articulated philosophy ₹1,700+ Cr AUM signals institutional confidence	5-year return of 12.41% trails benchmark 13.88% — net-of-fee gap is wider Since-inception alpha is negligible after fees 8-stock concentration amplifies volatility without consistent alpha CY25: -4.15%; downside protection unproven across cycles Variable fee of 2.5% p.a. is a significant compounding drag

Verdict: The Purnartha Pratham Strategy has delivered returns broadly in line with its benchmark since inception — but that means the fee has come almost entirely at your expense.

The recent short-term outperformance is real and worth acknowledging. The 5-year picture, however, tells a quieter and more uncomfortable story.

Table of Contents:

1. Who Should Read This

2. Who This PMS May Still Suit

3. Who Should Likely Avoid This PMS

4. What Is Purnartha Pratham Strategy?

5. Performance Review

6. The Fee Reality

7. The Zero-Based Thinking Test

8. Decision Factor Scorecard

9. The Core Portfolio Architecture Question

10. What a Genuinely Complementary PMS Looks Like

11. Exit Considerations

12. Key Takeaways

13. FAQ

14. Our Approach

Who Should Read This

• You invested in the Purnartha Pratham Strategy and haven’t sat down with the actual data in a while.
• You are evaluating whether your ₹50 lakhs (or more) is working as hard as it should be.
• You want an honest, data-driven assessment — not a sales pitch in either direction.
• You are thinking about exiting but feel uncertain whether timing, tax, or exit loads make it complicated.
• You want to understand whether a concentrated multi-cap PMS genuinely complements your existing mutual fund portfolio.

Who This PMS May Still Suit

• An investor with a genuinely long horizon (7+ years) who can ride out the concentration risk of an 8-stock portfolio.
• Someone who has done a thorough portfolio overlap check and confirmed they do not already own Purnartha holdings through their mutual funds.
• An investor who prefers a single, high-conviction manager over diversified exposure and can absorb the volatility that comes with it.
• Someone in the performance-fee structure (hurdle-based) who expects the fund manager to meaningfully exceed the 10–25% hurdle rates over time.

Who Should Likely Avoid This PMS

• An investor who already holds diversified multi-cap or flexi-cap mutual funds — the top holdings overlap is likely significant.
• Someone who needs predictable, lower-volatility compounding from their satellite allocation.
• An investor whose primary concern is downside protection — an 8-stock portfolio with mid and small-cap concentration will move sharply in both directions.
• Anyone whose investment horizon is under 5 years — the exit load structure alone penalises early exits, and the strategy needs time to express its conviction.

What Is Purnartha Pratham Strategy?

Key Facts

Parameter	Detail
Strategy Name	Pratham Strategy
AMC	Purnartha Investment Advisers Pvt Ltd
Fund Manager	Mr. Rahul Rathi
Inception Date	17 September 2020
Strategy Type	Equity: Multi Cap & Flexi Cap
Benchmark	S&P BSE 500 TRI
Minimum Investment	₹50,00,000
AUM (Apr 2026)	₹1,701–1,759 Cr
Current NAV	₹196.54 (as on 30 Apr 2026)
Total Stocks Held	8

The Pratham Strategy’s mandate is a “concentrated portfolio of companies with high growth and long-term approach.”

Mr. Rahul Rathi brings over 20 years of experience in investment and risk management, having worked with global funds managing AUM of over $2 billion.

He holds an MBA from Carnegie Mellon University and is the Principal Officer for this portfolio.

His philosophy is grounded in finding a small number of high-conviction businesses and compounding wealth through business quality rather than market timing.

The promise is clear and compelling on paper. An 8-stock portfolio is a direct expression of that belief in concentration.

The question you need to sit with is whether the delivered reality — across multiple market cycles now — has justified both the concentration risk and the fee you have been paying.

Performance Review

Trailing Returns (as on 30 April 2026)

Period	Pratham Strategy	S&P BSE 500 TRI	Alpha (+/-)
1 Month	17.28%	10.38%	+6.90%
3 Months	17.01%	-1.73%	+18.74%
6 Months	12.38%	-4.33%	+16.71%
1 Year	14.57%	3.64%	+10.93%
3 Years	18.20%	14.94%	+3.26%
5 Years	12.41%	13.88%	-1.47%
Since Inception	~12.78%	~11.98%	~+0.80%

Returns are annualised for periods above 1 year. Data as on 30 April 2026.

The short-term numbers are genuinely impressive. Over 1 month, 3 months, and 6 months, Purnartha Pratham has delivered meaningful positive alpha — and that deserves honest acknowledgement. Something has gone right in recent positioning.

