Union Mutual Fund has firmed up plans for its first product under the Arthaya SIF platform, with the Arthaya Equity Long Short Fund set to open for subscription in early May 2026. The launch will mark Union AMC's formal debut in the Specialised Investment Fund category, roughly two weeks after the AMC first confirmed the Arthaya brand and its leadership team for the SIF business.
What the fund aims to do The Arthaya Equity Long Short Fund is structured as an open-ended equity scheme, combining traditional long equity positions with selective short exposure implemented through derivatives. According to the AMC, the strategy is designed to:
Objective | How it's pursued |
|---|---|
Capture upside in rising markets | Long positions in companies with strong earnings visibility |
Limit downside in falling markets | Selective short positions in overvalued or structurally weak businesses |
Deliver returns across cycles | Dynamic exposure adjustment based on market phase (bull, bear, sideways) |
Madhu Nair, CEO of Union AMC, described the Arthaya Equity Long Short framework as designed to let portfolios not just participate in market movements but actively respond to them — a contrast with traditional long-only equity funds, which tend to perform well in rising markets but offer limited protection during corrections or sideways phases.
The fund's benchmark is expected to be the NIFTY 200 Total Return Index, with units priced at ₹10 during the NFO and a 1% exit load applicable on redemptions within one year — terms broadly in line with other equity-oriented SIFs launched over the preceding year.
A crowded but growing category Arthaya's launch adds Union MF to a list of AMCs that, by this point, already included Quant, Edelweiss, SBI, HSBC (RedHex), Bandhan (Arudha), Tata (Titanium), ICICI Prudential (iSIF) and ITI MF (Diviniti), among others, in the SIF space. Industry estimates suggest the broader SIF category had already crossed roughly Rs 10,000 crore in assets under management within about six months of the first launches — a pace of growth distributors say reflects strong underlying demand from HNI and family office investors for hedged, strategy-driven equity products.
Union AMC has said the Arthaya platform will expand over time to include hybrid and debt-oriented strategies, positioning the equity long-short fund as the first of several products expected under the brand through 2026 and beyond.