Can I compare AIF returns the way I compare PMS returns?

No. APMI mandates monthly performance disclosure for portfolio management services, so PMS strategies can be compared on a common basis. AIF performance sits in private placement memoranda and investor reports that are not public. No official source publishes comparable per-fund AIF returns, NAV or IRR.

Which has the lower minimum investment?

PMS, at ₹50 lakh against ₹1 crore for an AIF. Employees and directors of an AIF, and of its manager, may invest ₹25 lakh. Large value funds require ₹25 crore per investor, and every investor in them must be accredited.

AIF vs PMS — how Alternative Investment Funds and Portfolio Management Services differ

What is the difference between an AIF and a PMS?

An AIF pools capital from many investors into one vehicle with a ₹1 crore minimum. A PMS manages securities in the investor's own account with a ₹50 lakh minimum. The difference that matters most is disclosure: APMI requires monthly PMS performance reporting, so PMS returns are publicly comparable. AIF returns are not.

The structural difference

A portfolio management service manages securities in your own account. You own the underlying holdings directly; the manager has discretion over them.

An Alternative Investment Fund pools your money with other investors' into a single vehicle. You own units in the fund; the fund owns the assets.

That distinction drives almost everything else.

Side by side

	AIF	PMS
Minimum investment	₹1 crore	₹50 lakh
Structure	Pooled vehicle, usually a trust	Separate account in your name
You own	Units in the fund	The underlying securities
Regulation	SEBI (Alternative Investment Funds) Regulations, 2012	SEBI (Portfolio Managers) Regulations
Liquidity	Category I and II are close-ended; Category III may be open-ended	Generally redeemable, subject to terms
Can hold unlisted assets	Yes, and typically does	Largely listed securities
Performance disclosure	Private, to investors only	Monthly, publicly, mandated by APMI
Publicly comparable	No	Yes

The difference nobody says plainly

PMS performance is publicly comparable because APMI mandates monthly disclosure. Every registered portfolio manager reports on a common basis, so a prospective investor can line strategies up against each other and against a benchmark.

AIF performance carries no such requirement. Returns sit in the private placement memorandum and in reports to existing investors, neither of which is public. There is no mandated format, no mandated frequency, and no central source.

The consequence is blunt: you cannot rank Indian AIFs by return, and neither can anyone else. Any table that claims to has been assembled from self-reported numbers that nobody is obliged to publish, standardise or verify.

This site therefore publishes registration facts, structure and SEBI's own industry statistics, and publishes no per-fund returns, NAV, IRR or assets under management. The reasoning is set out in full at why AIF performance is not public.

Which suits whom

A PMS suits an investor who wants direct ownership of listed securities, daily-ish visibility, a lower entry point, and the ability to compare managers on published numbers before committing.

An AIF suits an investor who wants exposure to assets a PMS cannot reach — unlisted companies, private credit, venture, real assets — and who accepts a higher minimum, a multi-year lock, and the fact that diligence has to be done on the manager and the terms rather than on a published track record.

What to do instead of comparing returns

Since the league table does not exist, the work moves to the things you can verify:

The manager's history, established from sources you can check rather than from a pitch deck. Prior funds, prior exits, who actually ran them.
The terms in writing — fees, carry, hurdle, catch-up, and what happens if the fund underperforms. These are negotiated and they vary.
Lock-in and drawdown mechanics. You are committing capital you will be called on to provide at times you do not choose.
What the PPM discloses, particularly on conflicts and related-party transactions.
Whether the fund is registered, and in which category. That much is a public fact and you can check it in the directory.

Sizing the two markets

SEBI publishes quarterly figures for the AIF industry — commitments raised, funds raised and investments made, by category. The series this site holds is on the SEBI quarterly data page with a CSV, which states the quarters it covers.

There is no equivalent single-page series for PMS on this site, because PMS is not what this site covers.

AIF vs SIF — the ₹10 lakh, published-NAV alternative SEBI created in 2025
AIF risks
AIF fees and costs

Checked against source on 24 August 2026. This page is information, not legal, tax or investment advice.

Glossary · Fund directory · SEBI quarterly data