ICICI Prudential's hybrid long-short SIF — a 65–75% equity book with up to 25% unhedged short exposure through derivatives, inside an equity-taxation wrapper. Benchmarked to the CRISIL Hybrid 50+50 Moderate Index.
Seven pillars, weighted by long-term importance for an HNI portfolio. iSIF Hybrid wins on three: manager pedigree, strategy coherence, and the ICICI Pru institutional platform. Cost & liquidity is good; track record is the only structural gap (it just launched).
The structural mechanics behind the rating — what the manager can and can't do, how positioning shifts across the cycle.
The scheme holds 65–75% in equity, with up to 25% of net assets in unhedged short positions via derivatives. Per the SID, cumulative gross exposure is capped at 100% of net assets. It is a long-biased hybrid with a short overlay — not a fund that can sit net-short the market. Its structure is similar to SBI Magnum; Edelweiss Altiva runs a wider equity band (25–75%).
The short side comes from index and select stock derivatives. The short book targets richly-valued index components — Nifty 50 futures or single-stock futures — where the fundamental case looks stretched. The derivative book operates within the SID's cumulative gross-exposure cap of 100% of net assets.
The 25–35% debt sleeve acts as a yield floor. It is held predominantly in high-grade corporates. Manish Banthia — ICICI Prudential's CIO for Fixed Income — runs the debt sleeve with the AMC's conservative house playbook: no aggressive duration calls, no credit experiments.
The early-2026 mid-cap correction was the fund's first real stress test. A hybrid with a short overlay can lean more defensively when valuations turn, cushioning part of a drawdown that a fully-invested fund would take in full. With only months of live data, how it behaves through such windows is what we watch most closely as a record builds.
The mandate is straightforward to read: a 65–75% equity book alongside a 25–35% debt sleeve, with an unhedged short overlay of up to 25% of net assets run through derivatives and cumulative gross exposure capped at 100% of net assets. It is benchmarked to the CRISIL Hybrid 50+50 Moderate Index. Structurally it sits close to SBI Magnum — a long-biased hybrid with a short overlay, not a fund that can go net-short the market, and not a uniquely wide mandate.
Because the scheme stays equity-oriented, gains are taxed as equity: 12.5% LTCG after a 12-month holding period and 20% STCG. Investors often weigh that treatment against the fund's risk profile — Value Research places it in Risk Band 5 of 5, the top of the scale, reflecting the equity load and the derivative short book.
Two structural features deserve equal attention. It is an interval scheme rather than an open-ended fund: redemptions are accepted only twice a week (Monday and Wednesday), proceeds typically arrive about three business days later, and a 1% exit load applies within 12 months — so it is materially less liquid than a daily-dealing fund. It has also been live only since February 2026, under a year, covering a single stress window in the early-2026 mid-cap correction, so the live NAV and returns shown above rest on a very short record. Past performance is not indicative of future returns.
The scheme is run inside ICICI Prudential's process rather than on one person: the KIM names Manish Banthia (CIO – Fixed Income), Rajat Chandak (senior equity, with the AMC since 2008), Akhil Kakkar and Ayush Shah. Trustner's proprietary Fund Score for the scheme is 78 of 100 — an educational opinion, not a recommendation to buy or sell. What matters for any investor is whether the mandate, liquidity terms and risk band above fit their own objectives.
SIFs carry a regulatory minimum investment of ₹10 lakh (₹1 lakh for accredited investors), so this fund is structured for a particular kind of investor. The profiles below are purely educational illustrations of who a long-short hybrid of this type is generally designed for — they are not personalised advice. Trustner is an AMFI-registered mutual-fund distributor, not an investment adviser, and does not prescribe how much of any portfolio to place in this or any scheme.
Three Hybrid Long-Short SIFs run by top-tier AMCs. Altiva has the widest equity band and the longest live track record; Magnum has the largest AUM. Note that Altiva is taxed as a non-equity hybrid (LTCG after 24 months) while iSIF Hybrid and Magnum are equity-oriented.
| Attribute | iSIF Hybrid | Altiva Hybrid | Magnum Hybrid |
|---|---|---|---|
| TFS Score | 78 High | 76 Solid | 75 Solid |
| AMC | ICICI Prudential | Edelweiss | SBI |
| Fund manager(s) | Banthia, Chandak & team | Dalal, Lahoti & team | Gaurav Mehta |
| Launched | Feb 2026 | Oct 2025 | Oct 2025 |
| Equity allocation | 65–75% | 25–75% | 65–75% |
| AUM | ₹844 Cr | ₹4,466 Cr | ₹3,462 Cr |
| Best fit | Long-biased hybrid + short overlay | Wide-band hybrid | Mass-affluent core |
Bold = leader on that row. Data as of July 2026. See all 28 live SIFs in the fund universe →
This fund sits in our High band. That doesn't mean risk-free — these are the four scenarios where the thesis would weaken.
The people responsible for this SIF, as named in the scheme's official disclosures. Backgrounds are drawn from published fund and AMC sources; fund managers can change over the life of a scheme.
With ICICI Prudential AMC since 2005 and nearly two decades in fixed income (CA, MBA). Oversees the AMC's debt strategy across its bond and hybrid schemes.
With ICICI Prudential AMC since 2008. Also manages or co-manages the firm's Flexicap, Balanced Advantage and Smallcap funds.
B.Tech (IIT Roorkee) and a PGDM in Finance; earlier roles at Kotak Mahindra Bank, SBI Capital Markets and Goldman Sachs.
Named as a designated fund manager of the scheme since its 2026 launch.
Sources: ICICI Prudential's official Key Information Memorandum for the scheme (names all four managers); manager backgrounds via Value Research, Groww and Tickertape. Note: Sankaran Naren is ICICI Prudential's ED & CIO and is not a designated fund manager of this specific scheme.