Key Takeaways
- • Sundaram Mutual has launched the Select Equity Ex-Top 100 Long-Short Fund, its first Specialised Investment Fund (SIF), with the NFO open October 21 and closing November 4, 2026.
- • The fund must place at least 65 per cent of assets outside the 100 largest companies by market value (AMFI classification), selecting from ranks 101 to 750 across mid, small and beyond-top-500 stocks.
- • The portfolio will hold 25 to 40 stocks, with unhedged short exposure of up to 25 per cent of assets permitted under SEBI SIF rules, mainly for hedging during sharp falls and occasional sector pair trades.
- • Minimum investment is Rs 10 lakh per PAN across a fund house's SIF strategies (Rs 1 lakh for accredited investors), with a 1 per cent exit load if redeemed within a year.
- • The category's seven existing funds managed Rs 7,533 crore at end-September 2026, the largest of any equity SIF category, while Select is the only one benchmarked to a mid- and small-cap index (Nifty MidSmallcap 400 TRI).
Summary
Sundaram Mutual has entered the specialised investment fund (SIF) category with the Select Equity Ex-Top 100 Long-Short Fund. The NFO opened on October 21 and closes on November 4, 2026, under the Select SIF brand name. The fund will invest at least 65 per cent of its assets in companies outside the 100 largest by market value, as classified by AMFI, selecting bottom-up from companies ranked 101 to 750 and holding 25 to 40 stocks. The fund house cites manufacturing, premium consumer brands and technology platforms as themes it will pursue.
The fund can take short positions through futures and options. SEBI permits unhedged short exposure of up to 25 per cent of assets, a feature ordinary mutual funds cannot offer. Sundaram says it will use derivatives mainly to hedge the portfolio during sharp market falls, with occasional pair trades that buy one stock while shorting another in the same sector. The benchmark is the Nifty MidSmallcap 400 TRI. Madanagopal Ramu manages the equity portfolio; he has more than 18 years in equities, including as head of equity at Sundaram Alternates, the group's PMS arm, and also manages Sundaram Business Cycle Fund and Sundaram Large and Mid Cap Fund.
Key terms include a minimum investment of Rs 10 lakh per PAN across all of a fund house's SIF strategies (Rs 1 lakh for accredited investors), a 1 per cent exit load on redemptions within a year of allotment, Direct and Regular plans with Growth and IDCW options, daily NAV, and a Level 5 (highest) risk band. SEBI created SIFs in 2025 to sit between mutual funds and PMS. SIFs are taxed like mutual funds, so investors pay tax only on redemption, whereas PMS investors pay capital gains tax on each profitable sale. The PMS minimum is Rs 50 lakh.
The ex-top 100 category opened in November 2025 with quant's qSIF. Select becomes its eighth fund. The seven existing funds held Rs 7,533 crore at the end of September 2026, the most of any equity SIF category. ICICI Prudential's iSIF is the largest at Rs 2,620 crore, followed by SBI's Magnum at Rs 1,598 crore and Edelweiss's Altiva at Rs 1,535 crore. The other seven funds benchmark to the Nifty 500 TRI or BSE 500 TRI. Across all five live SIF strategies, funds managed Rs 38,287 crore as of September, according to AMFI.
The fund can take short positions through futures and options. SEBI permits unhedged short exposure of up to 25 per cent of assets, a feature ordinary mutual funds cannot offer. Sundaram says it will use derivatives mainly to hedge the portfolio during sharp market falls, with occasional pair trades that buy one stock while shorting another in the same sector. The benchmark is the Nifty MidSmallcap 400 TRI. Madanagopal Ramu manages the equity portfolio; he has more than 18 years in equities, including as head of equity at Sundaram Alternates, the group's PMS arm, and also manages Sundaram Business Cycle Fund and Sundaram Large and Mid Cap Fund.
Key terms include a minimum investment of Rs 10 lakh per PAN across all of a fund house's SIF strategies (Rs 1 lakh for accredited investors), a 1 per cent exit load on redemptions within a year of allotment, Direct and Regular plans with Growth and IDCW options, daily NAV, and a Level 5 (highest) risk band. SEBI created SIFs in 2025 to sit between mutual funds and PMS. SIFs are taxed like mutual funds, so investors pay tax only on redemption, whereas PMS investors pay capital gains tax on each profitable sale. The PMS minimum is Rs 50 lakh.
The ex-top 100 category opened in November 2025 with quant's qSIF. Select becomes its eighth fund. The seven existing funds held Rs 7,533 crore at the end of September 2026, the most of any equity SIF category. ICICI Prudential's iSIF is the largest at Rs 2,620 crore, followed by SBI's Magnum at Rs 1,598 crore and Edelweiss's Altiva at Rs 1,535 crore. The other seven funds benchmark to the Nifty 500 TRI or BSE 500 TRI. Across all five live SIF strategies, funds managed Rs 38,287 crore as of September, according to AMFI.
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