Parag Parikh Financial Advisory Services Ltd (PPFAS) has decided to delay the launch of two India-focused investment schemes from GIFT City due to ongoing geopolitical tensions in West Asia. This decision comes despite the success of its recently launched outbound funds, which have taken advantage of market recovery following the conflict.
The fund house had intended to launch both inbound and outbound products simultaneously through PPFAS Alternate Asset Managers IFSC Pvt Ltd. While the outbound funds were successfully introduced in March, the inbound schemes are on hold, having already obtained regulatory approval. “We are planning to introduce two inbound schemes to cater to the investors looking to invest in India. However, we had to stall the launch due to the current war situation, which affected our initial plan to launch both inbound and outbound schemes together,” stated Hema Thakkar, Head of Business Development at PPFAS Alternate Asset Managers IFSC, during her recent visit to Ahmedabad.
The delay underscores the impact of geopolitical uncertainty on the ability of fund managers to attract overseas investors through GIFT City, which is now recognized as India’s key international financial services hub. Nirmal Bari, Principal Officer and Director at the company, noted that the conflict has complicated marketing efforts in West Asia, a primary target market for investment products based in GIFT City. “Additionally, the war situation has hindered our ability to travel to West Asia for marketing our schemes,” Bari added.
In March 2026, PPFAS launched two outbound fund-of-funds products: the Parag Parikh IFSC S&P 500 Fund of Fund and the Parag Parikh IFSC Nasdaq 100 Fund of Fund, which provide exposure to US equities through global exchange-traded funds and UCITS structures. These schemes target retail investors seeking global diversification and also cater to family offices and high-net-worth individuals, with a minimum investment requirement of $5,000.
Contrarily, the same geopolitical factors that disrupted the inbound product launch appear to have positively influenced the performance of the outbound schemes. Bari remarked, “When we launched our two funds, the war was at its peak. The returns we have experienced in the last two months have been positive,” attributing these gains to a sharp recovery in US equity markets that had previously suffered due to the conflict. He noted that the underlying indices have risen over 20% since the market downturn.
PPFAS believes global markets currently present a more promising growth opportunity than domestic equities. “In India, the markets have stagnated for the last one-and-a-half years, while there has been notable growth in the Nasdaq and S&P. The companies within those indices have stronger prospects,” Thakkar asserted.
The S&P 500 fund serves as a core global diversification product, while the Nasdaq 100 fund is tailored for investors interested in sectors driven by innovation, such as technology and artificial intelligence. “These are index-based funds that are passive in nature. Investors keen on companies within the AI sector would prefer the Nasdaq fund,” she explained. Unlike many domestic investment options, the GIFT City schemes do not impose entry loads, exit loads, or lock-in requirements, a feature that may appeal to globally minded investors.
For PPFAS, the greater opportunity likely resides in inbound funds that channel overseas capital into India. The timeline for launching these inbound products will depend on how quickly geopolitical conditions stabilize and allow for the resumption of international marketing efforts.
