PMS is offered as an alternative investment solution to high net worth investors. While mutual funds pool assets from several investors, under PMS each account is managed separately and can be customized to suit a client’s investment mandate. The ticket size is higher and portfolio more concentrated.
An Alternative Investment Fund (AIF) is an investment vehicle that sets itself apart from conventional securities such as stocks, debt, or other money market instruments.
AIFs are classified into three different categories:
- A Cat-I AIF invests in start-ups, small and mid-sized enterprises (SMEs) and projects that are defined to be economically and socially viable. Venture Capital (VC) Funds, Infrastructure Funds, Angel Funds, Social Venture Funds are all examples of this category of an AIF.
- A Cat-II AIF invests in several equity and debt securities. All the funds that are not included under the Cat-I and Cat-III definitions fall under Cat-II. Private Equity (PE) Funds, Debt Funds, and Fund of Funds are included in this category of AIFs.
- A Cat-III AIF aims at generating short-term returns by executing several diverse, complex trading strategies. Cat-III AIFs are usually synonymous with hedge funds but can also include Private Investment in Public Equity (PIPE) Funds. Funds can either be long-only, focused entirely on equity, or long-short, where derivative strategies can be employed as well. AIFs are high-risk, high-reward investment vehicles, and are suited to more sophisticated, market-savvy investors.