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Alternative Investments (AIF)

Access sophisticated private market funds.

SEBI-regulated Alternative Investment Funds for UHNI investors. Private equity, venture capital, and hedge funds with direct access.

₹1 Cr
AIF minimum
15+
Curated strategies
1 in 8
Onboarding ratio
How AIFs are structured

Two routes into private markets.

Alternate Investment Funds are funds established in India as a privately pooled investment vehicle in order to collect funds from sophisticated investors. AIFs invest in listed and unlisted asset classes but are more focused on investing in instruments other than conventional equity and debt.

Alternative Investment FundsSEBI-regulated, privately pooled, ₹1 Cr minimum
Equity AIF

Equity Alternative Investment Funds

Alternate Investment Funds are funds established in India as a privately pooled investment vehicle in order to collect funds from sophisticated investors. AIFs invest in listed and unlisted asset classes but are more focused on investing in instruments other than conventional equity and debt.

Benefits

  • High return potential
  • Diversification
  • Participation in alternate asset classes that cannot be accessed by mutual funds

Key features

  • Pooling of fundsCapital is pooled for investing in an AIF.
  • Minimum investment₹1 Crore.
  • TaxationPass-through taxation applies to Category II AIFs; Category III AIFs are taxed at the fund's end.
  • Lock-in periodAIF Category I & II are close-ended with a tenure of 3–5 years. Category III can be either open-ended or close-ended.

Categories of an AIF

Category I AIF

AIFs that invest in startups, infrastructure, SMEs, social enterprises, etc.

Category II AIF

Funds that do not use leverage or borrow for any reason other than to cover operational needs, and typically invest in private companies.

Category III AIF

Funds that invest in specifically designed public equity portfolios, including listed or unlisted derivatives. These can be both open-ended and close-ended.

Taxation

TenureAIF Cat I & II (Equity / Debt) — 24MAIF Cat III (Equity) — 12M
LTCGLong-term capital gainsAIF Cat I & II (Equity / Debt) — 24M12.5% / Investor SlabAIF Cat III (Equity) — 12M12.50%
STCGShort-term capital gainsAIF Cat I & II (Equity / Debt) — 24MInvestor Slab / Investor SlabAIF Cat III (Equity) — 12M20%

Indicative rates. The holding period shown in each column defines long term for that category. Cess and surcharge apply as per your income slab — please confirm the final position with your tax advisor.

Shortlisting parameters

Parameter01 / 05

Fund Manager Expertise & Proven Track Record

Evaluate the fund manager's experience, particularly in managing equity portfolios, and their historical performance across various market cycles.

AIF — Equity

09 strategies

PGIF is a private equity strategy investing in high-growth businesses at key inflection points across Growth, Late Stage/Pre-IPO, and PIPE opportunities, aiming to maximise IRR, preserve capital, and enhance liquidity. It applies Carnelian's MAGIC framework, supported by CLEAR Forensic and Quality & Growth disciplines, to identify companies with accelerating earnings, strong fundamentals, and high-quality management.

IGPF-II targets growth and late-stage, best-in-class privately owned companies — referred to as “SUPER 8 companies” — that demonstrate strong potential for value creation and successful exit. These companies are characterized by their scale, with revenues above ₹500 crore; a unique and defensible competitive edge; positive EBITDA indicating profitability; clear exit visibility through a potential IPO within 2 to 4 years; and attractive relative positioning, either through lower valuations compared to listed peers or higher growth trajectories.

The fund targets early-stage companies from Seed to Series A across Fintech, Consumer Tech, Deep Tech, and Defence sectors in India. It aims to build a portfolio of companies that have demonstrated product-market fit, deploying an average ticket size of INR 15–20 crore per investment and targeting a meaningful 10–20% ownership stake in each. The investment team combines experience with the broader ecosystem, bringing founder networks, institutional relationships, and platform support to every portfolio company.

The fund blends the proven Golden Decade Portfolio strategy with pre-IPO investment opportunities, allocating 70% to listed equities and 30% to high-quality unlisted pre-IPO companies. The listed portfolio is based on the E-QUAL framework and five structural growth themes, while the unlisted allocation targets emerging leaders, offering exposure to both established compounders and future market leaders.

The fund invests across listed (small to micro) and unlisted companies with a long-term, growth-oriented approach. It focuses on emerging structural growth themes such as Data Centres & AI, Defence, Semiconductors, Green Energy and Biotech, targeting high-growth opportunities positioned to drive India's next phase of economic expansion.

This fund follows a contra investing strategy focused mainly on mid- and small-cap stocks. It aims to generate alpha by identifying fundamentally strong but currently undervalued, mispriced or out-of-favour companies caused by market cycles, investor sentiment, or behavioural biases. The portfolio will be concentrated in 25–30 stocks across 4–7 high-conviction value opportunities, with the goal of benefiting from future valuation re-rating as market perceptions improve.

The fund is designed to leverage opportunities arising from 7 mega trends emerging across 5 sectors. The team believes in investing in “quality growth at a reasonable price” and in “risk diversification through forensic analysis”. A 25–30 stock portfolio (Quality Growth at Reasonable Price), benchmarked against the S&P BSE 500 Index.

It aims to take concentrated bets for the long term, following an altering balance in the aggressiveness-to-defensiveness continuum, which is attained through diversification of cash flow streams, the choice between predictable vs. growing cash flow streams, and cash calls.

A growth-driven investment fund designed to leverage India's entrepreneurial spirit by backing founder-led companies with significant growth potential. It follows a structured investment approach, prioritizing high-quality, high-growth businesses that align with India's economic trajectory. The fund focuses on companies with strong leadership, market leadership, and favourable sectoral trends, fostering long-term value creation.

Documents

Alternative Investments (AIF) factsheet.

PDF Document

Alternative Investments (AIF) Factsheet

The latest alternative investments (aif) factsheet, curated by our research desk.

What you get

Everything that makes Alternative Investments (AIF) simple.

Category I, II & III AIFs

Venture capital, real estate, private credit, long-short equity, structured credit. Direct access to fund managers, no aggregator markups.

Statutory minimums

AIFs from ₹1Cr. We help you evaluate the illiquidity premium and risk profile.

Quarterly reviews with the manager

Direct calls with the fund manager. Hear the thesis straight from the source.

Consolidated tax reporting

Capital gains and K-1 equivalents: all consolidated across AIF investments.

Estate-aware structuring

Trust, HUF, family-office structures: coordinated with your CA and lawyer.

How it works

Four steps from discovery to ownership.

  1. 01

    Risk profiling

    A 30-minute call with our advisor to understand your liquidity, time horizon, and existing portfolio gaps.

  2. 02

    Strategy shortlist

    We present 3–5 AIF strategies with full track-record disclosure and direct access to the fund team.

  3. 03

    Onboarding & funding

    Documentation, execution, and regulatory disclosures handled end-to-end by our compliance team.

  4. 04

    Quarterly oversight

    Performance reviews, attribution analysis, and rebalancing. We sit with you, not the manufacturer.

AIFs provide non-correlated returns but come with illiquidity and complexity. We guide you to the right structures.

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