Specialised Investment Funds

The ₹10 lakh SIF minimum is not what most people think it is

SEBI's Specialised Investment Fund threshold is ₹10 lakh per PAN across all strategies of one asset management company — not per strategy. And if your holding drifts below it, the rules require you to redeem the whole balance.

19 September 2026 · Raja Banka · RHB Wealth Pro, Salt Lake, Kolkata

The Specialised Investment Fund is the newest shelf in the Indian market, created by SEBI to sit between a mutual fund and a Portfolio Management Service. The number everyone hears first is ₹10 lakh. Almost everyone hears it wrong.

It is per PAN, not per strategy

The minimum is not ₹10 lakh for each strategy you enter. It is ₹10 lakh in aggregate, at PAN level, across every SIF strategy you hold with a single asset management company. SEBI clarified this in April 2025, and the distinction matters a great deal in practice.

Spread across three strategies of the same AMC, ₹10 lakh clears the bar. Spread as ₹4 lakh with one AMC and ₹6 lakh with another, it clears nothing — neither account is eligible. The threshold resets at every fund house.

₹10 lakh is the floor per fund house, counted across all of that house's strategies together — not a ticket price per strategy.

The part that catches people out

The floor is not only an entry condition. It is a condition you have to keep meeting.

If markets move against you and the value of your SIF holding with that AMC drifts below ₹10 lakh, you are not permitted to sit there quietly at ₹9.4 lakh. The rule requires the entire remaining balance to be redeemed. A fall you did nothing to cause can therefore force you out of the strategy altogether, at a price you did not choose.

This is the single most important thing to understand before signing. Anyone entering at exactly ₹10 lakh is entering with no margin at all.

What is still allowed

• Systematic investment, withdrawal and transfer plans all work inside a SIF, provided the total holding stays above the threshold.
• Accredited investors are exempt from the ₹10 lakh minimum entirely.
• Investments an AMC requires of its own designated employees do not count towards it.

How we look at it across a table

For most business families we sit with, the useful question is not whether a SIF is “better” than a mutual fund. It is whether the money being considered can sit at that fund house, above that floor, without being disturbed — through a bad eighteen months, and without the family needing it for something else.

If the answer is yes, the structure is worth a conversation. If the answer is “probably, unless the factory expansion happens,” the forced-redemption rule turns a long-term product into a short-term problem. That is a liquidity question, not a returns question, and it gets settled before anything else.

Questions this raises

Is the ₹10 lakh SIF minimum per strategy or in total?

In total. The minimum is ₹10 lakh at PAN level across all Specialised Investment Fund strategies held with a single asset management company, not ₹10 lakh for each strategy. The threshold applies separately at each fund house.

What happens if my SIF holding falls below ₹10 lakh because markets fell?

The rules require the entire remaining balance to be redeemed. A passive breach caused by market movement does not let you continue holding a smaller amount, which is why entering at exactly ₹10 lakh leaves no margin.

Is anyone exempt from the ₹10 lakh SIF minimum?

Accredited investors are exempt from the threshold. Investments that an asset management company requires of its own designated employees are also excluded from the calculation.

Can I run a SIP into a Specialised Investment Fund?

Yes. Systematic investment, withdrawal and transfer plans are permitted within a SIF, provided the total holding stays above the ₹10 lakh threshold.