India’s pool of private wealth has grown rapidly, and with it the number of families seeking a
professional, institutional structure to manage and pass on that wealth. For years, families
wanting a genuinely global platform looked to Singapore, Dubai or London.
GIFT City IFSC now offers an onshore alternative. The Family Investment Fund (FIF),
introduced by the International Financial Services Centres Authority (IFSCA), allows a
single family to pool and manage its capital through a regulated vehicle located in India but
treated as non-resident for exchange-control purposes.
What Is a Family Investment Fund?
A FIF is a self-managed fund that pools capital from a single family and registers with IFSCA as
a Fund Management Entity. Its defining features are:
•Flexible legal form — a company, contributory trust or LLP
•A minimum corpus of USD 10 million, to be built within three years
•A Principal Officer based in the IFSC
•A wide investment mandate spanning listed and unlisted securities, alternative investment
funds, real estate, bullion and art
•Up to 20% of profits available for allocation to non-family professionals as an incentive
The definition of a “single family” extends beyond individuals to family-owned entities, giving
families flexibility in how they hold and contribute capital.
Why Families Are Looking at GIFT City
•Foreign-currency operations and global investment access from an Indian base
•A single unified regulator in IFSCA
•A competitive tax holiday available to IFSC units
•Proximity to the family’s underlying Indian businesses, assets and advisers
•Consolidation of holdings that would otherwise sit across several offshore structures
There is a governance benefit as well. Separating a family’s investment portfolio from its
operating business creates clearer reporting lines and makes capital allocation easier for
investors, lenders and acquirers to assess.
How a Family Investment Fund Is Funded
Funding is where planning matters most. Depending on where a family’s wealth already sits, a
FIF may be funded through the Liberalised Remittance Scheme, the Overseas Portfolio
Investment route, or NRE and NRO accounts. Each route carries its own limits and conditions.
Families with capital already held offshore, and NRI families, generally find the path most
direct. For resident families, the structuring work is more involved and benefits considerably
from early advice.
From Framework to Reality
The FIF framework was introduced in 2022 and liberalised in 2023. Its first registration was
granted in April 2026 — a milestone confirming that the pathway is now open and operational.
That timeline is worth understanding rather than glossing over. It reflects the care taken to align
the IFSC framework with India’s broader exchange-control policy, and the position continues to
develop as that alignment matures.
Supporting Families and Their Advisers
Establishing a family office at GIFT City draws on a range of professional capabilities — fund
structuring, trusteeship, administration, banking, custody and foreign-currency financing.
As an IFSCA-regulated entity operating from GIFT City, [Firm Name] welcomes the
development of a credible domestic platform for private wealth and supports families and
advisers exploring these structures.
Road Ahead
As the ecosystem around family offices at GIFT City deepens, the FIF is well placed to become a
mainstream option for families seeking a global platform without moving offshore.
For India, the opportunity is equally clear: retaining the structuring activity, professional
mandates and capital that have historically flowed to competing financial centres.
