SIFs Attract Rs 7,699 Crore Inflows In August, AUM Rises To Rs 31,175 Crore

Specialised Investment Funds (SIFs) attracted Rs 7,699 crore of net inflows in August 2026, the strongest monthly number the category has posted since it opened for business, according to data compiled by Crisil Intelligence from the Association of Mutual Funds in India (Amfi). The increase took total SIF assets to Rs 31,175 crore at the end of August, up 34.5 per cent from Rs 23,177 crore in July.

Hybrid investment strategies did the heavy lifting once again, bringing in Rs 4,670 crore during August. Equity-oriented strategies added Rs 3,029 crore. Debt-oriented strategies, a category Sebi permits under the SIF framework but which no fund house has yet entered, contributed nothing.

Three new equity-oriented SIF strategies were launched during the month and together mobilised Rs 1,420 crore, close to half the equity category's inflow for August. These included Aditya Birla Sun Life Apex Equity Long Short Fund, Aditya Birla Sun Life Apex Equity Ex-Top 100 Long Short Fund and SBI Magnum Equity Ex-Top 100 Long Short Fund.

New product launches have consistently added a chunk to the monthly numbers since the category began, and this month was no exception.

Assets under hybrid strategies climbed 29.5 per cent on a month-to-month basis to Rs 21,390 crore from Rs 16,524 crore in July. Equity-oriented assets grew faster at 47.1 per cent, rising to Rs 9,785 crore from Rs 6,654 crore. Debt-oriented assets stayed at zero, with the two permitted debt strategies still awaiting a launch from any AMC.

Hybrid assets are up 114.5 per cent from Rs 9,970 crore in May, and equity-oriented assets have jumped 154.6 per cent from Rs 3,843 crore in the same period. The category as a whole has grown 125.7 per cent in three months, from Rs 13,814 crore in May to the current Rs 31,175 crore.

Sebi had approved SIFs through an amendment to the mutual fund regulations that took effect on December 16, 2024. The new category was created as a middle ground between plain vanilla mutual funds and the far costlier portfolio management services (PMS). The minimum investment amount in SIFs is Rs 10 lakh for an investor across all SIF strategies offered by an asset management company (AMC), calculated at the PAN level.

It took some time for SIF products to reach investors after the rules were finalised. Quant Mutual Fund launched the first SIF, the QSIF Equity Long-Short Fund, with its NFO opening on September 17, 2025 and closing on October 1. Other large fund houses followed in October and November after getting Sebi's approval and setting up their distribution networks.

Since then, the category has grown rapidly. SIF assets stood at around Rs 2,010 crore across four schemes at the end of October 2025. Ten months later, assets had grown nearly fifteenfold to Rs 31,175 crore. The number of SIF strategies and fund houses offering them also increased each quarter. More SIF launches are expected as more AMCs get Sebi approval to enter the category. This could keep flows strong in the coming months.