- The Wealth Company launched a dollar-denominated fund of funds in GIFT City for non-resident investors.
- Eligible NRIs and institutions can access Indian markets without initial rupee conversion or local accounts.
- The IFSC-regulated structure allows for unlimited repatriation of capital and investment returns to overseas accounts.
The Wealth Company launched a US-dollar-denominated fund in GIFT City on August 10, 2026, giving eligible NRIs a pooled route to Indian mutual funds and exchange-traded funds without first converting their money into rupees.
The product, called The Wealth Company IFSC FoF, operates as an open-ended Category III AIF in the International Financial Services Centre. The firm announced the launch on August 11.
Free toolCSPA Age-Out Calculator Online
It is not a regular mutual fund distributed under the Securities and Exchange Board of India’s domestic framework. The fund sits under the International Financial Services Centres Authority, which regulates financial products in the IFSC.
Eligible investors include non-resident Indians, global family offices, institutional investors, accredited investors, and high-net-worth and ultra-high-net-worth individuals. Resident Indians cannot invest.
The fund also excludes people resident in the US or Canada and investors from jurisdictions restricted under applicable Financial Action Task Force rules.
The fund pools Indian schemes into one dollar-based portfolio
The new structure acts as a fund of funds. Rather than choosing individual Indian schemes, investors buy into one pooled vehicle that selects and manages a portfolio of Indian mutual funds and ETFs.
That approach shifts scheme selection and portfolio rebalancing to the fund manager. It also gives overseas investors a single investment route instead of requiring them to assemble exposure across several domestic products.
The fund is denominated in US dollars. Investors who earn and hold wealth in foreign currency can therefore obtain Indian market exposure without making an initial rupee conversion.
The structure does not remove investment risk. Returns from Indian assets can still vary with market performance, while the dollar denomination determines how the investment is held and settled.
The IFSC framework allows transactions in freely convertible foreign currency, primarily US dollars. Under the Foreign Exchange Management Act, the jurisdiction is treated as offshore territory for these purposes.
| Feature | The new fund’s structure |
|---|---|
| Currency | US dollars |
| Underlying exposure | Indian mutual funds and ETFs |
| Regulatory framework | IFSC and IFSCA rules |
| Investment format | Open-ended fund of funds |
Eligibility rules narrow the investor pool
The fund targets overseas investors seeking repatriable exposure to India. Its stated audience includes eligible non-residents, family offices, institutions, accredited investors, and HNIs/UHNIs.
The exclusions are equally direct. Residents of India cannot subscribe, while residents of the US and Canada are also outside the current offering.
Jurisdictional restrictions apply as well. Investors from locations restricted under applicable FATF rules are excluded from the structure.
The product therefore offers a wider route than a single-country wealth product, but it is not open to every overseas investor. Eligibility, accreditation and know-your-customer checks remain part of the onboarding process.
Ankur Choudhary, CEO and co-founder of Belong, said investors can move money between overseas accounts and the IFSC and repatriate both capital and investment returns without limits.
"investors can repatriate both capital and investment returns without limits,"
The statement describes the intended cross-border movement of funds. The fund’s use of foreign currency also avoids the need for investors to route the initial investment through a rupee-denominated NRE or NRO account.
Regulatory treatment differs from domestic mutual funds
Domestic Indian mutual funds operate under SEBI’s framework. This product is regulated by IFSCA, a distinction that affects the legal and operating structure of the investment.
Niteen Dongare, director and CEO of Anand Rathi International Ventures IFSC Pvt Ltd, said the jurisdiction provides access to mutual funds and alternative investment funds in a regulated environment without securities transaction tax, GST or stamp duty on eligible products.
Those benefits apply to eligible products and should not be read as a blanket exemption for every investment or every investor. The tax result can depend on the product, investor status and applicable rules.
Section 10(4D) of the Income-tax Act provides exemptions for non-residents on income from specified funds in the IFSC. The Finance Bill 2026 also extended a 20-year tax holiday for certain IFSC entities.
The fund structure does not turn those provisions into an automatic exemption for every holder. Investors still need to assess the treatment of the fund, their residence and any tax filing obligations in the country where they live.
Entry thresholds vary across IFSC products
Regulatory changes have lowered entry points for some IFSC investment products, but the figures do not represent one universal minimum across the market.
Retail-style IFSC mutual funds have been allowed to start from as low as $500. The minimum investment for Category III AIFs was reduced to $75,000 from $150,000 in February 2025.
The two figures apply to different product categories. Investors must check the terms attached to the specific fund before assuming that the lower threshold applies to this offering.
The route arrives as India’s fund market expands
India’s mutual fund industry held assets under management of ₹82.22 lakh crore as of June 30, 2026, up from ₹13.81 lakh crore a decade earlier. Monthly systematic investment plan contributions reached a record ₹31,781 crore in June 2026.
The IFSC is also attracting capital beyond mutual fund products. More than $4.2 billion moved into the jurisdiction during the first quarter of 2026, a 340% year-over-year increase. Retail deposits at IFSC banks surpassed $2 billion in July 2026.
K. Rajaraman, chairperson of IFSCA, said the regulator wants the jurisdiction to match or exceed established financial centers.
"Our primary objective at IFSCA is to provide a regulatory framework that is on par with, if not better than, established global financial hubs. GIFT City is becoming the preferred jurisdiction for global funds and fintech innovators."
Rajaraman also said the number of non-resident Indians using the IFSC ecosystem had expanded rapidly in recent months as geopolitical uncertainty encouraged diversification.
Madhu Lunawat, founder and CEO of The Wealth Company Asset Management, has advocated a hybrid distribution model combining physical presence with digital access. The approach is intended to broaden mutual fund participation through the IFSC.
The offering marks a shift toward pooled diaspora access
Inbound portfolio management services remain limited to certain strategies. The launch of a fund of funds gives overseas investors a more packaged alternative to selecting individual Indian investments.
Industry analysts observed a rotation in July and August 2026 from high-growth technology sectors toward value and mid-cap Indian stocks. Sundaram and The Wealth Company launched targeted mid-cap and diversified IFSC schemes during that market shift.
IFSCA highlighted its role on August 11 in the $5 trillion financial roadmap, including sustainable finance and the policy goal of “onshoring the offshore.” The new fund places that broader strategy in a product aimed at overseas investors who want India exposure in dollars.
The result is a new access channel, not a replacement for every domestic mutual fund route. Its practical reach will depend on eligibility, the fund’s investment terms, and the rules governing each investor’s country of residence.
