Top 5 Best SIF Funds in India to Watch in 2026: Trends, Fees and Performance Insights

India got a new investment product in 2025, Specialised Investment Funds (SIFs) and by 2026 it had crossed ₹23,177 crores across 94,447 folios in assets under management.

SIFs give fund managers more flexibility than traditional mutual funds. They can take short positions in shares they believe are overvalued, instead of only buying stocks they expect to rise.

SEBI introduced the category through its circular dated 27 February 2025, with a minimum investment of ₹10 lakh. Around 30 schemes are now live.

That growth has also created a problem. Search for the best SIF funds in India and you will find plenty of rankings based on returns. The problem is that most SIFs are still less than a year old.

A return over three, six or ten months is not a track record. It is only a snapshot of how a strategy performed during a particular period.

So here we take a different approach. We picked five SIFs to watch, one from each SEBI category that currently has live schemes. The selection looks at size, fund house experience, costs, strategy and benchmark rather than simply ranking the highest returns.

The idea is not to tell you which SIF to buy. It is to give you a framework you can use even when newer schemes enter the market.

What is a SIF and why is everyone suddenly talking about it in 2026?

A Specialised Investment Fund is a SEBI-regulated investment product that sits somewhere between a mutual fund and a Portfolio Management Service.

The minimum investment is ₹10 lakh. The biggest difference from a traditional mutual fund is the flexibility available to the fund manager.

A mutual fund manager can buy a share or avoid it. If the manager believes a company is overpriced, the fund generally cannot directly profit from the stock falling. A SIF manager can take a short position. 

In simple terms, going long means buying an investment because you expect it to rise. Going short means taking a position that benefits when the investment falls. This is why the words “long-short” appear in the names of many SIF strategies.

SEBI has also placed limits on this flexibility. A SIF can have unhedged short positions of up to 25% of its net assets. Unhedged means the short position is not offset by another position. 

So the manager can take a view against a stock or the market, but the strategy cannot simply become an unrestricted short-selling vehicle. Why has the category attracted so much attention in 2026? 

The money has arrived quickly. SIF assets increased from around ₹2,010 crore in October 2025 to ₹23,177 crore by July 2026. The number of folios reached 94,447. The average account size was around ₹24.5 lakhs.

That is important because it suggests SIFs are attracting people who already have investment portfolios and are looking to add another strategy.

Anuj says, “A new investment product will always attract attention, especially when the early numbers look good. But it needs to find fitment in your portfolio. I would first check what role the SIF is supposed to play in the portfolio and how long can stay invested. The return comes much later in that conversation.”

If you are still getting familiar with the category, our detailed guide to Specialised Investment Funds explains the different SIF strategies and how they work.

Top 5 SIF funds to watch in 2026, at a glance

The figures below are based on a public SIF tracker as of 12 August 2026, with assets reported as on 30 June 2026.

Expense ratios shown are for the Regular plan. Direct plan fees are lower and are mentioned separately for each fund.

These figures can change, so check the latest scheme factsheet before making a decision.

Quant Mutual Fund appears three times as it launched schemes across several SIF categories.

1. Altiva Hybrid Long-Short Fund, Edelweiss Mutual Fund

Altiva Hybrid Long-Short is currently the largest SIF in India, with around ₹1,185 crores in assets.

A hybrid long-short fund must maintain at least 25% in equity and at least 25% in debt. The strategy can then use tools such as arbitrage and event-driven trades alongside its long-short positions.

Arbitrage involves buying a security in one market and selling it in another to capture a price difference. Event-driven strategies may focus on situations such as buybacks and open offers.

The fund benchmarks itself against the Nifty 50 Hybrid Composite Debt 50:50 Index. That is a reasonable benchmark for a portfolio that combines equity and debt.

Since launching on 20 October 2025, the fund has returned around 9.75%. 

The exit load is 0.50% if you redeem within 90 days. Redemptions are available twice a week, on Mondays and Wednesdays.

