International mutual funds: Check fresh SIP and lump sum investment options; one PGIM scheme to reopen on October 8

International mutual fund investors are seeing a familiar pattern: funds open for fresh investments and then close again within days.

According to Value Research, Invesco Mutual Fund reopened three international funds on 28 September, but stopped accepting lump-sum investments again from 29 September.

Aditya Birla Sun Life Mutual Fund had also reopened three funds on 24 September, only to close them at the end of the same business day. In other words, investors had just one day to make an investment.

However, Invesco's restriction is limited to lump-sum investments and switch-ins. It continues to accept new SIP registrations in all three funds, subject to a ₹10 lakh per-day limit per PAN.

According to the latest data from Value Research, only 1 of 60 international funds is accepting lump-sum investments—Baroda BNP Paribas Aqua FoF. Meanwhile, 4 funds are accepting new SIPs, while one more fund is set to reopen for lump-sum investments from 8 October. Here’s what mutual fund investors need to know.

Baroda BNP Paribas Aqua FoF is open for both lump-sum investments and new SIPs, while the three Invesco funds continue to accept new SIPs but not lump-sum investments.

For the Invesco funds, the ₹10 lakh daily limit applies to each PAN and covers the combined SIP instalments due across the three funds on that day. If the total crosses ₹10 lakh, all instalments due that day are rejected.

PGIM India Global Select Real Estate Securities FoF is scheduled to reopen for lump-sum investments on 8 October, but new SIP registrations will remain closed. Existing SIPs can continue.

Why do international funds keep opening and closing?

The restrictions on international mutual funds are driven by the limits governing how much Indian mutual funds can invest overseas. These limits can determine whether a fund house is able to accept fresh money at a given point in time.

Indian mutual funds have a combined ceiling of US$7 billion for investments in overseas securities. An individual mutual fund can invest up to US$1 billion within this overall limit.

When a fund reaches its applicable overseas investment limit, the AMC stops accepting fresh subscriptions. If capacity is subsequently freed up through investor redemptions or a decline in the value of overseas holdings, the fund can resume accepting investments. This is why an international fund may reopen for fresh investments and close again after a short period.

Disclaimer: This is purely for educational/informational purposes and should not be taken as any sort of investment advice. Always consult a SEBI-registered advisor before making any investment decisions.