Complying with Sebi's new rules will be challenging, onerous: AIF industry

Some believe alternative investment funds may face teething issue but the regulatory changes will eventually improve governance

The Rs 7-trillion alternative investment fund (AIF) industry is feeling the heat, thanks to a host of regulatory changes announced by the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi).

Some of the fresh changes include standardised approach to valuation, treatment of unliquidated investments, mandatory dematerialisation of units and certification requirements for key employees.

Industry players say complying with the new framework will be a challenge, particularly the move that mandates all new schemes and existing AIFs with a corpus of more than Rs 500 crore to dematerialise their units by October 31.

"Dematerialisation of AIF units should have been kept