2. iSIF Equity Ex-Top 100 Long-Short Fund, ICICI Prudential Mutual Fund

The Equity Ex-Top 100 category is one of the more aggressive SIF strategies. These funds must invest at least 65% of the portfolio in shares outside India’s 100 largest companies. 

That means the portfolio can have significant exposure to mid-cap and small-cap companies. Short positions are then used alongside these investments. ICICI Prudential’s scheme is the largest in the category, with around ₹1,913 crore in assets.

It launched on 5 February 2026, just over a month before the March market low. It has returned around 4.10% since inception.

The exit load is 1% if you redeem within 12 months. Redemptions are available daily.

Smaller companies can experience larger price movements when markets become volatile. Short positions may help reduce some downside, but they do not remove the risk.

This is therefore not a strategy where the short position should be treated as a guarantee of protection during a market fall.

3. qsif Equity Long-Short Fund, Quant Mutual Fund

An Equity Long-Short SIF must keep at least 80% of its portfolio in equity. Its unhedged short exposure is capped at 25% of net assets.

Quant’s scheme is the largest in this category, with around ₹625 crore in assets. It launched on 7 October 2025, making it one of the oldest SIFs in the market.

The fund has returned around 10.90% since launch and uses the Nifty 500 TRI as its benchmark. Redemption is available daily and there is no lock-in.

Quant uses a systematic model called VLRT, which considers valuation, liquidity, risk and timing. This strategy involves active trading and derivatives.

4. qsif Active Asset Allocator Long-Short Fund, Quant Mutual Fund

The Active Asset Allocator category gives the fund manager considerable flexibility. There is no fixed minimum allocation to a particular asset class. 

The manager can move between equity, debt, derivatives, REITs and commodities depending on the investment view. The 25% limit on unhedged short positions still applies.

Quant’s scheme is the largest in this category, with around ₹92 crore in assets.

The fund launched on 2 April 2026 and is managed by Sanjeev Sharma. Since inception, it shows a return of around 14.51%, which is the highest figure among the five funds in this list.

This is also where you need to be careful with performance rankings. The fund has less than four months of history. It also started after the March market low. 

A strong return during this period does not tell us how the strategy will behave through a full market cycle.

The exit load is 1% if you redeem within 15 days. Redemptions are available twice a week.

There are only a few live schemes in this category, so meaningful peer comparison is still difficult.

5. qsif Sector Rotation Long-Short Fund, Quant Mutual Fund

The Sector Rotation category is unusual because there is currently only one live scheme. 

A sector rotation SIF must keep at least 80% of its assets in equity and can spread that exposure across a maximum of four sectors at a time.

The manager can then rotate between sectors depending on the investment view. The concentration is central to the strategy. It is also one of the main risks.

Quant’s fund launched on 27 April 2026 and has around ₹46 crore in assets, making it the smallest fund on this list. Since inception, it is up roughly 1.85%.

Given how recently the scheme launched, this number is not enough to assess the strategy.

Portfolio holdings had not been published at the time of writing, as the disclosure timetable for new schemes had not yet caught up with the fund.

So this fund is included because it represents the Sector Rotation category, not because there is enough evidence to judge its long-term performance.

If this strategy interests you, waiting for a longer record or more schemes in the category would give you a better basis for comparison.

You can also look at our coverage of recent SIF launches, including the Jio BlackRock Prism Hybrid Long Short Fund and the 360 ONE DynaSIF Equity Ex-Top 100 Long Short Fund, to see how new products are being positioned.

How we shortlisted these 5 funds, and why we did not just sort by returns?

Most articles on the best SIF funds start with a return table. That approach can be misleading when the entire category is less than a year old and the strategies are different.

The first SIFs in India launched in October 2025. Some of the newer schemes on this list launched in May 2026. The market conditions were also very different across those launch dates.

The Nifty 50 fell from 26,373 on 5th January 2026 to 22,331 on 31st March. That was a decline of roughly 15%. A fund that launched in February experienced that fall. A fund that launched in May did not.

