Raghav
2 posts


GIFT City's active global funds are off to a rough start — and the data is hard to ignore. 🧵
1/ Every single active fund in GIFT is negative over the last 6 months. DSP Global Equity: -12.4%. PPFAS PMS Global Strategy: -5.6%. Marcellus GCP: -5.5%. Meanwhile, ACWI TRI was +0.7%. That's not a small miss. That's a different direction entirely.
2/ The "Since Inception" picture isn't prettier. DSP is -12.5% since Sept 2025. PPFAS is -2.6% since Aug 2025. The only funds with positive since-inception returns (Marcellus at 18.6%, Philip Int. at 7.7%) have multi-year head starts — and even they lagged ACWI TRI over 1 year.
3/ On a 1-year basis, Marcellus returned 8.9% vs ACWI TRI's 20.7%. Philip Int. Pioneer returned 21.9% — one of the few bright spots. Mirae? -11.1% vs benchmark's +20.7%. Brutal.
4/ Now let's talk tax. GIFT funds are structured as Category III AIFs. They pay tax at the fund level — ~42% STCG & 14.95% LTCG vs slab rate or 12.5% for an individual.
5/ If you instead bought a UCITS ETF (say, an Ireland-domiciled S&P 500 or ACWI fund) directly via the LRS route, capital gains tax kicks in only when YOU sell — and at your applicable slab rate or 12.5% for long-term. The fund itself pays zero Indian tax.
6/ So with GIFT active funds you get: ❌ Active underperformance vs benchmark ❌ Possible cash drag ❌ Fund-level tax leakage you can't control
7/ With a direct UCITS ETF investment: ✅ Near-zero tracking error to the index ✅ No fund-level tax — you control timing ✅ Lower cost, higher transparency
8/ The case for passive international investing has never been clearer. If GIFT funds can't beat ACWI TRI in a falling market (when stock-picking supposedly shines), when exactly will they?
Story by @PosteAnil
thefynprint.com/GBlfw8FDX

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