JioBlackRock To Offer Indian Investors Access To Global BlackRock ETFs Via GIFT City

JioBlackRock is getting ready to bring global investment exposure to Indian investors through its newly approved GIFT City platform. The plan involves offering access to international BlackRock exchange traded funds (ETFs) covering broad global equities, emerging market equities and other asset classes.

The products could come in the form of ETFs, fund-of-funds, or other investment structures, depending on what works best for each type of exposure. JioBlackRock's CEO said the structure is still being finalised, but the intent is clear to fill a gap in the Indian market where access to products like S&P 500-linked or globally diversified funds remains limited.

How It Will Be Rolled Out

The approach will be phased. The first priority is getting core international exposures in place, starting with broad global and emerging market equity products. Once that foundation is set, the company plans to expand into more specific areas like commodities and sector-specific exposures that currently do not exist in India.

GIFT City will be the primary route, though the fund-of-funds structure remains an option, subject to overall mutual fund limits, the CEO said.

The SIF Play

Alongside the GIFT City plans, JioBlackRock is also preparing to launch its first product under the Specialised Investment Fund (SIF) category. The company has chosen the hybrid segment as its starting point, with a long-short strategy as the first offering.

SIFs are designed for more sophisticated investors who already have standard equity and debt exposure and are looking for outcome-oriented solutions, such as higher total returns with lower risk than pure equities. The SIF framework allows the use of derivatives and a mix of asset classes, which gives fund managers more flexibility to construct differentiated return streams.

According to the CEO, the key advantage of the SIF sitting inside a mutual fund wrapper is the combination of governance, transparency, liquidity and tax efficiency that comes with it. The equity sleeve within the SIF will use the same systematic, data and AI-driven active equity process already deployed across the company's mutual fund range, with derivatives added on top for risk management purposes. Fixed income and real estate investment trusts (REITs) can also be blended in, creating varied return profiles.

Also Read - CMR Green Technologies Raises ₹188 Crore From Anchor Investors Ahead Of IPO Opening On 3 June

What Makes Their Approach Different

Rather than using a static options strategy, JioBlackRock says it plans to be more dynamic, rebalancing positions frequently based on faster-moving data inputs. The company's technology platform Aladdin underpins this process and is already in use across its existing mutual fund products, including a Flexicap Fund, Large Cap Fund and Sector Rotation Fund.

On distribution, the company is launching SIFs with regular plans, believing that the complexity and variability of these products make distributor guidance important for investors navigating them for the first time.

Source:

Economic Times