Altiva Equity Ex-Top 100 Long-Short Fund
First long-short SIF specifically focused on India's mid + small cap universe — 65–100% in stocks outside the top 100 by market cap, with up to 25% short exposure via derivatives.
NFO Opens
May 18, 2026
NFO Closes
June 1, 2026
NFO Price
₹10 per unit
Min Investment
₹10,00,000
Benchmark
Nifty 500 TRI
Risk Band (AMFI)
Level 5
Why this fund matters
Mid + small cap alpha, with hedged downside
The Ex-Top 100 universe is where most of India's next-decade alpha lives — but also where drawdowns are sharpest. Altiva combines long-only conviction in this segment with short hedges to dampen the worst of the volatility.
Universe outside the Nifty 100
65–100% allocation to mid + small cap stocks — historically India's highest-return segment over 10-yr cycles, but also the highest-drawdown one.
Up to 25% short via derivatives
The fund can take unhedged short positions in Ex-Top 100 stocks through derivative instruments, dampening drawdowns during corrections.
3-manager team led by ex-Abakkus PM
Nikhil Gada (CFA, ex-Abakkus / CLSA / Morgan Stanley) leads. Co-manager Trideep Bhattacharya brings 15+ years of alternate-equities experience.
The strategy
Asset allocation
Under normal market conditions the fund follows this allocation pattern. Cumulative gross exposure across equity, debt, derivatives etc. will not exceed 100% of net assets.
| Instrument | Min | Max |
|---|---|---|
| Equity & equity-related securities (incl. REITs) of Ex-Top 100 companies (incl. up to 25% unhedged short via derivatives) | 65% | 100% |
| Other equity & equity-related securities | 0% | 35% |
| Debt & Money Market instruments + Debt MF units | 0% | 35% |
| Units issued by InvITs | 0% | 20% |
The team
Fund managers
Nikhil Gada
Lead Fund ManagerAge 38 · CFA (USA), MBA Finance, B.E. (EXTC)
14+ years as Equity Research Analyst, 2+ years as Portfolio Manager. Prior: Abakkus Asset Managers, Asian Market Securities, CLSA India, Morgan Stanley.
Trideep Bhattacharya
Co-ManagerAge 51 · B.Tech (IIT), MBA Finance, CFA
15+ years as Portfolio Manager and Research Analyst. Prior: Senior PM (Alternate Equities) at Axis AMC, Head of Research at Motilal Oswal Securities, PM at State Street Global Advisors, UBS Global Asset Management.
Amit Vora
Co-Manager (Overseas Portion)Age 47 · B.Com, Mumbai University
18+ years as a Trader in financial services. Prior: Antique Stock Broking, D.E. Shaw India Securities, Derivium Tradition Securities, Tower Capital. Also manages Altiva Hybrid Long-Short Fund.
Fund details
Specification at a glance
| Fund name | Altiva Equity Ex-Top 100 Long-Short Fund |
| AMC | Edelweiss Mutual Fund |
| Category | Equity Ex-Top 100 Long-Short |
| Strategy code | ALTV/O/E/EELS/26/03/0002/EDEL |
| NFO opens | May 18, 2026 |
| NFO closes | June 1, 2026 |
| Re-opens for ongoing | On or before June 15, 2026 |
| NFO price | ₹10 per unit |
| Min investment (NFO + ongoing) | ₹10,00,000 |
| Min for accredited investor | ₹1,00,000 |
| Min additional purchase / SIP | ₹1,000 / ₹1,000 |
| Benchmark | Nifty 500 TRI |
| Liquidity / settlement | Daily subscription + Daily redemption (T+3 settlement) |
| Exit load | 0.50% within 90 days · Nil after 90 days |
| Total Expense Ratio (BER) | Up to 2.10% (BER, first ₹500 Cr) |
| Risk band (AMFI) | Risk Level 5 (Highest) |
| Plans / options | Direct + Regular · Growth + IDCW |
SIFPrime view
How we're thinking about Altiva
Altiva is the third SIF in the Ex-Top 100 category in India — alongside qSIF Ex-Top 100 (Quant) and WSIF Ex-Top 100 (WhiteOak). The category is structurally interesting because mid + small cap is where most Indian managers find their alpha, but where retail investors get most hurt during corrections.
What makes Altiva interesting: Edelweiss already runs the AlphaShield Tier-1 ranked Altiva Hybrid Long-Short — which protected 78% of capital in the March 2026 drawdown. They're bringing the same hedging discipline to a higher-beta universe.
Team pedigree: Lead manager Nikhil Gada was an analyst at Abakkus, Asian Market, CLSA, and Morgan Stanley. Co-manager Trideep Bhattacharya was Senior PM at Axis Alternate Equities — among the best PMS hedged-equity track records in India.
Risk band Level 5 (the highest AMFI category). The Ex-Top 100 universe is inherently more volatile. The 25% short cap is the structural protection — modest by design, given the fund still wants to participate in the upside.
Who should consider it: HNI investors who already have a hybrid LS SIF allocation and want to add mid+small cap exposure with a hedge overlay. Not a first-SIF for new HNI investors — Altiva Hybrid LS or similar is the safer entry.
In context
India's Equity Ex-Top 100 SIF universe
Three SIFs now compete in this category. Altiva is the newest entrant; the other two have ~6 months of track record.
| Fund | AMC | Benchmark | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| Altiva Equity Ex-Top 100 LS | Edelweiss | Nifty 500 TRI | NFO Open |
| qSIF Equity Ex-Top 100 LS | Quant | Nifty Midsmallcap 400 TRI | Live |
| WSIF Equity Ex-Top 100 LS | WhiteOak Capital | Nifty Smallcap 250 TRI | Live |
Disclaimer. The information above is sourced from the Altiva SIF Investment Strategy Information Document (April 2026) published by Edelweiss Asset Management Limited. SIFPrime is an AMFI-registered mutual fund distributor and does not provide investment advice. SIFs are subject to market risk; please read the SID/SAI carefully before investing.
Risk Band: AMFI Level 5 (Highest). Investments in SIFs involve relatively higher risk including potential loss of capital, liquidity risk, and market volatility. Past performance of related strategies (e.g. Altiva Hybrid Long-Short) is not indicative of future returns of this fund.
AMC website: edelweissmf.com/altivasif