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Introduction: Bridging the Investment Gap

For years, Indian investors had 3 primary options: (1) the accessibility of Mutual Funds (MFs) for broad diversification, (2) the customised, high-ticket strategies of Portfolio Management Services (PMS) starting ₹50 Lacs investment, or (3) the highly-tailored set of Alternate Investment Funds (AIF) beginning ₹1 Cr of investment. But what if you seek the sophisticated strategy of a PMS/ AIF coupled with the regulated framework and structure of a mutual fund?

Enter the Specialised Investment Fund (SIF).

Introduced by the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI), SIFs are the financial market’s innovative answer to a growing demand. They are designed for investors who have outgrown conventional MFs but aren’t quite ready for the highly exclusive, high-minimum investment vehicles. SIFs are, quite simply, the future of strategy-driven investing in a robustly regulated environment.

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What is a Specialised Investment Fund (SIF)?

Imagine SIFs as tailor-made suits in a world of ready-to-wear investments. They offer fund managers the flexibility to deploy advanced, cutting-edge strategies—like taking both ‘long’ and ‘short’ positions, known as Long-Short Equity—to potentially capture returns regardless of whether the market is rising, falling, or moving sideways.

This ability to be an “all-weather” investment vehicle is their most powerful differentiator.

SIFs at a Glance: Key Differentiators

The Power of Strategy: Why SIFs Are a Game-Changer

SIFs are gaining traction because they allow investors to access niche and sophisticated strategies that were previously unavailable or required a much higher capital commitment.

Here are the key strategies unlocked by SIFs:

1. Long-Short Strategies: This is the flagship feature. Fund managers can buy securities they expect to rise (Long) and simultaneously sell (or hedge against) securities they expect to fall (Short). This dual approach is designed to provide stable, risk-adjusted returns by minimizing the overall market volatility exposure.
2. Active Asset Allocation: SIFs can dynamically shift between equity, debt, commodities, and even instruments like REITs/InvITs based on proprietary market models, making them inherently adaptive to shifting economic cycles.
3. Special Situations Investing: Managers can focus on unique opportunities like mergers, acquisitions, buybacks, or distressed debt—areas that often require specialized research and quick execution.

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📈 The Current SIF Landscape: Who’s Leading the Way?

Since the introduction of the SIF framework, India’s top fund houses have quickly launched innovative strategies. This is a dynamic space, and new schemes are frequently being approved by SEBI.

Your Next Financial Step: A Consultative Approach

The shift from traditional funds to sophisticated vehicles like SIFs is a natural progression for successful individuals whose wealth has grown. However, the complexity inherent in these specialized funds means that choosing the right SIF requires more than just looking at a fact sheet.

It requires a consultative approach to ensure the fund’s strategy (Equity Long-Short vs. Hybrid Long-Short, for instance) is perfectly aligned with your financial goals, risk tolerance, and investment horizon.

The BigRise Advantage

At BigRise Financial, we don’t just sell funds; we help successful individuals like you navigate the newest and most effective investment frameworks. As a registered advisor for SIFs (ARN-113150), we focus on:

✅ Profiling: Deeply understanding your current portfolio and wealth objectives.

✅ Analysis: Scrutinizing the complex SIF documents and strategies.

✅ Alignment: Mapping the right SIF strategy to your unique financial footprint.

If you believe your capital is ready for a more sophisticated, strategy-led investment vehicle, the first step is clarity.

We invite you to reach out for a private consultation. Let’s discuss how Specialized Investment Funds can form a resilient, high-potential pillar in your wealth creation journey.

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Ready to Elevate Your Portfolio?

Connect with a BigRise Financial SIF Expert today.

Please email us to begin the conversation: nitin@bigrisefinance.com

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(Disclaimer: Investments in securities markets are subject to market risks. Please read all scheme-related documents carefully. BigRise Financial is a registered advisor (ARN-113150).)

Article updated: 01-Dec-25

1st Feb 2021, India witnessed a roaring Budget 2021, completely in favor of the Indian-origin, amidst the near-end of the coronavirus-hit economy. The Finance Minister of India presented startling financial facts across various industries with key themes around: Banking, Infrastructure, Housing, etc. The Union Budget 2021 was presented ‘digitally’ (paperless) for the first time. The framework of the budget was clearly to give a massive ‘push’ to the Indian economy.

Below are select financial insights & strategies that we could bring forward for Indian-origin (PIO, OCI, NRI & Expats) worldwide. Whether employed internationally or in business, these recommendations would help scale your wealth up, along with the 5 Trillion-dollar India growth story. Exactly, what the budget brings to you from its top-drawer.

