



SIFs at seven months: baby steps now, broader risk canvas ahead
Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.Specialized investment funds (SIFs), positioned between mutual funds (for retail investors) and portfolio management services (PMS) or alternative investment funds (AIFs) for high net-worth individuals, offer multiple advantages.Being within the mutual fund fold, SIFs enjoy MF-style taxation. Mutual funds are tax-free trusts; profits accrue within the fund. PMS and AIF categories I and II are pass-through for tax purposes.Sebi permits short positions in SIFs up to 25% of the portfolio.
Unlike long-only MFs, SIF managers can benefit from falling stock prices. Like MFs, SIFs can also use derivatives for hedging, reducing volatility during market swings.The first SIF was launched in October 2025. As per AMFI data, by October 2025 there were four strategies, over 10,000 folios and more than ₹2,000 crore AUM—implying an average ticket size of ₹20 lakh per folio, versus the ₹10 lakh minimum.By March 2026, the number rose to fourteen strategies, over 44,000 folios and more than ₹10,000 crore AUM.
The average ticket size increased to about ₹24 lakh.Industry data indicates seventeen live strategies plus three NFOs—twenty funds across twelve AMCs. These span equity long-short, hybrid long-short, equity ex-top-100 long-short, active asset allocator and sector rotation. Though SEBI has allowed debt long-short and sectoral debt long-short strategies, launches in debt are yet to emerge.The funds launched so far are mostly conservative in nature.
Read on livemint.com