Archive · 25 Aug 2026
SIF Assets Surge Fivefold as Experts Debate Investor Suitability
Specialised investment funds, or SIFs, are a newer type of investment fund.
They started in October 2025 and quickly became much larger by March 2026.
Investors must put in at least ₹10 lakh, so wealthier and more experienced investors are using them first.
SIFs can use more investment strategies than ordinary mutual funds.
Some SIFs buy investments while also using derivatives to reduce risk when markets fall.
This is why hybrid long-short funds are especially popular.
However, SIFs can have risks involving derivatives, trading partners and the ability to sell investments quickly.
Experts say new investors should usually build a simple SIP-based mutual fund portfolio first.
Investors considering an SIF should check whether it adds something different to their existing investments rather than buying one because it recently performed well.
SIF assets under management rose from ₹2,010 crore to ₹10,620 crore between October 2025 and March 2026.
Affluent investors, HNIs and wealth-management clients are leading adoption because SIFs require a ₹10 lakh minimum investment.
Hybrid long-short strategies represented 75.48% of SIF AUM in March 2026, reflecting demand for downside management.
Experts cited flexibility, market-correction concerns and investor sophistication as key drivers of rising SIF inflows.
Advisers urged investors to assess strategy, risks, costs, liquidity and portfolio overlap instead of chasing recent returns.
- Who
- Specialised investment funds, affluent investors, HNIs, wealth-management clients and mutual-fund experts.
- What
- SIF assets under management increased more than fivefold, prompting debate over whether mutual-fund investors should consider switching or adding them.
- When
- SIFs debuted in October 2025; their AUM reached ₹10,620 crore by March 2026, with record net inflows of ₹3,127 crore in February 2026.
- Where
- India's mutual-fund market.
- Why
- Growth was attributed to greater investor awareness, demand for downside management during an equity-market correction, more strategy choices and rising investor sophistication.
Reasons to Consider SIFs
Reasons for Caution
Portfolio flexibility
Reasons to Consider SIFs
SIFs combine a pooled, regulated mutual-fund structure with greater strategic flexibility and may provide a distinct return driver or downside-management approach.
Reasons for Caution
Their flexibility can introduce additional derivatives, counterparty and liquidity risks, and some SIFs may duplicate an investor's existing equity exposure.
Hybrid long-short strategies
Reasons to Consider SIFs
Long positions combined with derivative-based short positions and debt exposure can reduce net equity exposure during market stress and potentially limit drawdowns.
Reasons for Caution
These strategies require investors to understand gross and net exposure, concentration, volatility, liquidity and the fund manager's experience with both long and short positions.
Growth outlook
Reasons to Consider SIFs
Experts said rising awareness, wider strategy choice and increasing investor sophistication could support sustainable growth.
Reasons for Caution
The category has only a six-month track record, so firm conclusions are premature; investors should not select SIFs solely because of recent returns or strong inflows.
- AUM in October 2025
- ₹2,010 crore
- AUM in March 2026
- ₹10,620 crore
- Minimum investment
- ₹10 lakh
- Record monthly net inflow
- ₹3,127 crore in February 2026
- Share of hybrid long-short AUM
- 75.48% in March 2026
- Share of hybrid strategies overall
- 76.71% of SIF AUM in March 2026
- Number of SIF schemes
- Increased from four in October 2025 to 14 in March 2026