About Specialised Investment Fund:
- It is a new investment product introduced by Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI).
- It was introduced to bridge the gap between regular mutual funds and high-ticket Portfolio Management Services (PMS).
- This framework has been introduced through amendments to the SEBI (Mutual Funds) Regulations, 1996.
- Minimum Investment:
- The minimum investment in a SIF will be Rs 10 lakh per investor.
- The fund house can offer a systematic investment plan (SIP) and systematic withdrawal plan (SWP), but it must comply with the minimum threshold amount.
- The SIF can be open-ended, closed-ended, or interval-based.
- Categories of Investment Strategy:
- Equity-oriented strategies: Such as equity long-short funds, equity ex-top 100 long-short funds and sector rotation longshort funds.
- Debt-oriented strategies: Such as debt long-short funds and sectoral debt long-short funds.
- Hybrid strategies: Like active asset allocator long-short funds and hybrid long-short funds. The current framework allows only one strategy per category per SIF.
- Eligibility Criteria for SIFs: The eligibility criteria for Asset Management Companies (AMCs) to establish an SIF include two routes:
- The fund house must be in operation for three years at least and have average assets under management (AUM) of Rs 10,000 crore immediately preceding the three years.
- The alternative route is that 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 who has at least three years of experience managing an AUM of Rs 500 crore.
