Direct ownership
A portfolio built for one investor, held in your own demat account.
In a PMS, a SEBI-registered portfolio manager runs a tailored securities portfolio for you alone: you own every stock directly, see every transaction, and hold it all with an independent custodian. Minimum investment is ₹50 lakh.
Layer 4 of 6 in the access spectrum
Entry point
₹50 lakh (cash and/or securities)
Ownership
Securities held in your own demat
Custody
Independent custodian, standardized reporting
Manager net worth
₹5 crore minimum, SEBI-mandated
A sizing check: how large the portfolio needs to be before a PMS allocation clears the minimum without crowding out everything else.
Inputs
Result
A sizing check, not a recommendation: the right share depends on your goals, liquidity needs and the rest of the portfolio.
Risk profiling and KYC first, then a PMS agreement that sets the mandate, discretionary or non-discretionary.
Your account is funded and the manager constructs the portfolio position by position, within the agreed mandate.
A custodian holds the securities and reports performance in SEBI's standardized format: you evaluate the manager on audited numbers.
Under SEBI's 2020 regulations the manager either decides every trade or waits for your approval; a recommendation-only third type exists, which Sanriya does not distribute.
Discretionary PMS
KYC and agreement
Risk profile, disclosure document, fee schedule and the power of attorney
Funding
₹50 lakh or more by cash, transferred securities or a mix of both
Portfolio built and managed
Typically 15 to 25 holdings; the manager rebalances without asking you first
Statements and audited reports
Monthly statements, online access to holdings, audited statement at year end
Exit
Written notice as your agreement sets; take cash or securities; exit load if within three years
Costs and exit
What it can hold
Watch for
Suits you if you have ₹50 lakh or more, want securities in your own name and are content to let the manager act without asking.
Read the PMS comparisonMinimum
Who owns the securities
Liquidity
Fees
Who pays tax
Reporting
Regulator
Every portfolio manager charges in one of three ways. The disclosure document states which, and the fee illustration shows what it costs on your amount.
Fixed fee
0.25% to 2.5% of portfolio value a year, charged whatever the return; 18% GST on top.
Suits long-only, low-turnover mandates where you want a predictable cost.
Performance fee
10% to 20% of profit above an 8% to 10% hurdle, measured over a high-water mark; 18% GST.
Suits investors who want to pay mainly when the portfolio beats its hurdle.
Hybrid
Lower fixed fee of 1% to 2% plus profit share above the hurdle, both plus 18% GST; most common.
Suits most investors; it balances a stable cost with a stake in outcomes.
| Item | PMS | Mutual fund |
|---|---|---|
| Equity gains, short term (12 months or less) | 20% on each sale, FY 2026-27, plus surcharge and 4% cess | 20% when you redeem equity units, FY 2026-27 |
| Equity gains, long term (over 12 months) | 12.5% above ₹1.25 lakh a year, on each sale, FY 2026-27 | 12.5% above ₹1.25 lakh a year, on redemption, FY 2026-27 |
| Dividends | Added to your income and taxed at your slab rate | Growth plan: kept inside the scheme, nothing taxable until you redeem; IDCW payouts are taxed at your slab rate |
| When tax is paid | Each financial year on realised sales; advance tax may fall due | Only when units are redeemed; deferred until then |
Equity gains, short term (12 months or less)
Equity gains, long term (over 12 months)
Dividends
When tax is paid
Rates for FY 2026-27 under the Income-tax Act, 2025, in force from 1 April 2026; confirm your own position with a chartered accountant.
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A portfolio management service is a SEBI-regulated account in which a manager runs shares and bonds held in your own name. How the ₹50 lakh minimum, mandate types, accounts and reporting work.
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What a PMS client pays: fixed and performance fees, the hurdle and high-water mark with a worked example, 18% GST, the 0.50% cap on operating expenses, SEBI exit load caps and how distributors are paid.
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A PMS holds shares in your own name, so every sale is a taxable event for you in that year. FY 2026-27 rates, dividends, advance tax, the fee debate, losses and the statements your chartered accountant needs.
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A step-by-step PMS due diligence checklist: verify the manager, read its track record against the APMI benchmark, and weigh strategy fit, concentration, churn, fees, exit terms and red flags.
