Specialised Investment Funds · SEBI Regulated

Planning to Invest in SIF? Here's How to Find the Right Scheme for You.

SIFs give retail investors access to hedge-fund-style strategies from as little as ₹10 lakh. Our advisor will tell you exactly whether a SIF belongs in your portfolio.

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— How SIF compares

Where SIF sits in your investment toolkit.

Mutual Fund

Minimum investment
No minimum
Who manages it
AMC
Ownership of assets
Fund units
Strategies available
Long-only
Derivatives use
Hedging only
Transparency
Monthly portfolio disclosure
Taxation
MF rules
Fund-level tax
NIL
Suitable for corpus
Any

SIF

Minimum investment
₹10 lakh (PAN level)
Who manages it
AMC
Ownership of assets
Fund units
Strategies available
Long-short, sector rotation, tactical AA
Derivatives use
Up to 25% unhedged short exposure
Transparency
Alternate month disclosure; daily NAV by 11 PM
Taxation
MF rules
Fund-level tax
NIL
Suitable for corpus
₹10L+

PMS

Minimum investment
₹50 lakh
Who manages it
Individual Portfolio Manager
Ownership of assets
Direct stock ownership in demat
Strategies available
Long-only, mostly
Derivatives use
Limited
Transparency
Demat-level — full
Taxation
PMS rules — every trade is a tax event for you
Fund-level tax
Not applicable (direct ownership)
Suitable for corpus
₹50L+

SIF occupies a genuinely new space. It's not a replacement for your existing mutual fund SIPs — it's an addition for investors ready to go beyond long-only strategies, with a corpus suitable for the ₹10L minimum. A fee-only RIA will tell you where it fits relative to what you already hold.

— The basics

What exactly is a Specialised Investment Fund?

SIF fills the gap between traditional mutual funds and PMS. Like a mutual fund, a SIF is managed by an AMC, pools money from investors and publishes NAVs.

The difference is what the manager is allowed to do. Unlike a traditional mutual fund, a SIF manager can use more sophisticated strategies including long-short positioning, sector rotation, and tactical asset allocation. These were previously associated with PMS or AIF investors, where the minimum ticket was much higher.

The minimum investment is ₹10 lakh per investor. That is meaningfully lower than PMS at ₹50 lakh and AIF at ₹1 crore.

SIF was launched in 2025 but by February 2026, total SIF AUM had already crossed ₹9,700 crore — a sign of strong early institutional and HNI interest. But being new also means limited track records. A fee-only advisor will help you calibrate how much weight to give to past data.
— The conflict of interest

Whose interests does your SIF distributor put first?

SIF Distributor / Relationship Manager

  • ✕

    Earns Product Commission

    Earns upfront and trail commissions from the AMC for distributing SIF strategies.

  • ✕

    Incentivised by Distribution Margin

    Incentivised to recommend whichever SIF pays the highest distribution margin — not the best fit for you.

  • ✕

    No Fiduciary Obligation

    No legal obligation to act in your interest — they are distributors, not advisors.

  • ✕

    Sale Comes First

    Has no reason to tell you a SIF is wrong for your situation if it costs them the sale.

Foliyo Vetted Fee-Only RIA

  • ✓

    Paid Only by You

    Paid only by you — a transparent fixed fee.

  • ✓

    Zero Product Commission

    Zero commission from any AMC, SIF house, or product manufacturer.

  • ✓

    Legally Bound to Your Interest

    Legally bound by SEBI RIA regulations to act in your best interest.

  • ✓

    Honest No Is Allowed

    Will tell you honestly if SIF is wrong for your corpus or risk profile — including recommending you stay with mutual funds if that's the right answer.

— The process

Get the right SIF advice in four simple steps.

01

Share Your Profile

Tell us your corpus, risk appetite, investment horizon, existing mutual fund portfolio, and what you know (or don't know) about SIFs.

02

AI Matching

We identify the advisor in our network who has relevant experience with SEBI's new SIF category and the strategy types suited to your situation.

03

Free Discovery Call

A free 30-minute call with your matched advisor. They'll assess whether SIF belongs in your portfolio, which of the seven strategy types is appropriate, and answer every question you have about how SIF works. No commitment.

04

Invest with Clarity

If you decide to proceed, your advisor helps you evaluate specific SIF strategies from AMCs, understand the offer documents, and make a well-reasoned decision — all for a transparent fixed advisory fee.

— Sample Foliyo Advisors

Talk to the best Advisors for SIF, right now.

