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Why Indian Investors Should Look Beyond Domestic Markets Using GIFT City
M
Moneycontrol•06-10-2026, 10:26
Why Indian Investors Should Look Beyond Domestic Markets Using GIFT City
- •India accounts for only about 3 percent of the global listed equity market, leaving roughly 97 percent of the world's investment opportunities outside the country.
- •A weakening rupee significantly increases the cost of global goals like foreign education and travel, making foreign-currency assets essential for hedging currency risk.
- •Traditional direct foreign investments face hurdles such as complex annual disclosures and steep US estate taxes ranging from 18 to 40 percent.
- •GIFT City offers a dollar-denominated, regulated route through the IFSCA, allowing investors to bypass domestic mutual fund caps and avoid US estate tax liabilities.
- •Retail investment minimums in GIFT City funds are now as low as $500, opening up international asset allocation to a broader range of investors.
Key Questions Answered
GIFT City is regulated by a single authority called the IFSCA, which consolidates the responsibilities shared elsewhere in India by the RBI, SEBI, IRDAI, and PFRDA.
Because the fund owns the US shares while individual investors own units within the fund itself, investors generally stay outside the US estate-tax net.
Retail schemes are open to all investors with minimum entry thresholds as low as $500, whereas restricted schemes, such as Category III AIFs, require a minimum of $150,000 from non-accredited investors.
