Anand Rathi Wealth Subsidiary Gets IFSCA In-Principle Approval for GIFT City Fund Management

What Was Decided

Anand Rathi Wealth Limited announced that its wholly owned subsidiary, Anand Rathi FME (IFSC) Private Limited, has received an In-principle approval from the International Financial Services Centres Authority (IFSCA) for registration as a Fund Management Entity (Non-retail) at the International Financial Services Centre (IFSC), GIFT City, Gujarat.

This is a preliminary regulatory clearance, not the final licence. Pursuant to the approval, Anand Rathi FME (IFSC) shall undertake the necessary steps, including fulfilment of applicable regulatory, operational and capital requirements, as prescribed by IFSCA, for obtaining the final certificate of registration and commencement of its business activities in due course of time. The commencement of operations shall be subject to receipt of the final registration from IFSCA and compliance with all applicable laws, regulations and conditions stipulated by the regulatory authority.

The Entity Behind the Approval

Anand Rathi FME (IFSC) Private Limited was set up specifically for this purpose. It is a Private Limited Company incorporated on Feb 16, 2026 in India, registered at the Registrar of Companies, Ahmedabad, with its registered address at Shilp Incubation Centre, Unit B, 1st Floor, GIFT City, Gandhi Nagar, Gujarat, India, 382050. Its corporate identification number (CIN) is U66300GJ2026PTC173616 and its current status is Active.

At incorporation, the entity had an Issued Capital of INR 100,000, with Anand Rathi Wealth Limited subscribing to 100% of the share capital, consisting of 10,000 Equity Shares of INR 10 each, acquired for cash at par, making it entirely held by the parent company. Tracxn records show an authorised share capital of Rs. 55,000,000 and paid up capital of Rs. 100,000 as of its filing history.

Its stated purpose from the outset was fund management: the primary purpose of establishing the subsidiary is to function as a fund management entity, undertaking Fund Management activities specifically through setting up Alternate Investment Funds (AIFs), for which it would need necessary regulatory approvals from IFSCA to carry out fund management business under the relevant regulations.

Regulatory Framework: What "Non-Retail FME" Means

IFSCA licenses fund managers in GIFT City's IFSC under three categories, and the category granted here — Non-retail — carries its own capital threshold. Under the FM Regulations 2025, FMEs can register in three categories, each with different scopes and net-worth thresholds: Authorised FME with a net worth requirement of USD 75,000, Registered FME (Non-Retail) at USD 500,000, and Registered FME (Retail) at USD 1,000,000.

The current rulebook, the IFSCA (Fund Management) Regulations, 2025, replaced the 2022 version and eased several entry conditions. IFSCA notified the IFSCA (Fund Management) Regulations, 2025 on February 19, 2025. Among the changes relevant to non-retail players like Anand Rathi FME, the minimum corpus size for non-retail schemes was reduced from USD 5 million to USD 3 million to support smaller-sized schemes and align with global regulatory benchmarks.

To move from in-principle approval to a full Certificate of Registration, an applicant generally has to satisfy a defined checklist. An applicant must be incorporated as a company, LLP, or branch of a foreign entity in IFSC; maintain the prescribed net worth for its chosen category; meet "fit and proper" standards relating to integrity, reputation, and financial soundness; and appoint qualified Key Managerial Personnel such as a Principal Officer, Fund Manager(s), and Compliance Officer. Only after IFSCA examines governance, compliance framework, and financials, and is satisfied, is a Certificate of Registration issued.

Practical Effect: What Happens Next

The in-principle approval does not let Anand Rathi FME (IFSC) start managing money yet. Both the company's own disclosure and the IFSCA regulatory sequence make clear that the subsidiary must now undertake several actions, including meeting regulatory, operational, and capital requirements as specified by the IFSCA, to secure the final certificate of registration, and that commencement of business activities is contingent upon receiving the final registration from the IFSCA.

Once fully registered, the subsidiary's intended activity is running Alternative Investment Funds (AIFs) out of GIFT City. The subsidiary will apply for a fund management license under IFSCA regulations to undertake AIF operations, and more specifically plans to apply for a Fund Management license under the International Financial Services Centres Authority (Fund Management) Regulations, 2025.

Context: A Pattern of Wealth Managers Entering GIFT City's Fund Ecosystem

Anand Rathi is not alone in seeking this route into GIFT City. Around the same period, a comparable move was made by another large wealth manager: 360 ONE WAM Limited announced that its step-down wholly owned subsidiary, 360 ONE Global Asset Management (IFSC) Limited, received in-principle approval from IFSCA to operate as a Fund Management Entity (Retail) at GIFT City — the higher-net-worth retail category rather than the non-retail one granted to Anand Rathi's subsidiary.

This activity sits within a wider, established fund-management base already operating at the IFSC. Industry figures compiled by S&R Associates note that 128 fund management entities are registered with IFSCA, with 168 schemes launched targeting a corpus of USD 12.13 billion, of which USD 5.58 billion has been raised and USD 4.61 billion invested. IFSCA itself is the unified regulator for GIFT City's IFSC, having been established on April 27, 2020 under the International Financial Services Centres Authority Act, 2019, and headquartered at GIFT City, Gandhinagar.