India's Specialized Investment Fund category is barely a year old. We've written the library we wished existed — plain-English primers, honest comparisons, the tax and rule-book, and live data on every fund. Start anywhere. Every figure here is real and sourced.
By a SEBI circular dated 21 July 2026, the certification for distributing Specialized Investment Funds changed. The new NISM Series V-D — Mutual Fund & SIF Distributors Certification (live from 22 July 2026) qualifies a distributor for both mutual funds and SIFs with a single exam — no separate Series V-A required. The earlier two-exam route (Series V-A + Series XIII Common Derivatives) stops qualifying new SIF distributors after 21 September 2026.
Sources: SEBI circular "Certification Requirements for Distribution of Specialized Investment Funds (SIFs)", 21 July 2026 (sebi.gov.in) · NISM communique, 14 July 2026 (nism.ac.in).
Syllabus: 22 chapters — 12 on mutual funds, 5 on equity derivatives, 5 on interest-rate derivatives (currency derivatives, part of the old Series XIII, is not included). NISM does not publish per-chapter weightage. Register at cert.nism.ac.in.
Only 8,371 distributors were AMFI-registered for SIFs at end-June 2026 (4,257 corporate, 4,115 individual — Cafemutual). A single, simpler exam opens SIF distribution to the far larger mutual-fund distributor base — which means wider access for investors and a bigger, better-served market. AMFI is expected to issue an operational note on ARN mechanics; we will update this section when it does. Trustner's team already holds the required SIF certification.