Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) - Specialised Investment Fund (SIF)
What is the Specialised Investment Fund (SIF)?
The Specialised Investment Fund (SIF) is a new investment product introduced by SEBI, acting as a bridge between mutual funds (MFs) and portfolio management schemes (PMS). It aims to fill the gap in portfolio flexibility between these two investment options.
- The framework for SIF has been included through amendments to the SEBI (Mutual Funds) Regulations, 1996.
- This new initiative is set to be effective from April 1.
- Additional operational guidelines are expected from the mutual fund industry body, AMFI, before March 31.
Minimum Investment Amount for SIF
The minimum investment required for a SIF is Rs 10 lakh per investor.
- Fund houses may offer a Systematic Investment Plan (SIP) and a Systematic Withdrawal Plan (SWP).
- Compliance with the minimum threshold amount is necessary.
- SIFs can be structured as open-ended, closed-ended, or interval-based funds.
Investment Strategies Offered by SIF
SIFs can offer the following three categories of investment strategies:
- Equity-oriented strategies: Includes equity long-short funds, equity ex-top 100 long-short funds, and sector rotation long-short funds.
- Debt-oriented strategies: Includes debt long-short funds and sectoral debt long-short funds.
- Hybrid strategies: Includes active asset allocator long-short funds and hybrid long-short funds.
The current framework allows only one strategy per category for each SIF.
Eligibility Criteria for SIFs
The eligibility criteria for Asset Management Companies (AMCs) to establish an SIF include two routes:
- The AMC must be operational for at least three years with an average Asset Under Management (AUM) of Rs 10,000 crore for the preceding three years.
- Alternatively, the AMC must appoint a chief investment officer (CIO) with at least 10 years of experience and managing assets of Rs 5,000 crore or more.
- The AMC must also have an additional fund manager with at least three years of experience managing an AUM of Rs 500 crore.