Hemendra Gandhi
Hemendra Gandhi
MBA, RIA · SIF
LocationMumbai
Advised AUM₹1,000 Cr+
SEBI RegINA000004237

"SIF is genuinely new — even for advisors. Most of my clients asking about SIFs are actually better served by optimising their existing mutual fund portfolio first. I always start there before recommending something with a ₹10L minimum ticket."

SIF Strategy Selection Mutual Fund Portfolio Wealth Planning Tax-Efficient Investing Fee-Only
Find My SIF Advisor →
Find My SIF Advisor →
— Stories of investors who got proper SIF advice

What happens when advice is truly yours.

I was ready to put ₹15L into an equity long-short SIF my colleague had mentioned. My Foliyo advisor looked at my existing portfolio and pointed out I had no debt exposure at all. We went with a hybrid SIF instead — much better fit for where I actually am.

VN
Rahul Kashyap
Director of Product, Bangalore
Right strategy
hybrid SIF matched to actual risk profile

I had no idea SIF taxation was this different from PMS. My advisor ran the numbers — on ₹20L over 3 years with an active strategy, the tax difference was material. That one session paid for itself.

PS
Mukesh Burman
Director of Engineering, Hyderabad
Tax model
structural difference vs equivalent PMS

My advisor told me to wait. SIF is too new — less than a year of track record for most strategies. She put together a 6-month plan to watch how the strategies behaved in a market correction before committing. That kind of patience is what I was paying for.

AT
Vivek G
VP FMCG, Delhi NCR
6 months
phased evaluation before committing ₹10L
— The key concept

What does 'long-short' actually mean?

Traditional mutual funds are long-only. They buy stocks they believe will go up and hold them. If markets fall, they usually fall too, because they are mostly exposed to the market direction.

A long-short fund can do something more. It can simultaneously buy stocks it believes will rise and short-sell stocks it believes will fall, using derivatives. This lets the fund potentially profit in both rising and falling markets, or at minimum reduce the impact of a broad market decline.

Traditional Mutual Fund

StrategyLong-only
Market goes up✓ Fund benefits
Market goes down✕ Fund falls too
InstrumentsStocks, bonds
BenchmarkTracks the market

SIF Long-Short Strategy

StrategyLong + Short positions
Market goes up✓ Long positions benefit
Market goes down✓ Short positions can offset losses
InstrumentsStocks, bonds, derivatives
BenchmarkAims to outperform across cycles
SEBI capShort exposure capped at 25% of portfolio

Long-short doesn't mean risk-free. Short positions can also lose money if the shorted stock rises instead of falls. SIFs are higher-risk than standard equity mutual funds. Which SIF is appropriate — or whether any SIF belongs in your portfolio — is exactly the question a Foliyo-matched advisor will answer with you.

— The tax advantage

Why SIF's tax structure is a significant edge over PMS.

In a PMS, the portfolio manager buys and sells stocks directly in your demat account. Every time the manager makes a trade, it creates a tax event for you — short-term or long-term capital gains tax, depending on the holding period. An actively managed PMS with high turnover can create meaningful tax drag across a year.

A SIF is structured like a mutual fund. The fund itself pays zero tax on internal trading under Section 10(23D) of the Income Tax Act. When the fund manager rebalances, exits a short position, or rotates between sectors, there is no tax event for you. You only pay capital gains tax when you redeem your SIF units — and even then, the rates follow mutual fund taxation, not PMS treatment.

PMS Tax Reality

Every tradeTax event for you
High turnoverCan mean a higher tax bill across the year
RebalancingCompounds your tax drag
Internal gainsYou pay tax even if you have not redeemed

SIF Tax Reality

Internal tradesZero tax at fund level under Section 10(23D)
RebalancingNo tax event for you
RedemptionYou pay capital gains tax only when you redeem
Equity SIFsLTCG 12.5% after 12 months | STCG 20%
Debt SIFsTaxed at your income slab rate

This structural difference matters most if you're comparing a high-turnover SIF strategy against a similarly active PMS. At scale, the compounding effect of deferred taxation can be substantial. Ask your Foliyo-matched advisor to model this for your specific corpus and expected holding period.

— Know your options

SEBI defines seven SIF strategies. Here's what they mean.

SEBI allows SIFs to operate in three broad categories — Equity, Debt, and Hybrid — with seven specific subcategories. Most investors starting out will look at Equity or Hybrid strategies. Here's a plain-English breakdown.

Equity-Oriented SIF

Equity Long-Short Fund

Invests minimum 80% in equities. Fund manager can go long on stocks expected to rise and take short positions up to 25% via derivatives on stocks expected to fall. Suited to investors comfortable with equity-level risk who want more active risk management than a regular equity fund.

