SBI MF enters SIF space with new offerings under 'Magnum' brand name: Dy MD

SBI MF enters the specialised investment fund segment under the Magnum brand with equity and hybrid offerings, joining other major AMCs in launching high-ticket SIF products

SBI Mutual Fund (MF), the largest fund house in India, is set to enter the specialised investment fund (SIF) space under the 'Magnum' brand. The fund house, which recently received the licence, is exploring products in the equity and hybrid space, said D P Singh, Deputy Managing Director and Joint Chief Executive Officer, SBI MF. 

The fund house said it chose the name Magnum considering the existing brand association. Many of SBI MF’s earlier schemes carried the Magnum name. 

SBI MF has appointed Gaurav Mehta to lead its SIF venture. Mehta has served as Chief Investment Officer – Alternatives (Equity) at SBI Funds Management since October 2021. 

 

“We have sufficient in-house talent with a large and highly experienced investment team, and we plan to leverage on the expertise of our existing team for managing the investment strategies under SIF,” Singh said.

 

SBI is the fifth fund house to announce a foray into the SIF segment. Edelweiss, ITI, Mirae Asset and Quant are the other fund houses that have secured licences. Other players like Axis and Nippon have also announced their plans to enter the space.

 

Most fund houses planning to launch SIFs have opted to rely on their existing fund management teams.

 

SIFs are a new product segment within the mutual fund framework that offers fund managers more flexibility in terms of investment strategy. These funds, which have a minimum ticket size of ₹10 lakh, can be equity, debt or hybrid in structure.

 

“SIF strategies are more suitable for evolved investors who understand the markets and their technicalities, and for investors who are keen on investment strategies that are more advanced than mutual funds,” Singh said, adding that wealth counters of banks, individual and national distributors are best placed to distribute SIFs.

 

The current SIF rules allow up to seven SIF products: two each in equity (equity long-short, equity ex-top 100 long-short, and sector rotation long-short), hybrid (active asset allocator long-short and hybrid long-short), and debt (long-short and sector long-short) categories.