Product Launch Details

HDFC Mutual Fund announced its entry into the Specialized Investment Fund (SIF) space with the launch of H-SIF, its SIF platform. The first investment strategy under this platform is the H-SIF Hybrid Long-Short Fund, an interval investment strategy investing in equity and debt securities, including limited short exposure in equity and debt through derivatives.

New Fund Offer (NFO) Period

The NFO will open on November 13, 2026, and close on November 27, 2026.

Investment Strategy and Approach

The H-SIF Hybrid Long-Short Fund is positioned as an Arbitrage+ strategy with the following characteristics:

  • Built around a stable core of high degree of safety debt papers, arbitrage, and REITs/InvITs
  • Aims to provide a relatively steady return profile
  • Uses derivative strategies primarily to manage risk (hedging positions, earning option premiums)
  • Takes limited short positions of up to 25% of net assets
  • Selective participation in corporate events such as IPOs, buybacks, open offers, and mergers
  • Seeks to generate returns from interest income, arbitrage spreads, option premiums, and tactical allocation to special situations
  • Strategy is suited to flat, mildly rising, and volatile markets
  • Preferred investment horizon of more than 18 months

Management Team

The strategy will be managed by:

  • Mr. Paul S Parampreet (Fund Manager-Equities)
  • Mr. Ihab Dalwai (Equity)
  • Mr. Anil Bamboli (Debt)
  • Mr. Gopal Agrawal (Overseas Investments)

Investment Terms and Conditions

  • Minimum investment: ₹10 lakh across SIF strategies at the PAN level
  • Accredited investors can invest minimum of ₹10,000, subject to applicable conditions
  • Subscriptions available daily
  • Redemptions twice a week on Mondays and Wednesdays
  • Exit load of 0.5% applies to units redeemed or switched out within 90 days of allotment
  • No exit load after 90 days

Market Context and Rationale

The launch comes when Indian equity markets have been volatile through 2026, with sharp corrections in March and September 2026 (when Nifty 50 recorded its steepest monthly fall since March).

According to AMFI data, the SIF category has shown significant growth:

  • Assets rose from about ₹2,010 crore in October 2025 to ₹38,287 crore in September 2026
  • Hybrid long-short strategies attracted the largest share of these assets

Company Background

HDFC Mutual Fund serves over 1.75 crore unique investors and has presence across mutual funds, portfolio management services, alternatives, and international business through GIFT City. The fund house has over 25 years of experience.

Risk Disclosure

The product carries Risk Level 2 according to the risk band classification. Investments in Specialized Investment Fund involve relatively higher risk including potential loss of capital, liquidity risk, and market volatility. HDFC Bank (Sponsor of HDFC Mutual Fund) is not liable or responsible for any loss or shortfall resulting from the operations of the Investment Strategy.

Additional Information

The investment strategy is proposed to be listed on NSE and/or BSE. Detailed product information is available at https://hsif.hdfcfund.com/