1. Earnings of elderly/ Senior Citizens in your family, aged 75 years or above, in pensions or interest incomes, would have limited tax-deduction at the bank only. There is no need for them to file ITR (Income Tax Returns) in India, anymore.

Strategy: Within the family, India does not attract any gift-tax on any sum of money given to a family member. So, you could gift any sums of your earnings to a senior citizen in your family (in approved relations), cross-country. The interest earnings that an elder member receives on these sums, will only be taxed at a minimal level. If they invested the amount in Fixed Deposits (FDs) or in Pensions (including Life Insurance pension products), they yet wouldn’t be paying higher tax as that of yours. Plus, there won’t be any headache of filing taxes for seniors as the bank will have to maintain all the tax deductions & report out self. For an Indian-origin (PIO, OCI. NRI & Expats) with senior family members in his/ her direct family in India, it makes sense to transfer your tax-paid monies to elders’/ parents’ bank accounts (whether even managed by you) to take advantage of growing your corpus significantly, with limited tax outgo.

2. Foreign Direct Investments (FDI) in Insurance sectors raised from 49% to 74%. This is to help an Indian-origin (salaried or business owner) have the best investments in India through the insurance savings route.

Strategy: In a bid to attract global Indian-origin outside (PIO, OCI, NRI & Expats) to invest into life insurance products, saving plans or market-linked products in India, taking benefits of higher returns from Indian-collaborated world insurers, the finance ministry drastically raised the limits of FDI in budget 2021. This opens the gates for world insurers to come into India, and we clearly see a series of high quality – Coverage Plans (like: term life covers or term plans), guaranteed return products (returning 4% to 9% fixed per year), or even the booming market products (10% & higher up) getting launched. It gives an advantage to an Indian-origin now to invest directly in India, sitting outside.

We encourage you to avail your investment options, as now you can even invest in global currencies in India (or your home country currency), in most safety-oriented products. You could pay through your local home country bank or your NRE/ NRO (Non-Resident External or Non-Resident Ordinary) bank accounts, with any bank, as well. All your maturities & redemptions come back swiftly in your NRE bank account, making it easily repatriable later to the country of your choice. Further, investing in currency would get you a currency hedge on these products as long as you keep paying, as well as, waive-off the entire Goods & Services Tax (GST), which you don’t have to pay anymore. All this put together can really work towards growing your wealth exponentially, and keeping your costs low! 

The budget also made the ‘Income Tax Appellate’ faceless (all digital) completely for Indian-origin (PIO, OCI, NRI & Expats) to benefit from, in terms of, faster and error-free filing and resolution of tax issues, online itself. This only aims at encouraging global Indian-origin to invest online in India. Note: There are no changes to existing Indian tax slabs, since the last financial year. The time period of re-opening of tax matters by the Income Tax department in India has now been reduced from 6 years to 3 years, in normal cases. Even this points to the fact that the Indian tax system is being simplified and now favors the global Indian-origin to send back investments in India, effortlessly. Indian ministries are strategically working with UAE & Japanese governments in areas of skill development of the workforce in India, in many areas.

Indian-origin people definitely have the flexibility to consult BigRise Financial™, an Investment Consulting organization that works in the space of working with Indian-origin (PIO) across the world including: OCI, NRI & Expats to get them innovative investment options in India. They bring world-class products and solutions from the world’s most renowned financial organizations and insurers to their clients.

To get COMPLIMENTARY advice on this situation, write into: nitin@bigrisefinance.com Or Drop a WhatsApp on: +91 98182 46300

Remember the time of 80s or 90s staying back in your Indian city or just wherever you grew up? Purchasing things always appeared much cheaper, no matter what sources of income you or your guardians had then. Did you ever look back financially? There wasn’t any ‘real occasion’ per se wherein you would’ve felt the need to cut expenses to buy ‘a thing of choice’. Rather the easier option, back then, was to just give up the thought of buying ‘that thing’ all together & move on. Actually, the focus was always to save money, more than reducing expenses. Times were sweet and giving up a thing of choice – was still an option!

