Specialized Investment Fund

What is SIF (Specialized Investment Fund)

In a move to bridge the gap between traditional mutual funds and portfolio management services (PMS), the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) introduced a new category called Specialised Investment Funds (SIFs), effective from April 1, 2025. Designed for seasoned investors, SIFs offer enhanced portfolio flexibility by allowing sophisticated strategies such as long short positions, sector rotations, and dynamic asset allocation. With a minimum investment threshold of ₹10 lakh and regulated under SEBI’s mutual fund framework, SIFs cater to individuals and institutions seeking differentiated exposure beyond conventional mutual fund offerings while still operating within a structured and transparent regulatory environment.

How Do SIFs Work?

Specialised Investment Funds (SIFs) operate under the SEBI Mutual Fund Regulations as a distinct category offering strategy specific schemes with enhanced flexibility. Unlike traditional mutual funds.

SIFs are designed to execute sophisticated investment strategies like:

To participate, investors must meet a minimum investment requirement of ₹10 lakh, unless they qualify as accredited investors, who are exempt. SEBI permits the use of SIP, SWP, and STP, as long as the overall investment meets the minimum threshold.

Unlike standard mutual funds, SIFs may involve less frequent redemption options, ranging from daily to monthly or even fixed maturity. AMCs can also impose notice periods of up to 15 working days for redemptions. Additionally, SIFs are subject to strict disclosure norms, risk labeling (1 to 5 bands), and listing requirements if they follow a closed ended or interval structure.

SEBI Regulations & Minimum Investment Rules (2025)

  • SIF minimum investment ₹10 lakh is mandated under Regulation 49X(1) of SEBI’s Mutual Fund Regulations. This applies per investor at the PAN level across all SIF strategies offered by a single Asset Management Company (AMC).
  • The ₹10 lakh threshold is not scheme-specific. It represents the total commitment across all SIFs under one AMC, and does not include investments in the AMC’s regular mutual fund schemes.
  • As per accredited investor rules, individuals or entities qualifying as accredited investors are exempt from the ₹10 lakh minimum investment requirement in SIFs.
  • AMCs are permitted to offer SIP (Systematic Investment Plan), SWP (Systematic Withdrawal Plan), and STP (Systematic Transfer Plan) under SIFs, provided that the cumulative commitment across these modes satisfies the ₹10 lakh threshold—unless the investor qualifies under accredited investor rules.
  • Daily monitoring is required to ensure continued compliance. While passive breaches due to market fluctuations are not violations, if the investment value falls below ₹10 lakh due to active redemption or transfers, the AMC may require the investor to exit the SIF.

What is Mutual Fund

A mutual fund is a pool of money managed by a professional Fund Manager.

It is a trust that collects money from a number of investors who share a common investment objective and invests the same in equities, bonds, money market instruments and/or other securities. And the income / gains generated from this collective investment is distributed proportionately amongst the investors after deducting applicable expenses and levies, by calculating a scheme’s “Net Asset Value” or NAV. Simply put, the money pooled in by a large number of investors is what makes up a Mutual Fund.

How Mutual Fund Works

Here’s a simple way to understand the concept of a Mutual Fund Unit.
Let’s say that there is a box of 12 chocolates costing ₹40. Four friends decide to buy the same, but they have only ₹10 each and the shopkeeper only sells by the box. So the friends then decide to pool in ₹10 each and buy the box of 12 chocolates. Now based on their contribution, they each receive 3 chocolates or 3 units, if equated with Mutual Funds.
And how do you calculate the cost of one unit? Simply divide the total amount with the total number of chocolates: 40/12 = 3.33.
So if you were to multiply the number of units (3) with the cost per unit (3.33), you get the initial investment of ₹10.

This results in each friend being a unit holder in the box of chocolates that is collectively owned by all of them, with each person being a part owner of the box

What is NAV

Next, let us understand what is “Net Asset Value” or NAV. Just like an equity share has a traded price, a mutual fund unit has Net Asset Value per Unit. The NAV is the combined market value of the shares, bonds and securities held by a fund on any particular day (as reduced by permitted expenses and charges). NAV per Unit represents the market value of all the Units in a mutual fund scheme on a given day, net of all expenses and liabilities plus income accrued, divided by the outstanding number of Units in the scheme.

How Risk/Return trade-off by mutual fund category ?

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TYPE OF MUTUAL FUND SCHEMES

 OPEN-ENDED SCHEMES

 An open-end fund is a mutual fund scheme that is available for subscription and redemption on every business throughout the year, (akin to a savings bank account, wherein one may deposit and withdraw money every day). An open ended scheme is perpetual and does not have any maturity date.

 Close- Ended Schemes

 A passively managed fund, by contrast, simply follows a market index, i.e., in a passive fund , the fund manager remains inactive or passive inasmuch as, he/she does not use his/her judgement or discretion to decide as to which stocks to buy/sell/hold , but simply replicates / tracks the scheme’s benchmark index in exactly the same proportion. Examples of Index funds are an Index Fund and all Exchange Traded Funds. In a passive fund, the fund manager’s task is to simply replicate the scheme’s benchmark index i.e., generate the same returns as the index, and not to out-perform the scheme’s bench mark.

What is a Systematic Investment Plan (SIP)?

Systematic Investment Plan (SIP) is an investment route offered by Mutual Funds wherein one can invest a fixed amount in a Mutual Fund scheme at regular intervals– say once a month or once a quarter, instead of making a lump-sum investment. The installment amount could be as little as INR 500 a month and is similar to a recurring deposit. It’s convenient as you can give your bank standing instructions to debit the amount every month.

SIP has been gaining popularity among Indian MF investors, as it helps in investing in a disciplined manner without worrying about market volatility and timing the market. Systematic Investment Plans offered by Mutual Funds are easily the best way to enter the world of