But when you extend the lens to 5 years, the picture shifts.

The strategy delivered 12.41% annually versus the benchmark’s 13.88% — a gap of -1.47% before accounting for the full fee impact.

Once you subtract the variable fee, the net return to you would be closer to 9.91% — against a benchmark that delivered 13.88% passively.

Over a 5-year horizon, that gap represents real money quietly leaving your portfolio.

Calendar Year Performance

Year	Pratham Strategy	Context
CY 2020 (partial)	+14.70%	Strong post-COVID recovery
CY 2021	+9.15%	Broad bull market; meaningful underperformance vs peers
CY 2022	-1.12%	Bearish year; portfolio held up reasonably
CY 2023	+26.05%	Strong year; mid/small-cap tailwinds helped
CY 2024	+22.75%	Another strong year
CY 2025	-4.15%	Difficult year; concentrated portfolio took a hit
CY 2026 YTD	+10.03%	Strong recovery underway

The calendar year view is instructive. CY21 — a year of broad exuberance — saw the fund deliver just 9.15%, which is a quiet concern for a high-conviction multi-cap strategy.

CY23 and CY24 were strong, but those years lifted almost every equity portfolio.

CY25 was painful at -4.15%, and in an 8-stock portfolio, one or two positions going against you can disproportionately hurt.

Is the recent outperformance a reversal of structural issues, or a short-term momentum burst?

Honestly, it is too early to say with certainty.

What you can say is that over the full measurable horizon, the alpha generation has been modest — and that matters when you are paying a premium fee.

The Fee Reality

The PMS Value Framework

Gross Alpha > Fee = Value Added | Gross Alpha ≈ Fee = Break-Even | Gross Alpha < Fee = Value Destroyed

Where does Purnartha Pratham sit? At the 5-year horizon, the gross return of 12.41% already trails the benchmark’s 13.88%.

Once the 2.5% annual fee is subtracted, net return is approximately 9.91% versus a passive benchmark at 13.88%.

Purnartha Pratham sits in the value-destroyed zone on the 5-year trailing basis.

Fee Structure (as disclosed)

Variable Fee: 2.50% p.a. (or 1.50% / 0.50% with different hurdle structures)

Hurdle Rate: 25% (or 10% / 5% depending on option chosen)

Profit Sharing: 20% of returns above the hurdle

Exit Load: 3% (Year 1) | 2% (Year 2) | 1% (Year 3)

Fixed Fee: No option available

Fee Drag on ₹50 Lakhs: The Rupee Picture

Scenario	Gross Return Assumed	Corpus After 5 Years	Corpus After 7 Years
Pratham Strategy — Gross	12.41%	₹89.5 Lakhs	₹1.13 Cr
Pratham Strategy — Net (after 2.5% fee)	~9.91%	₹80.3 Lakhs	₹98.0 Lakhs
Passive Index Fund (BSE 500 TRI, 0.15% fee)	~13.73%	₹93.5 Lakhs	₹1.19 Cr

The compounding deficit over 5 years is roughly ₹13.2 lakhs on an initial ₹50 lakh investment — capital that left your portfolio silently, year by year, in the form of fee drag.

Over 7 years, the gap widens to over ₹21 lakhs.

That is before we talk about what the fee buys you. If the gross alpha were consistently 5–6% above the benchmark, the fee would be easy to justify.

When the 5-year gross return already trails the benchmark, the fee is not extracting value from a surplus — it is extracting from your principal compounding.

The Zero-Based Thinking Test

Here is the question that cuts through everything: If you received the current value of your Purnartha Pratham investment in cash today — knowing exactly what you know now — would you invest it in this same product?

Not ‘should I stay to recover my cost.’ Not ‘I have already paid three years of fees, might as well wait.’ Those are sunk cost arguments. The money you have already paid in fees is gone.

The question is only about what your capital will do from today forward.

Let us make it concrete. You have a rupee figure in this portfolio today.

You could leave it here, paying 2.5% annually, with a 5-year track record that trails the benchmark net of fee.

Or you could move it to a well-constructed passive or active strategy at a fraction of the cost. The inertia argument of giving it more time deserves honest scrutiny.

More time is only valuable if the strategy has a credible reason to outperform ahead.

A concentrated 8-stock portfolio that has delivered benchmark-level returns since inception, while charging 2.5%, does not automatically improve with age.

Staying invested in something that is not clearly working requires justification. That is the uncomfortable truth that zero-based thinking surfaces.

The exit is not a failure. The failure would be letting another 3–5 years pass while the compounding deficit quietly widens.

Ask yourself this: if a friend showed you this 5-year performance data and asked whether they should invest ₹50 lakhs here today, what would you honestly tell them?

