SEBI has released a fresh list of AIFs which shows that it has given approval to 66 new players. As a result, the total count of AIFs has increased from 143 as on March 2015 to 209 as on March 2016.
Of 66 new AIFs, SEBI has given its go ahead to 39 AIFs under Category II funds which invest in PE funds. With this, the total number of Category II funds has increased to 108 as on March 2016. The Category II funds account for 53% of the market share in terms of commitment raised or AUM in MF parlance. As on December 2015, the Category II funds had raised commitments of Rs.16,200 crore.
Similarly, with an addition of 27 new AIFs in Category I funds in FY 2015-16, the total number of funds has increased to 72 as on March 2016. The AIF Category I funds invest in start-up or early stage ventures, social ventures, SMEs or infrastructure funds. This category has raised commitments worth Rs. 9,935 crore as on December 2015. While infrastructure funds have raised commitments of Rs. 6,876 crore, the AUM of social venture funds and venture capital funds reached Rs. 660 crore and Rs. 2,238 crore respectively as on December 2015.
Meanwhile, Category III which includes hedge funds, saw five new additions in FY 2015-16. The total number of hedge funds operating in India has increased from 24 as on March 2015 to 29 as on March 2016. In terms of AUM growth, the commitment raised in this category has gone up to Rs. 4,554 crore as on December 2015 from Rs.1,500 crore in the corresponding period last year.
IFAs can also sell AIFs. The commissions offered by AIFs are comparatively better than other market linked financial products. However, only a few advisers are selling these products because of the high minimum ticket size, which is typically Rs. 1 crore and above .
AIFs manage Rs. 30,700 crore as on December 2015.
