Quant Mutual Fund receives final nod from Sebi to launch India's first Specialized Investment Fund in August

Time of India

3 days ago

Quant Mutual Fund
has announced that it has received the final approval from Sebi to launch India's first
Specialized Investment Fund
(SIF), making it the first asset management company (AMC) in India to receive the market regulator's approval for a SIF.
The fund house's first offering under the SIF framework - the '
QSIF Equity Long-Short Fund
' – is scheduled for launch in August 2025 and the fund house also hinted at additional equity and hybrid SIF offerings in the coming months.
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'We are pleased to announce that we have received SEBI approval for India's first investment strategy under the SIF framework — the 'qsif Equity Long-Short Fund' – scheduled for launch in August 2025. Additional equity and hybrid SIF offerings are also planned in the coming months. In parallel, we will dedicate our efforts towards educating the target audience about these products,' Quant Mutual Fund said in its monthly release.
While mentioning about the suitability, the fund house said that the product category is suitable for sophisticated investors who are well-versed with financial markets and possess a relatively high risk appetite, seeking more evolved investment strategies.
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SIFs can take long & short positions to benefit from rising & falling markets and can deploy derivative instruments extensively as part of core investment strategy with enhanced risk mitigation tools, the release further mentioned.
The Sandeep Tandon-led fund house in its June monthly release informed its investor base of nearly 95 lacs folios that the fund house was the first recipient of SEBI license for the Specialized Investment Fund (SIF) – the Long-Short fund in equity, debt and hybrid categories and this product category is suitable for sophisticated investors who are well-versed with financial markets and possess a relatively high-risk appetite and seeking more evolved investment strategies.
'Going forward, we will be unveiling a separate brand identity, separate website and communication portal specifically for SIFs. Over the coming weeks and months, we will dedicate our efforts towards educating the target audience about these products,' the fund house had said in the June release.
As of now some other fund houses such as Edelweiss Mutual Fund, Mirae Asset Mutual Fund, SBI Mutual Fund, ITI Mutual Fund, DSP Mutual Fund have launched their SIF investment platform but are yet to announce their products.
What is Specialized Investment Fund - Sebi's new asset class
The market regulator Sebi has introduced a Specialized Investment Fund (SIF) framework to bridge the gap between
mutual funds
(MFs) and portfolio management services (PMS) and it aims to provide sophisticated investors with more flexible investment opportunities while ensuring regulatory oversight. The new framework is effective from April 1, 2025.
Investment Strategies Under SIFs
SIFs will offer multiple investment strategies across equity, debt, and hybrid asset classes. There will be three equity oriented investment strategies - equity long short fund, equity ex-top 100 long-short fund, and sector rotation long-short fund.
In Equity Long-Short Fund, the minimum investment in equity and equity related instruments will be 80% and maximum short exposure through unhedged derivative positions in equity and equity related instruments will be 25%, according to Sebi's circular.
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Quant Mutual Fund on opportunities
The portfolio at Quant Mutual Fund remains tilted towards large caps, overall liquidity of the portfolio is good and select mid and small caps exposure has been increased in most of the equity and hybrid schemes, the fund house said.
It finds select buying opportunities in certain sectors viz. PSU, Infrastructure, Hotels & Hospitality, Pharmaceuticals, Consumption and Telecom.
Commenting on precious metals, Quant Mutual Fund said that August month tends to be, seasonally, more bullish for
Gold
and the fund house analysis have endorsed that Gold has peaked out around $ 3,500/Oz. and a medium-term top is in place and it has potential to correct by 12-15% in dollar terms over the next two months.
The fund house further said that their medium-term and long-term views are equally constructive and a meaningful percentage of the portfolio should be dedicated towards precious metals.
Though for crude oil and
Bitcoin
, August is seasonally a bullish month, the predictive analytics by the fund house are showing early signs of weakness and crude and other commodities can correct over the next two months as DXY has already bottomed out and it will recover further in the short-term, the monthly release said.
For global equity, the fund house said, 'Seasonally, August is mildly bearish and the US market is now showing signs of complacency and quant's vulnerability indicators are spiking. When we combine these with Volatility Analytics, then a more defensive approach in rebalancing and reconstructing the portfolio is warranted, even as the geopolitical environment remains constructive.'
Quant Mutual Fund continues to believe that a significant US Dollar devaluation is the only practical way to address the US' spiraling debt crisis and the relevance of global central banks is declining as they are unable to control inflation and bring about effective revival in economic conditions.'
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After the recent tariff imposed by US President Donald
Trump
, the fund house said that since exports to the US specifically account for INR 1 of every INR 6 earned in total exports, estimates suggest a notable impact of ca. 0.5% of Indian GDP annually.
'Moreover, Trump warned of an additional, unspecified 'Penalty' on India for its continued trade with Russia, thus leaving a fair amount of uncertainty to chew on for the markets. The only ray of hope is pharmaceuticals, which has been exempted so far, and thus India generics appear to be a relatively safe sector,' it further said.
The fund house lastly appreciated the continued trust and confidence by investors in Quant Mutual Fund and as we navigate changing markets, our commitment remains focused on disciplined investing and long-term value.