Decision Factor Scorecard

Scored on 12 standardised factors: GREEN = Pass | AMBER = Mixed | RED = Concern

Decision Factor	Rating	Analysis
Uniqueness vs existing MF portfolio	MIXED	The top 5 holdings — Yatharth Hospital, Avanti Feeds, Suzlon Energy, Pricol, Bajaj Finance — span healthcare, FMCG, energy, auto components, and financial services. Some of these names appear in small/mid-cap mutual funds. If you hold a diversified flexi-cap or multi-cap fund, you almost certainly own Bajaj Finance already. The FMCG allocation at 18.51% and Financial Services at 11.7% overlap with practically every diversified equity fund. The genuinely differentiated names (Pricol, Avanti Feeds) may offer real differentiation, but the portfolio’s aggregate sector exposure is not categorically different from what a broad MF can deliver. Before concluding this is additive to your portfolio, do the stock-level overlap check.
Alpha consistency across all periods	CONCERN	Short-term alpha (1M to 1Y) as of April 2026 is genuinely strong. But the 5-year number — the most reliable signal across a market cycle — shows the fund trailing its benchmark by 1.47% on a gross basis. Since inception, the alpha is barely positive at around 0.80%. A portfolio charging 2.5% p.a. needs to generate at least 2.5% gross alpha consistently just to break even for you. That bar has not been cleared over the full measurable horizon. The recent momentum is real but insufficiently long to override the 5-year pattern.
Justification for PMS premium fee	CONCERN	The variable fee of 2.50% p.a. is the standard premium PMS charge. For that fee to be justified, you need net-of-fee returns that clearly exceed what a ₹50 lakh investment in a broad index fund would deliver. On the 5-year data, the net return to you is approximately 9.91% versus 13.73% from a BSE 500 index fund. The fee is not extracting a surplus — it is consuming a significant portion of the gross return in a period where gross returns themselves trailed the benchmark. Unless the next 5 years show a clear pattern reversal, the fee is structurally unjustified by the evidence available.
Downside protection in market corrections	MIXED	CY22 showed mild downside protection at -1.12%. The recent 6-month trailing return of +12.38% versus benchmark’s -4.33% is striking — but that is a recovery period, not a correction. CY25 delivered -4.15% in what was a difficult market environment. The 8-stock concentration means protection in any given correction depends heavily on which positions are under stress. Without consistent evidence of downside outperformance across multiple drawdown periods, a clean pass on this factor is not warranted.
Portfolio complement for MF investor	MIXED	The mid and small-cap allocation (approximately 43% and 25.73% respectively) does offer genuine exposure that large-cap-heavy MF investors may lack. However, most diversified multi-cap and flexi-cap funds already carry meaningful mid and small-cap exposure. The question is specific to your own portfolio: what is your current weighted mid/small-cap exposure across your MF holdings? If it is already 30–40%, Purnartha Pratham adds more of the same rather than something genuinely new. The complement test must be answered at your portfolio level, not in the abstract.
Mandate purity and discipline	PASS	The portfolio of 8 stocks with high sector concentration reflects genuine conviction investing. There is no evidence of style drift — the mandate says concentrated multi-cap and the portfolio is exactly that. Mr. Rahul Rathi’s stated philosophy of long-term compounding through business quality is reflected in the portfolio composition. Whatever the performance outcome, the mandate has been executed with discipline. This is a genuine strength of the strategy and deserves acknowledgement.
Fund manager transparency	PASS	Mr. Rahul Rathi’s background is publicly documented, his investment philosophy is clearly articulated, and Purnartha has an established track record of communication. His credentials — Carnegie Mellon MBA, 20+ years of experience, prior work with $2 billion+ AUM strategies — are substantive. Transparency on holdings and philosophy appears reasonable for a PMS of this scale. On this dimension, the fund manager earns a clear pass.
Investment horizon suitability	MIXED	A concentrated 8-stock high-conviction portfolio requires a minimum 7-year horizon to allow the thesis to express itself through volatility cycles. The exit load structure (3% Year 1, 2% Year 2, 1% Year 3) enforces a minimum holding commitment. If your actual investment horizon is 5 years or less, the structural combination of concentration risk, fee drag, and exit load makes this a difficult proposition. The strategy’s design demands patience — and you need to honestly assess whether you have that patience and that horizon remaining.
Market cap flexibility utilisation	PASS	Unlike strategies that call themselves multi-cap but behave like large-cap funds, Purnartha Pratham genuinely utilises its flexibility. The portfolio shows approximately 43% mid-cap and 25.73% small-cap exposure, with large-cap at just 16.71%. The average market cap of ₹90,165 crore reflects large-cap anchors like Bajaj Finance, but the overall portfolio is meaningfully mid and small-cap in character. The mandate is being used as stated.
Concentration vs diversification balance	MIXED	Eight stocks is an extremely concentrated portfolio. The top 5 sectors represent 64.33% of the allocation. This is not inherently wrong — concentration only adds value when alpha is consistently generated. At this stage, the data does not clearly show that the concentration is generating surplus return over a more diversified approach. The risk is real; the alpha to justify that risk has been inconsistent. If the next 3 years show strong alpha, this rating deserves to be revisited.
AUM size and strategy capacity	MIXED	At ₹1,700+ Cr, the AUM is substantial for a concentrated 8-stock portfolio. In small and mid-cap names, building and exiting meaningful positions at this scale creates market impact. An AUM of this size in a concentrated small/mid-cap-tilted strategy can compress the alpha opportunity in the very segment the strategy is trying to exploit. This is a structural concern worth monitoring, though not yet disqualifying.
Manager tenure and continuity risk	PASS	Mr. Rahul Rathi has managed this strategy since inception in September 2020. There is continuity and no evidence of key-person transition risk in the near term. The strategy is essentially a single-manager conviction portfolio, which makes continuity critical — and on this dimension, the record is clean. Investors should note, however, that single-manager strategies carry inherent key-person risk by design.

