India's Alternate Asset Class will take center stage at the IVCA CAT III Summit 2025, highlighting innovation, growth, and potential alpha in the country's swiftest-expanding alternative investment sector.
India's alternative investment landscape is set to witness a significant event with the IVCA CAT III Summit 2025, scheduled for August 6, 2025, in Mumbai. This summit aims to deepen industry engagement and promote best practices in alternative investments, particularly Category III Alternative Investment Funds (AIFs).
The Rise of Category III AIFs
Category III AIFs have emerged as a pivotal component of India's alternative investment landscape. These funds cater to experienced investors, employing complex trading strategies to generate returns over shorter time frames. They invest in a diverse range of assets, including listed and unlisted derivatives, debt, equity, and other securities, making them attractive for investors seeking absolute returns regardless of market conditions.
Over the past three years, Category III AIFs have shown remarkable growth, recording a 65% compound annual growth rate (CAGR). They have attracted significant capital commitments, with over 50% of new flows into AIFs being directed towards this category. In FY25 alone, 95 new Category III AIFs were launched, marking an 86% year-on-year surge in fund registrations.
The IVCA CAT III Summit 2025: Expectations and Highlights
The IVCA CAT III Summit 2025 promises to be an insightful event, attracting over 120 industry leaders, including fund managers, policymakers, and wealth advisors. The summit aims to discuss strategies, structures, and shifts shaping Category III AIFs, highlight innovation and growth opportunities, and navigate regulatory developments.
Industry participants are likely to discuss regulatory challenges, such as leverage caps and taxation ambiguities, and seek clarity to unlock the full potential of Category III AIFs. There may also be discussions on how India's Category III AIFs compare with global hedge fund platforms, focusing on strategies like long-short equities and market-neutral funds, and the need for increased market depth and flexibility.
The summit will feature speakers from both the policy and investment community, including Shri Pradeep Ramakrishnan and Shri Pavan Shah. Priyam Kedia, Senior Portfolio Manager at Vivriti Asset Management, will introduce semi-liquid credit funds as a new asset class at the IVCA Summit.
3P, DSP, and Vivriti Asset Management are partners for the IVCA CAT III Summit 2025, with Nuvama joining as the Custody and Clearing Partner. The partnership aims to elevate awareness among institutional investors and foster a more robust ecosystem for equity-based alternatives.
IVCA, as a not-for-profit, apex industry body promoting the alternate capital industry in India, represents 450+ funds with a combined AUM of over $350 billion. Category III strategies are gaining wider acceptance among domestic and global investors, redefining the future of alpha in India's alternatives landscape, according to Udit Sureka, EVP and Head of Products at Nuvama Asset Services.
In conclusion, the IVCA CAT III Summit 2025 is poised to be a significant event for the industry, decoding key trends, navigating regulatory developments, and crafting a forward-looking roadmap for the ecosystem.
- Investing in Category III Alternative Investment Funds (AIFs) is anticipated to become increasingly popular, as it presents an attractive option for experienced investors seeking absolute returns regardless of market conditions, given the diverse range of assets these funds can invest in.
- The IVCA CAT III Summit 2025, scheduled in Mumbai on August 6, 2025, will focus on taxation ambiguities and regulatory challenges faced by Category III AIFs, seeking clarity to remove obstacles and unlock the potential of these funds.
- Financial partners like 3P, DSP, Vivriti Asset Management, and Nuvama are collaborating to elevate awareness among institutional investors and foster a more robust ecosystem for equity-based alternatives within India's finance sector, setting the stage for a more progressive and innovation-driven future.
