In a significant development for India's alternative investment landscape, LIC Mutual Fund has announced plans to launch its first Specialised Investment Fund (SIF) by October 2026, subject to regulatory approval from SEBI. The asset management company (AMC) is targeting an initial corpus of ₹500 crore, focusing primarily on high-net-worth individuals (HNIs) and sophisticated investors.

Speaking on the development, LIC Mutual Fund's Managing Director & CEO, Ravi Kumar Jha, said the AMC has already filed its application with SEBI and expects to introduce the product once approvals are received. The upcoming SIF will require a minimum investment of ₹10 lakh, positioning it between traditional mutual funds and Portfolio Management Services (PMS), which have a minimum investment threshold of ₹50 lakh.

The launch marks LIC Mutual Fund's entry into one of India's fastest-growing investment categories. Introduced by SEBI, Specialised Investment Funds (SIFs) are designed to offer advanced investment strategies, including long-short equity, derivative-based strategies, and other sophisticated portfolio approaches within a regulated mutual fund framework. The structure aims to bridge the gap between conventional mutual funds and Alternative Investment Funds (AIFs) and PMS, giving affluent investors access to more flexible investment strategies.

LIC Mutual Fund's planned entry comes amid increasing industry interest in the SIF segment, with several leading AMCs preparing to launch similar offerings. The fund house has also witnessed strong business momentum, recently crossing ₹50,000 crore in Assets Under Management (AUM), which reflects growing investor confidence and expanding participation across its investment products.