GIFT City Inbound Retail Funds (2026)

Why inbound funds suit an NRI

The appeal lies in the fact that the gains carry no capital gains tax in India, nothing is deducted at source, and the proceeds stay fully repatriable. On top of that, the money stays in dollars on the way in and out, so there's no rupee conversion and no forex spread, and holding the investment needs no PAN, no demat, and no Indian bank account. Resident Indians can't buy these funds at all, which tells you exactly who they were built for: the client living in Dubai or Singapore who wants India in their portfolio without the onshore paperwork. 

For the full case, the tax mechanics, eligibility, funding routes and onboarding, refer clients to the NRI's guide to GIFT City (coming soon). If you want the regulator, the IFSC framework and the plumbing behind all of it first, our pillar guide, GIFT City explained: a distributor's guide for 2026, is the place to start. This piece assumes that background and stays on the funds. 

Live funds at a glance

Two funds, two very different jobs. Tata is a low-minimum, all-in-one India allocation with no exit load. Sundaram is a higher-minimum, single-theme mid-cap bet with a two-year load window.

Tata India Dynamic Equity Fund (IFSC)

What it holds. This is a fund-of-funds that spreads a client's dollars across Tata's own Indian schemes rather than picking stocks directly. As of 28 February 2026, the core sat in the Tata Nifty 50 Index Fund at 48.83%, the Tata Mid Cap Fund at 9.99% and the Tata BSE Quality Index Fund at 9.80%. The satellite arm added the Tata Banking & Financial Services Fund at 10.05%, the Tata India Consumer Fund at 9.54% and the Tata Small Cap Fund at 8.55%, with the rest in cash. On a look-through basis the book is roughly 63% large-cap, with the balance in mid and small caps. Its biggest underlying stock exposures were HDFC Bank at 7.54%, ICICI Bank at 5.66% and Reliance Industries at 4.10%, and banks were the top sector at 23.29%. For the full underlying holdings and current NAV, see the fund's monthly factsheet on the Tata GIFT City page. 

Worth noting: with nearly half the fund in a single Nifty 50 index tracker, the "dynamic" part of the name rides on the smaller satellite sleeve, not the core. The client is buying a mostly large-cap India allocation with a tactical tilt on top.

Structure and managers. It's an open-ended inbound feeder scheme registered with the IFSCA and run by Tata Asset Management's IFSC branch, benchmarked to the Nifty 500 TRI. It has the distinction of being the first retail inbound mutual fund cleared at GIFT City, with IFSCA approval in September 2025. The fund manager is Aditya Shanker, who has run it since the 1 December 2025 launch.

Costs and exit. There are two share classes, both starting at USD 500. Class A is the direct route at a 1.75% expense ratio; Class B is the distributor and advisor-led route at 2.50%. That 0.75% gap is your commission-bearing option, so an NRI client who wants you managing the relationship goes into Class B. There's no exit load, which makes this the more liquid of the two live funds.

Performance so far. The fund only began investing on 1 December 2025, so there's no track record worth quoting yet, and any early move says more about where Indian equities happen to be than about the fund itself. What you're really selling is the allocation discipline and the pedigree of the underlying Tata schemes, not a return line. Set that expectation with the client up front and the first quiet quarter won't rattle them.

Distributor take. This is the natural default for an NRI who wants "India, handled for me" in one ticket. The USD 500 minimum lets you start a client small, the no-load structure keeps the exit conversation clean, and the multi-cap mandate means you skip the large-versus-mid-cap debate on day one. For a first-time NRI investor testing GIFT City, this is the low-friction entry point.

Sundaram India Mid Cap - GIFT

What it holds. This one is a single-strategy bet, not a spread. It's a USD-denominated feeder that channels almost all of its assets into the Direct Plan of the Sundaram Mid Cap Fund, an onshore scheme running since 2002. The underlying manager uses a Growth at a Reasonable Price approach and leans into consumer discretionary, financials, and structural themes like manufacturing, cement and telecom. So the client is buying two decades of a specific mid-cap process, delivered in dollars. For the latest holdings and figures, see the fund's factsheet on Sundaram's GIFT City page. 

Structure and managers. It's an open-ended USD-denominated retail scheme registered with the IFSCA, run from Sundaram's GIFT City branch and benchmarked to the Nifty Midcap 150 TRI. Units were offered at USD 10 at launch. The fund manager is Saurabh Kapadia. Sundaram Asset Management runs roughly USD 9.6 billion (about ₹86,245 crore) as of early 2026, so the parent is established even though this wrapper is new.

Costs and exit. The minimum is USD 5,000 with top-ups of USD 1,000, a much higher bar than the Tata fund. Sundaram's product note doesn't publish a single headline all-in expense ratio; the cost is the GIFT scheme's own fee stacked on the underlying Sundaram Mid Cap Direct Plan, which itself runs about 0.91%. Ask for the current combined figure in writing before you place a client. The exit load has teeth: 2% if redeemed within 12 months and 1% between 12 and 24 months, so this is money that should sit for at least two years.

Performance so far. The GIFT scheme launched in March 2026, so its own numbers can't tell you much yet. The record that matters belongs to the underlying Sundaram Mid Cap Fund, which has compounded for more than two decades onshore. That history sits in a different vehicle and in rupees, though, so use it as context for the strategy you're buying, not as a promise for this dollar wrapper. 

Distributor take. This is a satellite holding for a client who already wants India mid-cap exposure and can leave the money alone. The higher minimum and the two-year load window make it wrong for anyone who might need liquidity, and right for a conviction allocation. One eligibility flag worth catching early: US and Canada-based NRIs are generally shut out on FATCA grounds, so confirm the client's jurisdiction before you pitch it.

How to choose between them

Start with what the client wants to own. Tata is a whole-of-market, do-it-for-me allocation across large, mid and small caps plus sectors. Sundaram is a single, pointed mid-cap bet. Match that to how much concentration the client can stomach.

Then look at entry friction and holding period. The Tata fund starts at USD 500 with no exit load, so it suits a smaller or first-time NRI client and anyone who values liquidity. Sundaram's USD 5,000 minimum and two-year load window suit a larger allocation the client won't touch for a while.

Then costs. On the Tata fund you're choosing between a clean 1.75% direct and 2.50% distributor-led. On Sundaram, the all-in figure isn't spelled out in the product note, so pin it down before recommending.

The tax and repatriation case is identical across both, and it's the same one you already make for any inbound scheme: no TDS, no LRS or TCS in play, dollars in and out. The NRI's guide to GIFT City has the full detail; on the fund choice itself, tax is a wash between these two.

One shared caveat for both: the track records are months old. What you're really selling is the AMC, the underlying strategy, and the USD wrapper, not a performance line.