That makes a simple since-inception return comparison difficult. Currently five of the seven permitted SIF strategies have live schemes.

For this list, we looked at five things.

• One fund from each live SEBI category. This gives a broader view of the SIF market rather than five similar strategies.
• Size within the category. We selected the largest live scheme in each category by assets. Size does not prove that a fund is better, but it shows where money has already gone.
• Relevant fund house experience. Experience with derivatives, arbitrage, PMS-style strategies or similar mandates can be useful when assessing a new SIF.
• Cost. Expense ratios vary considerably across SIFs. A higher fee needs to be justified by the strategy and the value it provides.
• Benchmark suitability. A fund should be compared with a benchmark that reflects the strategy it actually follows.

We did not use three-month returns, star ratings or rankings as selection criteria.

Anuj says, “When the history is short, I would spend more time understanding the process than celebrating the return. Ask how the manager selects long and short positions, how much risk they are willing to take and what would make them change their view. Those answers tell you more than a six-month performance number.”

SIF trends shaping 2026

Three trends stand out from the numbers so far.

SIF assets are growing quickly

SIF assets rose around 29% in June to ₹17,858 crore and then another 30% in July to ₹23,177 crore. June alone saw net inflows of ₹3,782 crore, more than double the previous month’s figure.

Six new strategies also launched during June. The pace of growth is significant for a category that only started in 2025.

Most of the money is going into hybrid strategies

Around 71% of SIF assets are in hybrid strategies. Hybrid long-short funds alone account for roughly 66%. Equity-oriented strategies account for around 29%.

That is worth noting because SIFs are often discussed for their ability to take short positions and potentially benefit when markets fall.

Yet most of the money is going into strategies that also have a sizable debt allocation.

This suggests that many buyers are using SIFs as a more defensive or lower-volatility addition rather than taking the most aggressive equity strategies available.

More fund houses are entering the category

Around 30 SIF schemes are now operating across roughly 16 to 17 AMCs, compared with just four AMCs in October 2025.

Several established PMS and AIF managers have also applied for mutual fund licences to enter the space.

For you, this could be positive. More fund houses mean more strategies to compare. It could also increase options and investment approaches.

SIF fees explained: What counts as reasonable in 2026?

The expense ratio is the annual cost charged by the fund to manage your money. It is deducted from the scheme’s assets, so you do not receive a separate bill.

That makes it easy to overlook. Across live SIFs, Regular plan expense ratios range from roughly 1.3% to about 5.4%.

That is a very wide range within a category that is still new. For comparison, a large-cap index fund in India generally costs well below 1%.

The exit load also needs attention. Many SIFs have relatively short exit-load windows of 15 to 90 days. 

Some schemes, however, have longer periods. ICICI Prudential’s scheme mentioned earlier has a 12-month exit-load period.

Then there is liquidity. Not every SIF allows you to redeem on any business day.

Some schemes are structured as interval funds and permit withdrawals only on specified days. Altiva allows redemptions twice a week. The Quant Active Asset Allocator also allows twice-weekly withdrawals.

How to read a SIF’s early performance without being misled?

There are two simple rules worth following.

Rule one: Check the launch date before looking at the return

A fund showing a 14.51% return after launching in April 2026 cannot be directly compared with a fund showing 4.10% after launching in February.

The two funds started in different market conditions.

The market fell sharply between January and March. A fund that was already operating during that fall had to deal with it. A fund that launched afterwards did not.

So the since-inception number partly tells you when the fund started. It does not tell you which manager is better.

Rule two: Compare the fund with its own benchmark

Every SIF provides a benchmark in its scheme documents. That benchmark should be your starting point for evaluating performance.

A hybrid fund with a large debt allocation should not be expected to behave like a pure equity index. It may lag the Nifty during a strong equity rally and hold up better during a fall. 

That is partly a result of the portfolio construction. The additional return generated over what the underlying risk would normally deliver is often referred to as alpha.

But do not over-read alpha figures from funds that have only a few months of history.

SIF vs Mutual Fund vs PMS vs AIF: Where these funds actually sit?