Summary Scorecard

Decision Factor	Rating
Uniqueness vs existing MF portfolio	MIXED
Alpha consistency across all periods	CONCERN
Justification for PMS premium fee	CONCERN
Downside protection in corrections	MIXED
Portfolio complement for MF investor	MIXED
Mandate purity and discipline	PASS
Fund manager transparency	PASS
Investment horizon suitability	MIXED
Market cap flexibility utilisation	PASS
Concentration vs diversification	MIXED
AUM size and strategy capacity	MIXED
Manager tenure and continuity risk	PASS

Overall: 4 PASS (green) | 6 MIXED (amber) | 2 CONCERN (red)

The Core Portfolio Architecture Question

Most HNI investors hold a core portfolio of diversified mutual funds — flexi-cap, multi-asset, index — built for efficient, low-cost compounding.

The satellite allocation — PMS, AIF, sector funds — is meant to do something the core cannot: access a return stream that is genuinely distinct, whether through strategy, market segment, or investment approach.

The question for Purnartha Pratham is not whether it is a good fund.

The question is: what is it doing in your portfolio that your existing mutual funds are not already doing?

If your core portfolio already contains diversified equity funds with meaningful mid and small-cap exposure, you may already own most of what Purnartha Pratham offers — just at a lower cost and with wider diversification.

The satellite allocation should expand your return opportunity, not replicate your existing exposure at a higher price.

This is not a critique of the fund manager’s ability.

It is a structural question about what role this strategy plays in your specific portfolio — and whether that role could be fulfilled more efficiently.

What a Genuinely Complementary PMS Looks Like

For a PMS to genuinely earn its place in a satellite allocation, it should meet most of these criteria:

• Access market caps, sectors, or business models that diversified mutual funds structurally cannot or do not reach efficiently.
• Generate consistent net-of-fee alpha over the benchmark across multiple market cycles — not just in one or two strong years.
• Hold a portfolio that, when examined stock by stock, does not significantly overlap with the investor’s existing mutual fund holdings.
• Have a fee structure that is proportionate to the value demonstrated — not to the value promised.
• Offer downside protection or asymmetric return capture that justifies the premium over a passive strategy.

These criteria exist not to set an impossibly high bar, but to ensure your satellite capital is doing something genuinely additive.

When you are paying 2.5% annually, you deserve to know — with data — what you are getting for it.

Exit Considerations

Exit Load Schedule

Exit Timing	Exit Load
Within 1 year	3.00%
Within 2 years	2.00%
Within 3 years	1.00%
Beyond 3 years	Nil

Tax Treatment: PMS portfolios are held in your own Demat account.

Each sale of a stock within the portfolio is a separate capital gains event.

Holdings held for more than 12 months attract Long-Term Capital Gains (LTCG) tax at 12.5% above the ₹1.25 lakh exemption.

Shorter holdings attract Short-Term Capital Gains (STCG) at 20%. Because the fund manager actively manages the portfolio, you may have ongoing capital gains events even without redeeming your PMS investment.

Staggered Exit Strategy: If you decide to exit, a staggered redemption over 2–3 tranches can help manage the market impact of selling concentrated positions, especially in mid and small-cap names where liquidity can be thinner.

