Distributing SIFs in 2026: the rules and the platform checks behind them
Specialised Investment Funds carry a ₹10 lakh entry point and a certification requirement that changed on 21 September 2026. For a distributor firm, each of those rules ends up as a check your platform has to run, from who may see a SIF strategy to whether a redemption is allowed through.
To distribute SIFs you need a valid ARN or EUIN, the NISM Series V-D certification, and registration with AMFI in the SIF category. A Series XIII certificate obtained on or before 21 September 2026 stays valid until it expires.
Investors need at least ₹10 lakh across all strategies of a SIF, counted at PAN level. Accredited investors are exempt.
Your platform has to enforce both rules. See what the platform has to handle.
What a SIF is, briefly
SEBI created Specialised Investment Funds under the Mutual Fund Regulations through its circular of 27 February 2025. They are offered by mutual funds under separate SIF branding, and each one is sold as an investment strategy with its own Investment Strategy Information Document in place of a scheme information document. The product sits between a mutual fund and a PMS, which is why the entry point and the distributor qualification are both higher than for an ordinary scheme.
Who can distribute SIFs in 2026
SEBI’s circular of 21 July 2026 introduced the NISM Series V-D certification, a single exam covering mutual fund and SIF distribution, available from 22 July 2026. It replaced NISM Series XIII (Common Derivatives) as the qualifying route for SIFs after 21 September 2026. Distributors also register with AMFI under the SIF category, separately from their mutual fund registration.
| Your situation | What you need |
|---|---|
| Distributing mutual funds only | NISM Series V-A continues to qualify you. Nothing changes. |
| Starting SIF distribution now | NISM Series V-D, a valid ARN or EUIN, and registration with AMFI in the SIF category. |
| Already selling SIFs on a Series XIII certificate dated on or before 21 September 2026 | Keep distributing until that certificate expires, then move to Series V-D. |
| Distributor firm (non-individual ARN) | A valid ARN and at least one employee with a valid EUIN who holds the SIF certification and is registered with AMFI under the SIF category. |
NISM Series V-D exam at a glance
NISM-Series-V-D, the Mutual Fund and Specialized Investment Fund Distributors Certification Examination, is the exam searched for as NISM V-D or NISM 5D. These are the figures NISM publishes for it.
| Covers | Mutual fund and SIF distribution |
| Available from | 22 July 2026 |
| Questions | 150 multiple-choice, 1 mark each |
| Duration | 3 hours |
| Pass mark | 90 of 150 (60 percent) |
| Negative marking | 10 percent of a question's marks for each wrong answer |
| Fee | ₹3,000 plus payment gateway charges |
| Certificate validity | 3 years |
The syllabus has seven units, and five of them cover derivatives and fixed income, material that goes well beyond the V-A syllabus. SIF strategies can take positions that an ordinary scheme cannot, which is why distributors are tested on them.
- Mutual fund basics, structure and scheme types
- Distribution, scheme evaluation and product recommendations
- Indian equity derivatives fundamentals
- Trading strategies using futures and options
- Fixed income securities and interest rate derivatives
- Interest rate futures and options analytics
- Hedging, trading and arbitrage strategies
A distributor who sells only mutual funds can stay on Series V-A. Anyone planning to offer SIFs without a qualifying Series XIII certificate should take V-D, which then covers their mutual fund distribution too, so V-A is no longer needed alongside it.
Registering with AMFI as a SIF distributor
SIF registration is linked to your ARN, and both must be valid for you to sell SIF products. The sequence runs like this.
- Pass NISM Series V-D. A Series XIII certificate obtained on or before 21 September 2026 is accepted until it expires.
- Sign in to AMFI’s online registration portal, which CAMS operates, and apply under the SIF category against your ARN. Employees who will sell SIFs register their EUIN under the SIF category through the firm.
- Pay the registration fee the portal shows for your category and wait for AMFI’s approval.
- Share the approval with every AMC and distribution platform you transact through, so each one can enable SIF orders against your ARN.
That last step is where most distributor platforms need work, because the SIF registration has to be stored and checked alongside the ARN and the EUIN on every order.
The ₹10 lakh rule and active breach
The minimum investment is ₹10 lakh per investor, aggregated at PAN level across every investment strategy offered by the same SIF. It applies to the total, so an investor can spread ₹10 lakh over two strategies. SEBI sets no minimum ticket size for accredited investors, though an individual strategy can still set its own minimum application amount.
SEBI’s circular of 29 July 2025 set out how the threshold is monitored. An active breach happens when a transaction the investor initiates, such as a redemption, transfer or sale, takes their total across the SIF below ₹10 lakh. Stock exchange transactions and off-market transfers count. When that happens:
- All of the investor’s units across that SIF’s strategies are frozen for debit.
- The investor gets a 30-calendar-day notice to bring the holding back to the threshold.
- Rebalancing within the notice period lifts the freeze, and no further action is taken.
The definition covers transactions the investor starts, so a holding that drifts below ₹10 lakh only because markets fell falls outside it.
An investor puts ₹6 lakh into one strategy and ₹5 lakh into another strategy of the same SIF, a PAN-level total of ₹11 lakh. A redemption of up to ₹1 lakh keeps the total at ₹10 lakh and goes through.
Suppose they redeem ₹2 lakh instead. The total falls to ₹9 lakh through their own transaction, which is an active breach. Every unit in both strategies is frozen for debit, and they have 30 days to invest at least ₹1 lakh more. Had the total slipped to ₹9 lakh because markets fell, with no redemption, there would be no breach.
The first case is the check a platform should run before it accepts the order.
What your distributor platform has to handle
Most distributor platforms were built for mutual fund schemes, where any certified ARN can sell any product and a redemption needs no pre-check. SIFs change both assumptions. These are the five places a platform needs work before your team can offer SIFs at scale.
Certification-aware product access
Store the certification type and expiry date against every EUIN, and show SIF strategies only to people who are eligible on the day. Series XIII holders lose eligibility on their expiry date, so the platform should warn them well ahead and prompt the move to V-D.
A PAN-level threshold check before every order
Aggregate the investor's holdings across all strategies of the same SIF, at PAN level, and test each redemption, switch or transfer against ₹10 lakh before it is placed. Accredited investors carry a flag that skips the check.
Freeze and notice tracking
When an investor-initiated transaction causes an active breach, every unit in that SIF is frozen for debit and a 30-day notice starts. The distributor needs to see the frozen status, the days remaining and the top-up required to clear it.
SIF data kept apart from mutual fund data
A SIF strategy is described in an Investment Strategy Information Document, and it should sit in its own product type. Reporting that folds SIF holdings into mutual fund AUM misstates both, for the client and for your own commission reconciliation.
An order rail that supports SIFs
Before building the order flow, confirm with your exchange platform, registrar or AMC which SIF strategies can be transacted through the rail you already use, and in which transaction types.
The distributor platforms we build run BSE Star MF, NSE NMF II, CAMS and KFintech in production, and adding certification gating, the PAN-level threshold check and freeze tracking to yours can happen before your first SIF order.