Mumbai: Suparna Tandon, Chief Executive Officer of the National Pension System Trust, said that Alternative Investment Funds (AIFs) play an important role in diversifying investments and supporting long-term returns for pension subscribers.

Tandon shared these insights during a fireside chat titled “Pension Capital Meets Private Markets: The NPS–AIF Opportunity” with Padmanabh Sinha at the IVCA Conclave 2026. The discussion focused on the role of pension capital and retirement systems in strengthening India’s long-term savings and investment ecosystem.

During the interaction, Tandon highlighted the importance of expanding pension coverage and strengthening governance frameworks within retirement systems to support financial security for people across different segments of society. She also emphasized that digital innovation and subscriber-centric approaches are improving accessibility, transparency, and efficiency in pension fund management.

Speaking about regulatory changes, Tandon noted that the Category A scheme has been merged with equity and corporate bond schemes. Following this change, up to 1 percent of government Assets Under Management (AUM) and up to 5 percent of non-government AUM are now available for this investment universe.

“AIF is another means of diversification. Our focus is on enabling long-term and risk-adjusted returns for subscribers,” she said. Tandon also stressed the importance of governance, noting that the NPS Trust manages subscribers’ money in trust and therefore must maintain transparent governance standards and strong institutional processes.

She added that collaboration between the public and private sectors, along with strong risk management and investor protection frameworks, will play a key role in strengthening the retirement investment ecosystem and supporting the growth of India’s broader capital markets.

The Indian Venture and Alternate Capital Association organizes the IVCA Conclave, which is now in its 15th edition. The conclave serves as a leading platform for the alternate asset industry, bringing together regulators, investors, policymakers, and industry leaders to discuss the trends shaping India’s alternative capital ecosystem.