Summary of this article
SIF assets crossed Rs 23,000 crore by July 2026
The top three AMCs control about 71 per cent of SIF assets
Hybrid strategies attracted around 60 per cent of July’s net inflows
The Specialised Investment Fund (SIF) industry has crossed Rs 23,000 crore in assets under management (AUM), less than a year after the new investment category was introduced to investors. But the early growth has been heavily concentrated among a handful of asset managers.
SIF assets stood at Rs 23,177.31 crore at the end of July 2026, up 29.8 per cent from Rs 17,857.77 crore in June, according to data from the Association of Mutual Funds in India (Amfi). The category also attracted Rs 4,922 crore in net inflows during July.
According to an SIF360 report, the SIF industry is expanding rapidly, but early-mover advantage and distribution are creating a highly concentrated market.
The report shows that Edelweiss Mutual Fund’s Altiva platform was the largest, with Rs 8,143 crore in AUM, followed by ICICI Prudential Mutual Fund’s iSIF at Rs 4,513 crore and SBI Mutual Fund’s Magnum at Rs 3,837 crore. Together, the three platforms had about Rs 16,493 crore in assets, or about 71 per cent of the industry’s total AUM based on the figures in the report.
The SIF360 report, which tracks the category as of July 31, covers 30 live funds across 17 asset management companies.
The SIF market is still small and at a nascent stage, but the assets are already concentrated among a few players. Eight platforms have more than Rs 500 crore in AUM, but the top three hold most of the industry’s assets.
The quick rise in assets was led by strong flows into hybrid strategies, which accounted for about 60 per cent of net flows.
Amfi’s July data also shows that SIF assets have risen sharply in a short period. The category had Rs 10,620 crore of assets in March 2026, according to Amfi’s monthly data, before almost doubling to more than Rs 23,000 crore by July.
What Is Driving Growth In SIFs
SIFs were created to give investors access to investment strategies that sit beyond the usual boundaries of traditional mutual funds while retaining the mutual fund regulatory framework.
The category allows strategies such as equity long-short, hybrid long-short, active asset allocation, sector rotation and equity ex-top 100 investing. Fund managers also have greater flexibility to use derivatives and hedging within the regulatory limits.
That makes SIFs different from conventional equity mutual funds, where short exposure is generally restricted to hedging. The new category is also positioned as an option between mutual funds and products such as Portfolio Management Services (PMS), particularly for affluent investors who want more sophisticated portfolio strategies.
The minimum investment requirement is Rs 10 lakh. SIF360 identifies HNIs, affluent investors, business owners and investors looking for diversification and downside control as the intended audience. It also cautions that first-time investors, investors seeking guaranteed returns and those uncomfortable with strategy-driven products may not be suitable for SIFs.
Hybrid Strategies Dominate
Hybrid long-short funds are attracting a large share of investor money in the SIF segment. According to SIF360, hybrid and active asset allocation strategies accounted for around 60 per cent of the net inflows in July.
This is happening even though SIFs are still a relatively new category and have limited performance history. Unlike traditional long-only mutual funds, these strategies give fund managers more flexibility to change their market exposure depending on conditions.
Competition Is Widening
The early dominance of Altiva, iSIF and Magnum does not mean the market has stopped expanding.
The SIF product universe already includes offerings from fund houses such as Quant, 360 ONE, Bandhan, Kotak Mahindra, Mirae Asset, Jio BlackRock, Tata, HSBC, Franklin Templeton, Invesco and The Wealth Company. Several more products were listed as launching soon in the SIF360 report.
The next phase of the market is likely to be a test of distribution as much as investment performance. Large mutual fund houses have existing relationships with distributors and wealthy investors, giving them an advantage in a category where the minimum investment is high, and the strategies are more complex than those offered by conventional mutual funds.
The growth in SIF assets does not by itself establish that these products are delivering superior returns. SIF360 itself flags market, strategy, liquidity, derivative-related and concentration risks associated with the products.
Investors should read the Scheme Information Document (SID), Key Information Memorandum (KIM) and other scheme documents carefully before investing.
The report says a SIF may not suit every investor. “The suitability of a SIF depends on an investor's individual financial objectives, risk profile, investment horizon, liquidity requirements and overall portfolio circumstances,” it says.
Investors should also consider seeking advice from a Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi)-registered investment adviser or another qualified professional before making an investment decision.
