SEBI's New PMS Rules Let Fund Managers Run 'Sub-PMSes' — But the Fine Print is Still Open
SEBI's board on September 24 approved a sweeping overhaul of portfolio management rules, opening PMS to foreign securities, IPOs and a new mutual-fund-only route called PRIM. But one X user with 101,000 followers flagged a structural change that could reshape how PMS products are sold: a 'platform PMS' can now host independent fund managers (IFMs), each running their own strategy on the PMS's licence. Under the new SEBI (Portfolio Managers) Regulations, 2026, replacing the 2020 framework, existing PMS can invest in foreign securities under both discretionary and non-discretionary mandates, according to multiple media reports. The allowed list includes listed equity, debt, REITs, overseas mutual funds, ETFs, index funds and foreign government debt. All of it stays bound by FEMA and RBI's Liberalized Remittance Scheme — so you still can't buy foreign ETFs in rupees. The PMS just becomes a wrapper.