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SEBI's investor charter allows up to 7 working days to open a PMS account for resident individuals, and 14 for NRIs and non-individual clients, once documents are complete. Here is each step: KYC, the agreement and power of attorney, your PMS demat, funding, reports, withdrawals, exit load and exit.
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PMS · 9 min read
A plain comparison of mutual funds, PMS and AIFs on minimums, regulation, liquidity, fees, taxation, return reporting and accredited-investor relaxations, with a simple ladder for layering them as your portfolio grows.
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HNI investors who want concentrated, conviction-led portfolios
Families that value direct ownership and line-by-line transparency
NRIs investing through NRE/NRO accounts
Investors diversifying beyond pooled fund structures
You do. The portfolio sits in your own demat account, held through a custodian: the manager has authority to transact under the agreement, but ownership and visibility stay with you, line by line. You can log in and see holdings and valuations at any time, and SEBI requires the manager to send you an audited statement of account every year.
Yes: the ₹50 lakh minimum under the SEBI (Portfolio Managers) Regulations, 2020 can be met with cash, existing securities, or a mix. The manager has discretion to sell what you transfer and rebuild to the model portfolio, and each of those sales is a taxable event for you, so check the holding period and gains on transferred stock before you move it.
Managers charge a fixed fee, a performance fee above a hurdle, or a hybrid of both, all set out in the PMS agreement before you sign; SEBI does not allow fees to be collected in advance. Structures commonly seen in the market are a fixed fee of around 2.5% a year, or a hybrid of about 1.5% fixed plus 15% of profits above a 10% hurdle, with a high-water mark so you are not charged twice on the same gain. GST at 18% applies on top of the fee, and brokerage, custody and audit costs are charged separately.
Because you own the securities, every sale the manager makes is a taxable event for you in that year, even if you withdraw nothing. For listed equity in FY 2026-27, short-term gains (held 12 months or less) are taxed at 20% and long-term gains at 12.5% above the ₹1.25 lakh annual exemption under Section 112A of the Income-tax Act, 1961 (carried into the Income-tax Act, 2025 from 1 April 2026), plus surcharge and cess; dividends are taxed at your slab. A mutual fund or SIF, by contrast, is taxed only when you redeem units, and whether PMS fees can be deducted against gains is still unsettled in case law.
Yes, there is no regulatory lock-in. SEBI requires the agreement to spell out withdrawal and termination terms; notice periods of 7 to 30 days are typical, some managers apply an exit load during the first one to three years, and on exit you can take cash, securities or a mix. Partial withdrawals and an SWP are usually allowed as long as the portfolio stays above the ₹50 lakh minimum, and a switch between strategies is possible only within the same portfolio manager.
Yes, once the base ₹50 lakh is invested. Most managers accept top-ups of ₹1 lakh to ₹5 lakh and monthly SIPs of ₹1 lakh to ₹2 lakh, and some offer an STP that parks the full amount in liquid instruments and moves it into equities in phases. These thresholds are set by each manager, not by SEBI, so check the agreement.
Use the Time-Weighted Rate of Return (TWRR), which SEBI made the reporting standard under the 2020 regulations because it strips out the timing of your own deposits and withdrawals and lets you compare managers and benchmarks on one basis. Your personal XIRR will differ because it depends on when you invested; both numbers are right, they measure different things. Compare 3-year and 5-year TWRR against the stated benchmark, drawdowns and consistency, and read the SEBI-mandated Disclosure Document before you compare returns at all.
Yes, through an NRE or NRO account and a linked demat under FEMA's automatic route, with no prior RBI approval. Proceeds from an NRE-linked account are freely repatriable after tax; from an NRO-linked account they fall under the USD 1 million per financial year cap and need Form 15CA and 15CB. Some managers decline US and Canada residents because of FATCA reporting, and a Tax Residency Certificate with Form 10F lets you claim DTAA rates on TDS; we check both before onboarding.
PMS portfolios are typically more concentrated than mutual funds; drawdowns can be sharper.
No assured or guaranteed returns; evaluate managers over multi-year periods.
Fees (fixed, performance-linked or hybrid) affect net returns; understand them upfront.
Portfolio Management Services do not offer assured or guaranteed returns, and past performance does not indicate future results. Sanriya Finvest is an APMI-registered PMS distributor (APRN01056); portfolio management is performed by the SEBI-registered portfolio manager, not by us.
That depends on your goals, horizon and what you already hold: exactly the conversation we start with.
Talk to us