Pension fund regulator allows up to Rs.17,000-Cr into AIFs

The Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA) has allowed 1% of the roughly INR 17 lakh crore of assets under management (AUM) in the sector for investments into alternative investment funds, potentially stepping up flows of domestic institutional money into private markets.The move follows efforts to create a workable framework that allows pension assets to flow into alternatives such as private equity and venture capital. Earlier, the regulator had allowed investments into equities and other listed assets such as exchange-traded funds (ETFs) and bullion-based traded securities.