SIF NAV and returns: how to read the SIF tracker

What problem does the SIF tracker solve?

Specialized Investment Funds are new: SEBI's framework took effect on 1 April 2025 and the first SIF reported a NAV on 8 October 2025. They are run by mutual fund houses under separate brand names, can hold unhedged short positions of up to 25% of net assets, and need ₹10 lakh to get in. Their NAVs are published on AMFI's separate SIF page, not in the mutual fund NAV file, so a fund screener built on that file never shows them. The SIF tracker collects every strategy in one place with its latest NAV and return since launch. This post reads it as of Thursday 15 October 2026.

Step 1: read the headline count

The page heading reads "Specialized Investment Funds", and the line under it gives the size of the market: 34 strategies from 17 fund houses. A second line names the oldest strategy's first NAV date, 08 Oct 2025, as a reminder that every track record here is short.

Step 2: find the strategy type

The page is grouped by strategy, each with a count and its asset class and structure:

SEBI allows seven strategy types. The two debt ones, Debt Long-Short and Sectoral Debt Long-Short, had no strategy reporting a NAV on 15 October, so they do not appear. "Interval" matters: hybrid strategies need only offer redemption at least twice a week, and a fund house can add a notice period of up to 15 working days.

Step 3: read the table columns in the right order

Each group's table has seven columns: Strategy, NAV, 1M, 3M, 6M, Since launch and First NAV. Rows show the Direct Growth plan where there is one.

Read First NAV before anything else. A strategy launched in September 2026 and one launched in October 2025 sit in the same table, and their since-launch figures cover different markets. Then remember the page's rule: returns under a year are absolute, not annualised. A dash in the 6M column means the strategy is younger than six months.

Worked example: three hybrid SIFs that launched together

Three Hybrid Long-Short strategies reported their first NAVs within nine days of each other in October 2025, so their since-launch figures cover almost the same market. That makes them a fair comparison, unlike most rows on the page. Opening each strategy's own page adds volatility and maximum drawdown:

The since-launch column alone says qsif is far ahead. The other columns say how. About three-quarters of qsif's gain came in the last three months, and it got there with roughly three times the volatility of the other two, which have behaved much more like the low-swing hybrid products their name suggests. Altiva made three times what Magnum did with similar volatility and a shallower worst fall. None of these is old enough for an annualised figure: all three are absolute returns over just under a year.

One row on the page has crossed that line. qsif Equity Long Short Fund reported its first NAV on 8 October 2025, so by 15 October 2026 it was just over a year old and its since-launch return of 10.33% is annualised. Every other row is absolute.

Step 4: use a strategy page

Each strategy name opens its own page, with four tiles (NAV, Since launch, 3 months and Max drawdown), a NAV history chart, and a Returns block that adds 1 month, 6 months and Volatility with a count of NAVs on record. "About this strategy" lists the SIF brand, asset class, structure, plan, ISIN and the ₹10 lakh minimum, and the page ends with the other plans of the same strategy and the same strategy at other SIFs.

What the SIF tracker does not tell you

• Whether a strategy is good. Under a year of history says very little, and a long-short fund's return depends on positions the NAV does not show.
• How it is taxed. A strategy that keeps at least 65% in Indian listed equity is taxed like an equity fund; others like debt or hybrid funds. Check the offer document.
• Whether a SIF suits you at all. SIF vs mutual fund vs PMS compares the three on cost, minimums and rules, and the SIF explained guide covers the seven strategies in full. For how strategies did through September's fall, see SIF strategies compared, September 2026.

The SIF tracker is a record of NAVs as reported to AMFI. Nothing on it is a recommendation to invest.