Higher Risk

Equity Ex-Top 100 Long-Short Fund

Focuses on stocks outside the top 100 companies by market capitalisation — typically mid and small caps. Uses the same long-short approach. Higher return potential, higher volatility.

Highest Risk

Sector Rotation Long-Short Fund

Dynamically shifts allocations across up to four sectors based on market and economic trends. Can be long sectors expected to outperform and short sectors expected to underperform.

Higher Risk

Debt-Oriented SIF

Debt Long-Short Fund

Invests in debt instruments such as bonds and government securities, and takes tactical short positions on interest rate movements or credit spreads. Suited to investors who want an alternative to standard debt funds with more active interest rate management.

Moderate Risk

Sectoral Debt Long-Short Fund

Focuses on debt from specific sectors like infrastructure or banking, with tactical short exposure across credit and duration. A niche strategy for investors with specific sector views.

Moderate Risk

Hybrid SIF

Active Asset Allocator Long-Short Fund

Dynamically shifts between equity and debt based on market conditions. Can go long or short in either asset class. The fund manager adjusts allocation actively rather than holding a fixed mix.

Moderate Risk

Hybrid Long-Short Fund

Maintains a mandatory minimum of 25% each in equity and debt, with long-short flexibility in both. The most popular category — accounting for ~76% of all SIF assets as of early 2026 — because the mandatory debt allocation provides a cushion during equity downturns.

Moderate Risk · Most popular
Not sure which of these seven strategies fits your situation? That's the exact conversation you'll have in your first 30 minutes with a Foliyo-matched advisor. They'll map your risk tolerance, corpus, and goals to the right category — or tell you if none of them are appropriate yet.
— Common questions

Everything you want to know.

What is a Specialised Investment Fund (SIF)?
A Specialised Investment Fund is a SEBI-regulated investment product introduced on April 1, 2025. It sits between traditional mutual funds and Portfolio Management Services (PMS) in the product hierarchy. Like a mutual fund, it is managed by an Asset Management Company (AMC) and pools investor money into a regulated, transparent structure. Unlike a traditional mutual fund, a SIF is allowed to use more sophisticated strategies — including long-short equity positions, sector rotation, and tactical asset allocation — that were previously only accessible to PMS or AIF investors. The minimum investment is ₹10 lakh per investor, measured at PAN level across all SIF strategies from a single AMC.
How is SIF different from a mutual fund?
The key difference is the range of strategies available to the fund manager. A traditional mutual fund is "long-only" — it can only buy securities. A SIF fund manager can also take short positions (betting on price declines using derivatives), dynamically rotate between sectors, and use tactical asset allocation across equity and debt. This gives the manager more tools to navigate different market conditions. However, SIFs carry higher complexity and risk than standard mutual funds, and require a minimum investment of ₹10 lakh. Taxation follows the same rules as mutual funds — an important advantage over PMS.
How is SIF different from PMS?
Three primary differences. First, minimum investment: SIF requires ₹10 lakh vs ₹50 lakh for PMS. Second, ownership: in PMS, you own stocks directly in your demat account; in SIF, you own units of the fund (like a mutual fund). Third, and most importantly for active investors, taxation: every trade in a PMS creates a direct tax event for you; in a SIF, the fund pays zero tax on internal rebalancing under Section 10(23D) of the Income Tax Act — you only pay capital gains tax when you redeem your units. SIF also falls under the mutual fund regulatory framework (AMC-run, SEBI-regulated), whereas PMS is run by individual portfolio managers under a separate regulatory framework.
What is a long-short fund?
A long-short fund is one that can both buy securities (go long) expecting prices to rise, and short-sell securities (go short) — via derivatives — expecting prices to fall. A traditional mutual fund can only go long. The ability to go short means the fund manager can potentially make money in falling markets, or use short positions to hedge against downside risk in the long portfolio. SEBI caps unhedged short exposure in SIFs at 25% of the portfolio. Long-short does not mean risk-free — short positions can also lose money if prices move against the manager's expectations.
What are the seven SIF strategy types?
SEBI defines seven subcategories across three broad types:

Equity-oriented: (1) Equity Long-Short Fund — minimum 80% in equity, can short up to 25% via derivatives; (2) Equity Ex-Top 100 Long-Short Fund — focuses on mid and small caps outside the top 100 companies; (3) Sector Rotation Long-Short Fund — dynamically shifts across up to four sectors.

Debt-oriented: (4) Debt Long-Short Fund — uses interest rate and credit positioning; (5) Sectoral Debt Long-Short Fund — focused on specific sector debt.

