India’s Securities and Exchange Board of India has approved new portfolio-management regulations allowing discretionary and non-discretionary portfolio managers to invest client funds in listed overseas equities, listed debt, REITs, international mutual funds, ETFs, index funds and foreign government debt, while also permitting short positions in equity options. The rules replace the 2020 framework and require client consent, compliance with the Foreign Exchange Management Act and adherence to the Reserve Bank of India’s Liberalised Remittance Scheme limits. The overhaul covers a sector described in the latest report as worth $463 billion, while the existing record puts assets managed at Rs 42.61 lakh crore, or about $5.1 trillion, in May 2026; the differing figures are retained because their basis is unclear. SEBI also permits discretionary managers to allocate up to 10% of client assets under management to investment-grade unlisted debt, raises derivatives exposure to 1.25 times client AUM and allows investments in securities yet to be listed. A new mutual-fund-only PMS category halves the minimum investment to Rs 25 lakh from Rs 50 lakh and reduces the net-worth requirement for eligible firms to Rs 2 crore from Rs 5 crore.