SIFs in the first half of 2026: six of seven gained

Six of seven

The first half of 2026 was a poor one for Indian equities: the Nifty 50 fell 8.66%, from 26,129.60 on 31 December 2025 to 23,865.75 on 30 June. Specialised investment funds (SIFs) have a tool for markets like that which ordinary mutual funds lack: they can hold short positions through derivatives, within limits.

Seven SIF strategies had a NAV at the start of the year. Six of them ended the half higher.

"Since launch" runs from each fund's first NAV, between October and December 2025, to 14 July 2026. None of them is a year old, so every return here is absolute, not annualised. Volatility is the annualised standard deviation of daily NAV changes over each fund's life. All figures come from AMFI's daily SIF NAVs, the same series our SIF page shows.

Two very different quarters

The half split cleanly in two. The Nifty 50 fell 14.54% in the first quarter and rose 6.87% in the second, from 22,331.40 on 30 March.

The three qsif funds show how a SIF could finish the half up 5–7% with the market down 9%. All three fell in March, the equity ones by 7–9%, but none fell as far as the index. Then, from 31 March to 30 June, qsif's Equity Ex-Top 100 fund gained 22.07% and its Equity Long-Short 19.02%, roughly three times the Nifty's 6.87%.

Diviniti went the other way. It was the most cushioned equity SIF in the March fall, down 2.99% against the index's 11.31%. But it also missed the recovery: in the second quarter it fell 0.92% while the Nifty rose 6.87%. Of the 14 SIFs with a NAV at the start of the quarter, it was the only one to lose money, and seven of the 14 beat the index.

It is the same pattern as in March and early April: so far, the SIF that has given up least in falls has also taken least of the rises.

Fourteen new strategies since April

On 15 April there were 14 SIF strategies from 9 brands. By 14 July there were 28 strategies from 15 brands, sold as 103 plan and option variants. Six brands published their first NAV in that time: Sapphire, WSIF, Arthaya, Platinum, RedHex and Infinity. qsif added the first Sector Rotation Long-Short fund.

All returns are to 14 July 2026. The oldest of these has 55 NAVs, the newest four.

The mix has shifted towards equity. Of the 28 strategies, 9 are equity long-short, 5 equity ex-top 100, 10 hybrid long-short, 3 active asset allocators and 1 sector rotation.

What this does not tell you

Six months is a very short record. The oldest SIF has 187 NAVs. A strategy that looks defensive after one fall and one rise may look different after the next.

Launch dates decide a lot. A fund that began in May has not been through a fall like March's, so its since-launch figure cannot be set beside one that has.

We see NAVs, not positions. How much each fund was short, and in what, is not in AMFI's NAV data.

Nothing here is a recommendation to buy or avoid any SIF.

Where to go from here

Every strategy and its NAV chart is on the SIF page. For the state of play three months ago, see specialised investment funds at six months. The guide to AIFs vs mutual funds explains where SIFs sit, and the first half of 2026 market recap covers the market they were measured against.