01
Private markets
Exposure to businesses and assets that are not listed, where value is created over years rather than quarters and pricing is negotiated rather than quoted.
Alternative Investment Funds
Access to differentiated investment strategies
Carefully selected alternative investment strategies and opportunities beyond traditional investments — assessed on merit, sized with discipline.
- SEBI-registered pooled vehicles
- Long-dated, often illiquid
- Minimum commitment applies
- Suitability assessed case by case
What They Are
Strategies a conventional portfolio cannot reach
An Alternative Investment Fund is a privately pooled vehicle registered with SEBI that invests according to a clearly defined mandate — frequently in assets or situations that listed markets do not offer.
For investors who already hold a well-built portfolio of listed equity and fixed income, alternatives can introduce genuinely different return drivers: ownership of businesses before they list, lending where banks cannot, or strategies whose outcomes do not depend on the direction of the index.
They also introduce commitments that a mutual fund never asks for — capital drawn down over years, limited liquidity, valuations that are not marked daily, and a much wider gap between a good manager and a poor one. Selection is not a preference here; it is the entire exercise.
Our starting question is never “which AIF is available?” It is whether the portfolio needs an allocation to alternatives at all — and if so, what job it is being hired to do.
The Landscape
Strategies you may encounter
Every fund pursues its own mandate. No single AIF offers all of the following, and what a fund may invest in is defined by its documentation and SEBI category.
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Private equity
Ownership in established, typically profitable companies, often alongside an operating plan intended to improve the business before an eventual exit.
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Venture capital
Early-stage ownership where outcomes are highly dispersed. A small number of investments are expected to determine the result of the entire portfolio.
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Private credit
Lending to companies against defined cash flows or security, where return is contractual and the central question is the quality of underwriting.
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Special situations
Event-driven opportunities — restructuring, stressed assets, transitions — where the outcome depends on documentation, timelines and legal process.
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Select public-market strategies
Category III strategies operating in listed markets with flexibility that regulated funds do not have, including hedging and, in some cases, leverage.
Suitability
Who an allocation to alternatives tends to suit
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Investors whose core portfolio is already in place
Alternatives are an addition to a sound portfolio, not a substitute for building one.
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Capital that is genuinely long-term
Commitments are typically drawn and returned over several years. The money allocated should not be needed in between.
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Comfort with dispersion of outcomes
The range between the best and worst fund in the same vintage is wide. Manager selection carries real consequence.
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Willingness to read the documents
Fee structures, hurdle rates, drawdown mechanics and exit provisions all sit in the fine print, and they matter.
What we examine before recommending a fund
The manager’s own capital in the fund · consistency between stated mandate and actual holdings · track record across a full cycle rather than one vintage · valuation policy for unlisted positions · fee waterfall and hurdle structure · governance, custodian and audit arrangements · concentration and leverage · realistic exit paths.
Regulatory & risk disclosure
AIFs are privately pooled investment vehicles registered with SEBI under the SEBI (Alternative Investment Funds) Regulations, 2012, and are subject to a SEBI-prescribed minimum commitment (currently ₹1 crore for most investors). They are typically close-ended or long-dated, may draw capital over time, and can be substantially illiquid with limited or no exit before maturity. Underlying investments may be unlisted, concentrated and difficult to value, and some categories may employ leverage. Returns are neither assured nor guaranteed, past performance of a manager is not indicative of future results, and investors may lose part or all of their capital. Tax treatment differs across AIF categories and investor types. Please read the private placement memorandum and all fund documents carefully, and consider independent tax advice, before investing.
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Where Alternative Investments Fit in a Portfolio
Sizing, liquidity and selection matter more than access.
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