GIFT City is significantly expanding access to global investment opportunities for retail investors, with some funds now allowing investors to start with approximately $500 (around ₹47,687.88). According to Saibal Ghosh, Head of Investments & Wealth Solutions at HSBC India, speaking to NDTV Profit's Managing Editor Tamanna Inamdar, retail funds are actively coming on board to provide this accessible entry point for global investments. Ghosh emphasized that investors can start with a very small amount of money, including $500, to begin their first global investment journey through the GIFT City framework.
The GIFT City ecosystem is democratizing access to global investments, making participation in opportunities easier for retail investors. As reported by NDTV Profit, Ghosh emphasized that exposure to markets such as US private equity, which was previously considered an 'esoteric journey', is increasingly becoming accessible through the GIFT City framework. The expert highlighted that GIFT City is providing a structure where fund managers and regulatory framework remain within the GIFT IFSC ecosystem, democratizing what was otherwise a very esoteric journey of accessing US private equity markets.
Indian investors have traditionally accessed global markets through mutual funds, exchange-traded funds and stock brokers, but portfolio approaches involving multiple asset classes and countries have been limited. According to Ghosh's comments to NDTV Profit, GIFT City provides a structure through which investors can access global portfolios while maintaining fund managers and regulatory framework within the GIFT IFSC ecosystem. This approach enables diversification across asset classes, countries and markets that were previously unavailable to Indian retail investors. Ghosh noted that what has been lacking is a portfolio approach to global investment, which only happens when fund managers and product advisors can create diversified portfolios to help investors reach their objectives.
