Financial services firm India Infoline's first Alternative Investment Fund (AIF), IIFL Income Opportunities Fund, has raised Rs 628 crore.
The amount raised is the largest so far by any AIF.
An AIFs, as per Sebi guidelines notifed in May last year, are funds set up for the purpose of pooling in of capital for investing in a pre-determined policy.
IIFL Income Opportunities Fund, a category II AIF, is a closed-ended debt scheme that will invest in debt-related instruments of good corporates with good periodic cash flows.
A Category II AIFs, which can include private equity funds or debt funds, have no investment restrictions but are not allowed to leverage.
“Employing diversification across sectors and leveraging the IIFL Group’s significant sourcing capabilities, the Fund shall endeavour to fetch its investors enhanced fixed income returns with periodic cash flows,” the company said in a release.
“We are highly encouraged by the response to the Fund. Not only did we present a unique investment opportunity, we also aligned the fee structure with our clients’ interests,”Karan Bhagat, MD and CEO of IIFL Wealth Management said.
“Bucking the industry trend, we decided not to charge performance fees on the fund and hence leave substantial value on the table for our clients,” he added.
Going ahead, IIFL plans to launch more such funds across all three AIF categories.
Category I AIFs are funds that have “positive spillover effects on the economy” and might get certain incentives or concessions from the government, Sebi or other regulators. Such funds include Social Venture Funds, Infrastructure Funds, Venture Capital Funds and SME Funds.
Meanwhile, Category III AIFs, which include hedge funds, are those which trade with a view to make short term returns.
Currently, there are about 47 AIFs registered with Sebi.