The question is often framed as “Is a SIF better than a PMS?” That is not really the right question.

The better question is which structure fits your investment amount, risk profile and need for transparency.

The gap SIFs fill is quite clear. Before SIFs were introduced, someone wanting access to a manager who could short through a PMS generally needed ₹50 lakh.

SIFs brought that minimum down to ₹10 lakh. You also get daily NAV disclosure and monthly portfolio disclosure, which adds a level of transparency that you do not get in the same way through a PMS.

The ₹10 lakh minimum is counted per investor per fund house across the AMC’s SIF schemes. 

For example, if you invest ₹6 lakh in one SIF and ₹4 lakh in another SIF from the same AMC, you meet the ₹10 lakh minimum. If the two schemes belong to different AMCs, you would need to meet the minimum separately for each fund house.

If you are comparing SIFs with traditional mutual funds, our guide to mutual funds in India covers how the simpler structure works.

Who should consider these funds, who should not, and the real risks?

A SIF may make sense if you already have a diversified portfolio and are looking to add a strategy with a different return profile. You should also have a basic understanding of shorting and derivatives.

The money should be available for at least three to five years. The ₹10 lakh should also be surplus money rather than something you need for a house purchase, education or another near-term goal.

A SIF is probably not suitable if you are still building your first investment portfolio. It may also be inappropriate if the investment would represent a large part of your total savings or if a significant temporary fall would make you exit.

The main risks are straightforward.

• Limited track record: Every live SIF is less than a year old, so there is no full-market-cycle history.
• Short-selling risk: A short position loses money when the security rises.
• Limited liquidity: Some schemes allow redemption only on specified days.
• Limited peer comparison: Some categories have only a handful of schemes.
• Large minimum investment: ₹10 lakh can create concentration risk if it is a large part of your portfolio.

The biggest mistake would be to treat a SIF as a replacement for a diversified portfolio.

It is better viewed as a specialised strategy that may have a role within a larger plan.

How SIF funds are taxed, and why two funds in the same category can differ?

Tax treatment is one area where the name of the SIF category is not enough.

The tax treatment depends on the actual equity allocation of the scheme. The key threshold is 65%.

Two SIFs with the same SEBI category can therefore have different tax outcomes.

For example, Quant’s Hybrid Long-Short scheme has been reported as requiring a 24-month holding period before long-term capital gains treatment, with short-term gains taxed at the applicable slab rate. 

Other schemes carrying the same Hybrid Long-Short label may qualify for equity treatment after 12 months.  The difference can be meaningful.

On a ₹10 lakh investment, the ₹1.25 lakh annual exemption on qualifying long-term gains can be worth around ₹15,600 at a 12.5% rate. So do not rely only on the name of the category.

Open the scheme’s Investment Strategy Information Document. Check the stated equity allocation and understand how the fund expects its gains to be taxed.

Tax rules can change, so it is also sensible to confirm the treatment with your chartered accountant before investing.

Anuj says: “Fees are easy to compare because they are sitting in front of you. Tax is where people often stop looking. Two funds can look almost identical but have very different tax outcomes. I would check the equity allocation and holding-period treatment before making a decision based on a small difference in expense ratio.”

How can Zenith Finserve help you?

Knowing how to compare SIFs is one part of the decision. The harder question is whether a SIF belongs in your portfolio at all. If yes, which one?

That depends on your existing investments, goals, time horizon and the role you want the SIF to play. That is where financial planning becomes important.

At Zenith Finserve, the approach is to look at the portfolio before looking at the product.

We focus on four areas:

• Check the fit before the fund. We first look at your existing asset allocation and goals. A SIF may add something useful, but it may also duplicate risks you already have.
• Understand the scheme. We look at the strategy, equity allocation, benchmark, liquidity, exit terms and other scheme details.
• Review the strategy over time. A SIF is not something to buy and forget. The strategy needs to be reviewed against what it was supposed to achieve.

You can read more about our SIF advisory approach if you are considering this category.