Timing Note: The current short-term outperformance means your NAV may reflect a period of strong performance.

That is not irrelevant to exit timing — but it should not be the primary reason to stay if the structural case for remaining is weak.

Key Takeaways

1. The Purnartha Pratham Strategy has delivered strong short-term alpha (1M to 1Y as of April 2026) — this is genuine and worth acknowledging. The 5-year returns, however, trail the benchmark before fees are even considered.
2. Since inception, the fund and benchmark have delivered similar returns. The fee has been an almost pure cost to you, with negligible net value added over the full period.
3. The 8-stock concentrated portfolio is a disciplined expression of the mandate. But concentration amplifies both upside and downside — and the data does not yet show consistent outperformance to justify that risk.
4. On a ₹50 lakh investment over 5 years, the fee drag versus a passive index fund costs you approximately ₹13+ lakhs in lost compounding — a figure that grows further with time.
5. Portfolio overlap with existing multi-cap and flexi-cap mutual funds may be meaningful — particularly through Bajaj Finance and the financial services and healthcare sectors. Do the stock-level check before conclude this is additive.
6. The exit load and tax implications need to be factored into any exit decision — but they are manageable considerations, not barriers.
7. The zero-based thinking question — ‘Would I invest here today, knowing what I know?’ — is the most important question you can ask about any existing investment. Only you can answer it honestly.
8. If you are unsure, the most useful next step is a structured portfolio review that places this PMS in the context of your complete financial picture — not an isolated product evaluation.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q1: Is Purnartha Pratham Strategy a good PMS?

The strategy has genuine strengths — disciplined mandate execution, an experienced fund manager, and strong recent short-term performance. However, the 5-year return trails its benchmark net of fees, and the since-inception alpha is negligible after costs. ‘Good’ depends on what role it plays in your specific portfolio and whether the fee is justified by the value delivered to you personally.

Q2: What is the minimum investment in Purnartha Pratham PMS?

The minimum investment is ₹50,00,000 (₹50 lakhs).

Q3: What are the fees for Purnartha Pratham PMS?

The strategy offers a variable fee model with an AMC fee of 2.50% per annum (lower tiers at 1.50% or 0.50% with different hurdle structures) and a profit-sharing component of 20% of returns above the respective hurdle rate. There is no fixed fee option.

Q4: How has Purnartha Pratham performed vs its benchmark?

As of 30 April 2026, the fund has outperformed the S&P BSE 500 TRI across 1-month, 3-month, 6-month, 1-year, and 3-year periods. However, the 5-year return of 12.41% trails the benchmark’s 13.88%. Net of the 2.5% fee, the 5-year return is approximately 9.91% — materially below the benchmark’s passive return.

Q5: What stocks does Purnartha Pratham hold?

As of the most recent disclosure, the top 5 holdings are Yatharth Hospital & Trauma Care, Avanti Feeds Ltd, Suzlon Energy Ltd, Pricol Ltd, and Bajaj Finance Ltd. The total portfolio holds 8 stocks across FMCG, Capital Goods, Healthcare, Financial Services, and Auto & Auto Components.

Q6: What is the AUM of Purnartha Pratham Strategy?

The AUM is approximately ₹1,701–1,759 Cr as per the most recent available disclosures.

Q7: How do I exit Purnartha Pratham PMS?

You can redeem by submitting a redemption request to the portfolio manager. Exit loads apply: 3% in Year 1, 2% in Year 2, 1% in Year 3, nil thereafter. Each security sale triggers a capital gains tax event — LTCG at 12.5% for holdings over 12 months, STCG at 20% for shorter periods.

Q8: Is PMS better than mutual funds?

PMS can offer highly customised, concentrated portfolios with direct stock ownership. However, PMS fees (typically 2–3% p.a.) require consistent net-of-fee outperformance to justify the cost. For exposure to broad market caps and sectors that mutual funds cover efficiently, the fee premium is difficult to justify on available data alone.

Q9: Should I stay invested in Purnartha Pratham PMS?

That depends on your investment horizon, existing portfolio composition, and whether the 5-year net-of-fee performance gap concerns you. Any decision to stay should be based on genuine forward-looking conviction — not on sunk cost. A structured portfolio review can help you answer this with clarity.

Our Approach

At Holistic Financial Services, every portfolio decision begins with evidence and ends with clarity.

We do not earn commissions from the PMS products we review, and we do not receive referral fees for the recommendations we make.

If you would like an honest, independent assessment of how your current PMS investment fits within your complete portfolio — and what your options look like going forward — we are happy to offer a complimentary portfolio review consultation.

There is no agenda. Just your numbers, your goals, and an honest conversation.