Best-performing SIFs: Quant leads hybrid long-short funds with 25.5% returns in 6 months; check how peers performed

Quant Mutual Fund’s QSIF Hybrid Long-Short Fund delivered a 25.5% return over six months, outperforming six other hybrid long-short Specialised Investment Funds (SIFs) with available data for the period. Aditya Birla Sun Life Mutual Fund’s Apex Hybrid Long-Short Fund ranked second, with a return of 6.78%, according to the SIF360 tracker.

QSIF’s lead extends to shorter and longer periods. The fund returned 20.58% over three months and 28.82% since inception, ahead of its peers on both measures. Most of the funds with available six-month data returned less than 5% over the period. However, these schemes have relatively short track records, making it important for investors to assess their investment strategies, portfolio risks and performance over time rather than rely on returns alone.

Quant's six-month return exceeded Apex's by 19.22 percentage points. None of the other six funds with available data crossed 7%, while four delivered less than 5%.

Quant's QSIF returned 20.58% over three months, compared with 4.06% for Apex, the second-ranked fund over that period. Since inception, QSIF has gained 28.82%, while Edelweiss Mutual Fund's Altiva Hybrid Long-Short Fund ranked second with a 9.54% return.

Unlike a conventional equity mutual fund that primarily invests in stocks, Quant's strategy combines equity, debt and money market instruments with exposure to real estate investment trusts (REITs) and infrastructure investment trusts (InvITs). It can adjust allocations according to market conditions and its economic outlook.

Under the stated investment framework, equity and equity-related instruments can account for 25-75% of the portfolio, while debt and money market instruments can also account for 25-75%. REITs and InvITs have an allocation range of 0-20%. The strategy also permits unhedged short positions in equity and debt derivatives of up to 25%, alongside hedged positions of up to 100%, subject to scheme restrictions.

QSIF Hybrid Long-Short Fund was launched on 15 October 2025. Its fund managers include Jignesh Shah, who has managed the fund since 20 February 2026, and Sanjeev Sharma, Sandeep Tandon, Sameer Kate and Ankit A Pande, who have been listed as managers since 25 September 2025.

The minimum investment requirement for SIFs is generally ₹10 lakh per investor across SIF strategies, subject to the applicable exemption for accredited investors. The category is designed for investors who understand its more complex strategies and risks.

SIFs also have relatively short track records. Six-month performance may not show how a strategy behaves during a prolonged market decline or a sharp change in volatility. Investors should therefore distinguish between a strong recent return and consistent performance across market cycles.

Kirti jha

Kirti Jha is a Senior Content Producer at Mint, where she writes on mutual funds, taxation, personal finance and macroeconomic developments. Her reporting focuses on helping readers understand complex financial developments through data-driven, research-backed stories that explain how policy changes, market trends and regulatory decisions affect investors and households. <br><br> Before joining Mint, Kirti worked at ET Money, where she specialised in mutual fund research and investment analysis. She tracked portfolio disclosures, fund manager strategies, sectoral allocation shifts and investment trends, distilling large datasets into investor-focused insights. Her work combined quantitative analysis with consumer-centric storytelling, enabling readers to better understand fund positioning, portfolio changes and long-term investment opportunities.<br><br> Kirti holds a Bachelor's degree in Economics from Indraprastha College for Women, University of Delhi, and a Master's in Finance from the Jindal School of Banking & Finance at O.P. Jindal Global University. Her academic training emphasised analytical thinking, quantitative research and financial decision-making, providing a strong foundation in understanding capital markets, financial systems and economic policy. With a combined experience in investment research and financial journalism, she is committed to producing accurate, accessible and insightful journalism that empowers readers to make well-informed financial decisions.

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HomeMoneyPersonal FinanceBest-performing SIFs: Quant leads hybrid long-short funds with 25.5% returns in 6 months; check how peers performed

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