India allows $463 billion wealth funds to invest overseas

India's market regulator will implement a comprehensive overhaul of rules, for the first time allowing the $463 billion portfolio management industry, which serves high-net-worth individuals, to invest in overseas securities and to short stock options. The Securities and Exchange Board of India said after a board meeting on Thursday that such funds will also be permitted to invest in unlisted debt securities, with exchange-traded derivatives exposure of up to 1.25 times client assets. Portfolio managers may also hold unhedged short positions within limits set by the regulator, which the regulator did not disclose. In recent years, India's high-net-worth individuals have sought professionally managed customized products, driving rapid expansion of the industry, and the new rules significantly broaden their investment options. Data from the Securities and Exchange Board of India show that such business, known as portfolio management services, had assets under management of about 44.4 trillion rupees as of August, up from 40 trillion rupees a year earlier.