In 2020, living with the monstrous coronavirus now, it’ll be right to say that ‘expenses have gone way too expensive’. Be cautious to understand that this ‘expense track’ could devastate you in no time, especially when you know that you’re living with the monster until the end of 2021, or maybe even after that. Already, the virus must have taken a colossal blow on your existing earnings whether in: salary cuts, business earning downtimes, slashed NRE/ NRO bank interests, lost rental incomes, etc. On the top, add a plethora of expenses out of nowhere, related to: hygiene & sanitizers, lifestyle with superfoods, medicines or supplements intake, higher usage on electricity or other utility bills (while working from home), children’s online education costs, etc. – which in reality you can’t shy away from in today’s time, like how you could in yesteryears. Times are unprecedented! We need deep retrospection and quick practical actions to avoid being thrown off-balance in this problem-equation: ‘Lowered income & higher expenses’, leading to an eventual financial breakdown. Trust us, slashing expenses would be the de facto ahead for your survival, till when earnings start to increase next!

We analyzed the problem scenario in detail. We realized that besides saving money if we could help you put off some unnecessary or ‘unknown’ expenses, cycle per cycle, you would be much better off to sail through these hard times. Every penny saved would count for you in the coming 2 to 3 years. This is the kind of timeframe you need at hand to re-shape as per the economic business cycle.

Over the last 3 months, randomly talking to about 227+ ‘People’ being: Persons of Indian-origin (PIO), OCI (Overseas Citizens of India), NRI (Non-Resident Indians) & Expats, those were not our clients, we realized that for managing Insurances or Investments held in India; they were doing some common & grave mistakes, unknowingly. This was definitely resulting in their expenses being higher than what would’ve been straight savings otherwise.

2 mistakes we could immediately note to help answer for all fellow Indian-origin living globally, are as below:

Paying of Goods & Services Tax (GST):

People are mistakenly paying a high 18% Indian taxes on existing or new premiums for their Term Plan or Term-Life cover purchased from India (online or offline). This is a significant outflow of money, going out without them realizing that they are not liable to pay for this being outside of India.

Regarding their existing life insurance backed investments in India, they’re continuing to pay premiums, including 2.25% Indian taxes, without referring to their policy document at all. This could also be waived-off. Undoubtedly, the interest or investment growth rates on Indian products are decently high compared to their home countries, but that surely does not mean that one throws away money!

This particularly seemed damaging for the new investments (like: Money backs, guaranteed investments, income solutions, etc.), wherein the Indian taxes are 4.5% at the inception. This straightaway could’ve been waived-off, less they had a capable & licensed advisory to guide them through it. NRE/ NRO Bankers, unfortunately, are not bankable for wealth advice that includes taxation. Working with a Wealth Advisory should absolutely help all along to add value in your current situation.

Paying in Indian Currency (INR):

There isn’t an iota of a doubt that global currencies like: Dollars, Pounds, Dirhams, etc. are much stronger in value as compared to Indian Rupees (INR). It’s a grim mistake for people paying for their Indian premiums in INR, even now, when they could’ve paid far lesser, paying in their local currency. Come, what may, they could have easily saved 1.75% to 4% (depending on the country they are earning in), just on the currency-conversion side. Insurers in India are globally reputed, mammoth organizations with the highest standard of money safety, and accept payments in any currency of your choice.

Now, this changes the ‘money game’ completely in one’s favor, as it directly cuts the expenses of an investor (by curbing Indian Taxes, GST) and further, gives one’s overall investment a spiraling currency-effect (as lesser absolute premium gets paid out effectively in foreign currency). One easily cuts expenses to the tune of 4% to 22% each year, without moving an inch. This also means that the investment literally gains in the same percentage proportion.
Example: If a term plan, annually costs you @INR 1,00,000 plus 18% GST, making it a total of INR 1,18,000 that you were paying through your NRO account or credit card, etc., now it should cost you a modest INR 1,00,000 only (waiving-off 18% GST) and which further goes down to @INR 97K, considering that the currency conversion benefit was 3% at the time of payment. This clocks 21% of expenses controlled. Period!

Note: It’s the worst mistake of paying the Indian premiums through your international credit cards. Immediately stop it.

Note: Besides the above direct losses till when controlled, you could do a host of other strategies to improve your investments’ return. You could also pause your payment temporarily, without paying any penalties. Consult a Wealth Advisory to know all your options.

Indians and Indian-origin people have the flexibility to consult BigRise Financial ™, an Investment, Insurances & Wealth Consulting organization that works in the space of financial planning for: Indian-origin (PIO) across the world including: Indians, OCI, NRI & Expats to get them innovative financial solutions from India. They bring world-class products and solutions from the world’s most renowned financial organizations to their clients.

To get COMPLIMENTARY advice on this situation, write into: nitin@bigrisefinance.com

Or Drop a WhatsApp on:
+91 98182 46300

Author: Nitin Attri
BigRise Financial ™