Hybrid: (6) Active Asset Allocator Long-Short Fund — dynamically shifts between equity and debt; (7) Hybrid Long-Short Fund — mandatory minimum 25% each in equity and debt, long-short in both. Hybrid SIFs account for approximately 76% of all SIF assets as of early 2026, making them the most popular category.
How is SIF taxed?
SIF taxation follows mutual fund rules, which is a significant advantage over PMS. The fund itself pays zero tax on internal trading activity under Section 10(23D) of the Income Tax Act — so the fund manager's rebalancing, rotation, and short position management create no tax events for you. You pay capital gains tax only when you redeem your SIF units. For equity-oriented SIFs (more than 65% in equity): long-term capital gains after 12 months are taxed at 12.5%; short-term gains at 20%. For debt-oriented SIFs: gains are taxed at your applicable income slab rate. Hybrid SIFs follow the same rules as equity SIFs if equity allocation exceeds 65%. This deferred taxation model — vs PMS where every portfolio trade is a tax event for you — can meaningfully compound your post-tax returns over time.
What is the minimum amount to invest in a SIF?
The minimum investment in a SIF is ₹10 lakh per investor, measured at PAN level across all SIF strategies offered by a single AMC — not per individual scheme. This means if you invest ₹6 lakh in one SIF strategy and ₹4 lakh in another from the same AMC, you meet the ₹10 lakh threshold. Accredited investors (as defined by SEBI) are exempt from this threshold. For comparison: mutual funds have no minimum (SIPs from ₹500), PMS requires ₹50 lakh, and AIF requires ₹1 crore.
Is SIF right for me if I have ₹10–₹50 lakh to invest?
It depends entirely on your full financial picture — not just whether you meet the minimum. SIF is a higher-risk, higher-complexity product than a standard mutual fund. A ₹10L investment in an equity long-short SIF is appropriate only if you already have a well-diversified core portfolio, adequate emergency fund, and term insurance in place — and if you have a genuine understanding of the strategy's risk. A Foliyo-matched fee-only RIA will assess your complete situation and give you an honest answer, including whether you'd be better served by optimising your existing mutual fund portfolio first.
SIF launched in 2025 — is there enough track record to evaluate strategies?
This is an important and fair question. The first SIF launched in September 2025, meaning most strategies have less than 12 months of live track record as of mid-2026. This is genuinely limited data to evaluate a strategy's performance, especially across different market conditions. An honest advisor will tell you this upfront. The right approach is to evaluate the AMC's overall track record, the fund manager's philosophy and experience with long-short strategies, the fee structure, and the strategy's behaviour during the equity market correction of late 2025. A Foliyo-matched advisor will walk you through this evaluation framework.
What exactly is a SEBI Registered Investment Adviser (RIA)?
A SEBI RIA is a financial advisor registered with the Securities and Exchange Board of India under the SEBI (Investment Advisers) Regulations, 2013. Unlike mutual fund distributors or insurance agents, RIAs are legally bound by a fiduciary standard — meaning they must always act in your best interest, disclose all conflicts of interest, and cannot earn commissions from any financial product. Their only source of income is the fee you pay them.
How is this different from a mutual fund distributor or bank RM?
The key difference is who pays the advisor. A mutual fund distributor earns a trail commission from the fund house — typically 0.5–1.5% annually — funded through the fund's expense ratio. A bank RM has product sales targets and earns incentives from selling high-margin products. A fee-only RIA earns only the fee you pay them. This structural difference eliminates the conflict of interest and makes genuine fiduciary advice possible.
How much does a fee-only advisor charge?
Fee structures for SEBI-registered RIAs in India typically fall into two common models: Flat retainer: ₹20,000 – ₹50,000 for a six-month engagement, suitable for goal-based planning, ESOP exercise decisions, or NRI planning sessions. AUM-based annual fee: 0.5% – 1% of the advised capital per year, suitable for ongoing portfolio monitoring and annual rebalancing.
How does Foliyo make money if the matching is free?
Foliyo charges a flat referral fee directly to the advisor if and when you engage them — not from the advice fee you pay, and not from any product commission. This fee is disclosed to advisors upfront and does not change their fee structure for you. We do not earn from products, do not earn from your investments, and will never share or sell your data to third parties.
— Begin Here

Your wealth. Your strategy. Your terms.

SIF is genuinely new. Getting it right matters more than getting in fast. A Foliyo-matched fee-only advisor will tell you whether SIF belongs in your portfolio — and if so, which strategy and which AMC. The intro call is free. You talk to an advisor within 24 hours. There is no commitment.

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