India INX Global Access (INX GA) is preparing to launch tax-efficient UCITS funds for Indian investors, enabling direct access to European fund markets. According to reports from The Hindu BusinessLine, the initiative will allow retail clients to trade products listed on major European bourses, including the London Stock Exchange (LSE), Euronext, and Deutsche Börse Xetra, expanding beyond the platform's current US stock offerings. Ritesh Kumar Varshney, Manager and Director at India INX Global Access, confirmed that the exchange is planning to go live by November 2026, with UCITS ETF and UCITS MF products as their priority project.
UCITS (Undertakings for Collective Investment in Transferable Securities) funds offer substantial tax advantages for Indian investors. As reported by The Hindu BusinessLine, for Indian tax residents, taking exposure to global equities via Ireland-domiciled UCITS funds offers tax savings compared to direct US stock holdings. Direct US equity investments attract a 30% US withholding tax on dividends and trigger potential US estate taxes up to 40% on holdings above $60,000, while UCITS funds benefit from bilateral tax treaties that reduce dividend withholding to 15% at the fund level and eliminate US estate tax liability entirely. Varshney noted that these feeder funds are more tax efficient because they are in jurisdictions where most tax exemptions are available.
India INX Global Access has experienced significant growth since pivoting to retail investors in 2022. According to The Hindu BusinessLine, the exchange has logged over $40 billion in cumulative trading volume since opening its platform to resident Indian individuals. The platform currently generates consistent monthly trading activity of $500 million to $1 billion, driven by a massive acceleration in user onboarding. Over a recent five-month stretch, the platform added 2.66 lakh retail investors, securing 66,000 new accounts between April and June before onboarding another 2 lakh clients across July and August.
To facilitate retail onboarding, INX GA operates a B2B2C model, partnering directly with domestic Indian brokerages. As reported by The Hindu BusinessLine, over 150 Indian brokers have already tied up with the exchange to offer global products, including Dhan, Samco, Anand Rathi, Motilal Oswal, 5paisa, and SMC Global. For international order execution and clearing across European and US markets, INX GA has partnered with six global brokerages: Interactive Brokers LLC, DriveWealth, StoneX, Marex, TradeStation, and DriveTrade. Entry points will remain accessible at around $100 per unit for UCITS products, with unit fractionalisation not available but entry points accessible.
To invest, resident Indian clients transfer funds in rupees from their domestic bank accounts to their INX GA trading account in GIFT City, which operates as a deemed foreign jurisdiction under Indian law. According to The Hindu BusinessLine, remitting banks verify compliance against the individual's annual $250,000 LRS threshold and execute the INR-to-USD conversion. Once credited to the GIFT City account, USD balances reflect in the client's trading app, where orders are routed to execution brokers across global bourses. Multi-currency conversions for European exchange listings will be handled directly through partner brokers.