If the wider portfolio needs attention first, our approach to goal-based financial planning starts with your goals and works backwards to the investment strategy.

Conclusion

SIFs are a meaningful addition to India’s investment landscape. A SEBI-regulated product that can take short positions, provide daily NAV disclosure and start at ₹10 lakh did not exist before 2025.

The growth from ₹2,010 crore to more than ₹23,177 crores in less than a year shows that there is clear demand for the category. 

The oldest SIFs are still less than a year old. Most have never experienced a complete market cycle. Some schemes have only a few months of history.

That is why the five funds in this list should be viewed as funds to watch, not as a ranking of proven winners. The more useful part is the framework.

• Check the launch date before looking at the return
• Compare the fund with its own benchmark
• Check the equity allocation and understand the tax treatment
• Look at withdrawal terms before committing money
• Most importantly, assess what role the SIF is supposed to play in your portfolio

Those checks will remain useful even as new SIFs launch and today’s rankings become outdated.

Frequently asked questions

What is the best SIF fund in India right now?

There is no reliable way to name one yet. Every live SIF is less than a year old, so the available performance history is too short to establish a long-term winner. Start with the strategy and decide which SEBI category fits your portfolio. Then compare schemes within that category on costs, benchmark, investment process, liquidity and tax treatment. The largest scheme in each current category is covered earlier in this article.

How much money do I need to invest in a SIF fund?

The minimum investment is ₹10 lakh. The minimum is counted per investor per fund house across the AMC’s SIF schemes. For example, you can split ₹10 lakh between two SIF schemes from the same AMC and meet the minimum. If you invest in schemes from two different AMCs, you generally need to meet the ₹10 lakh requirement separately for each fund house. Some schemes may allow smaller additional investments after the initial amount.

Are SIF funds safe for a first-time investor?

SIFs are not designed as a first investment. They can use derivatives and short positions, and most schemes have less than a year of history. The ₹10 lakh minimum can also make the initial investment large relative to a new investor’s portfolio. If you are still building your first portfolio, ordinary mutual funds and SIPs are generally a simpler starting point. A SIF is better considered as an addition once you already have a diversified investment base.

How is a SIF different from a mutual fund or a PMS?

A SIF gives the fund manager more flexibility to take short positions, within SEBI’s prescribed limits. A traditional mutual fund does not offer the same ability to take unhedged short positions. Compared with a PMS, a SIF has a ₹10 lakh minimum rather than ₹50 lakh. It also provides daily NAV disclosure and monthly portfolio disclosure. In a PMS, the securities are held in your own demat account. In a SIF, you hold units like you do in a mutual fund.

How are SIF fund returns taxed in India?

It depends on the fund’s actual equity allocation. If the scheme meets the relevant equity threshold, gains may receive equity-oriented tax treatment. If it does not, the treatment can be different. The current equity-oriented framework generally taxes short-term gains at 20% and qualifying long-term gains at 12.5%, with the applicable ₹1.25 lakh annual exemption for long-term gains.

For non-equity-oriented schemes, short-term gains can be taxed at your slab rate, and the holding period for long-term treatment can differ. The scheme document should be checked before investing. Tax treatment can also change, so confirm the current position with your chartered accountant.

Can I trust the since-inception returns of a fund launched in 2025 or 2026?

Not as proof of long-term investment skill. A fund launched in February 2026 experienced the sharp market correction between January and March. A fund launched in May did not. The since-inception return therefore reflects both the strategy and the market conditions that existed after launch. Compare the fund with its own benchmark over the same period and give more importance to funds that eventually build a longer track record across different market conditions.

How often can I withdraw money from a SIF?

It depends on the scheme. Some SIFs allow daily redemption. Others are interval funds and allow redemption only on specific days, such as twice a week or fortnightly. Some may also require advance notice. Exit loads can apply if you redeem within a specified period. That period can range from 15 days to 12 months depending on the scheme. Check the redemption frequency and exit load before investing, especially if you may need the money in the short term.