Mumbai: The Indian Venture and Alternate Capital Association (IVCA) hosted the IVCA CAT III Summit 2025 in Mumbai, bringing together over 200 participants, including fund managers, LPs, regulators, wealth advisors, and market experts. The focus was on the growing momentum and future prospects of Category III Alternative Investment Funds (AIFs) in India.

Category III AIFs — which include long-short, market-neutral, and quant strategies — continue to see rapid growth. As per SEBI data (March 2025), they have raised ₹1.47 lakh crore and invested ₹1.63 lakh crore. Their expansion has significantly contributed to the overall AIF ecosystem.

In his keynote, Shri CS Pradeep Ramakrishnan, Executive Director, IFSCA, said, “GIFT IFSC is becoming a credible global destination for fund managers. With 177 FMEs registered and over USD 22 billion in commitments across 272 schemes, the diversity of strategies—from VC and PE to hedge funds—reflects strong confidence in the IFSC framework.”

Discussions during the summit covered structuring innovations, semi-liquid credit, compliance, risk management, and investor education. Speakers emphasized the need for clearer regulatory guidance and stronger industry-regulator collaboration to scale institutional participation.

Experts from AlphaGrep, Aequitas, Sameeksha, Avendus, Vivriti, DSP, Nuvama, and others shared key insights, reflecting India’s growing maturity in alternative investing.

The event concluded with a shared vision of fostering a transparent, innovation-led, and globally competitive AIF ecosystem rooted in GIFT City.