Buoyant Capital PMS vs AIF: Returns, Tax & Fit (2026)
Buoyant Capital PMS and the Buoyant Capital AIF run the same flexi-cap equity approach, Buoyant Opportunities, from one Mumbai team. The PMS holds the shares in your own demat account from ₹50 lakh. The AIF is a Category III open-ended fund, from ₹1 crore, where you hold units and the fund pays the tax.
With the stock selection shared, the choice comes down to the structure. Ownership, tax, the minimum and the length of the track record all differ between the two.
This refresh uses Buoyant’s September 2026 PMS and AIF factsheets, its September 2026 investor presentation and its website, with figures as at 30 September 2026.
In this article11 sections
Buoyant Capital PMS and AIF at a glance
| Buoyant Opportunities PMS | Buoyant Opportunities Strategy (AIF) | |
|---|---|---|
| Structure | Discretionary PMS | Category III AIF, open-ended |
| SEBI registration | INP000005000 | IN/AIF3/22-23/1125 |
| Minimum | ₹50 lakh | ₹1 crore per series (₹25 crore for the Large Value Fund) |
| Inception | 31 May 2016 | Series I: 19 November 2022 |
| Mandate | Flexi-cap, sector agnostic, 30–35 holdings | Same approach, 30–35 holdings (15 in the Large Value Fund) |
| Benchmark | BSE 500 TRI | BSE 500 TRI |
| What you own | Shares in your demat account | Units of a pooled fund |
| Liquidity | No lock-in, no entry or exit load | No entry or exit load; exit windows set by the PPM |
| Fees | Not disclosed in the documents reviewed | Not disclosed in the documents reviewed |
| Tax | Paid by you on each gain | Paid by the fund |
Information as of 30 September 2026 (PMS) and 10 October 2026 (AIF series). Sources: Buoyant Opportunities PMS factsheet, September 2026; Buoyant Capital products and disclosures pages.
For a first-time investor, the PMS is a managed portfolio of 30 to 35 Indian shares held in your own name, with no lock-in. The AIF holds a similar portfolio in a pooled fund that needs ₹1 crore. Both can fall sharply when equity markets fall; the PMS’s worst one-year rolling return since inception was -43.0%.
What stands out in the Buoyant Capital PMS record
Buoyant’s September 2026 factsheet shows the Opportunities PMS at 19.98% a year since May 2016, net of fees and expenses, against 13.34% for the BSE 500 TRI. On ₹1 crore at inception, that is about ₹6.6 crore against ₹3.7 crore, a Kalviro calculation from the factsheet’s absolute returns of 557% and 265%.
Across rolling periods, the PMS beat the benchmark in 97% of all five-year windows since inception, measured daily across 1,950 windows. The weakest five-year window returned 10.1% a year, against 8.9% for the benchmark in its weakest window.
Over the last two years, the PMS returned 4.62% a year while the BSE 500 TRI returned -3.93% a year. In September 2026 alone, the PMS fell 5.07% and the index 5.57%.
The three-year beta is 0.90, so the portfolio moved a little less than the index over that period. Combined assets across Buoyant’s PMS and AIF were about USD 2.2 billion at 30 September 2026. APMI data puts the Opportunities PMS alone at ₹12,574.49 crore on the same date.
The Buoyant Opportunities approach: investing through cycles
Buoyant’s starting point is that a good company is not always a good investment. Valuations matter, and sectors, market-cap segments and individual stocks all move in cycles. The team uses a Core and Satellite framework to shift between aggressive and defensive positioning.
The Core holds businesses the team expects to compound through a full cycle. The Satellite holds cyclicals, turnarounds and value positions, sized up when the cycle rewards risk. The September 2026 investor presentation shows how the stance has changed since inception:
| Period | Stance | Buoyant return | BSE 500 TRI |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jun 2016 to Sep 2017 | Aggressive | 63% | 29% |
| Sep 2017 to Mar 2019 | Defensive | 7% | 14% |
| Mar 2019 to Aug 2021 | Aggressive | 73% | 56% |
| Aug 2021 to Mar 2026 | Defensive | 99% | 47% |
| Mar 2026 to Sep 2026 | Aggressive | 10% | 8% |
Information as at 30 September 2026. Absolute returns, from Buoyant Capital’s September 2026 investor presentation (Bloomberg for the index).
The defensive stance from 2017 to 2019 lagged the index, which shows that the framework manages risk without promising to beat the market in every phase. The book moved back to an aggressive stance at the end of March 2026.
Buoyant Capital PMS returns against the BSE 500 TRI
| Period | Buoyant Opportunities PMS | BSE 500 TRI | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 month | -5.07% | -5.57% | +0.50 |
| 3 months | -1.84% | -3.59% | +1.75 |
| 6 months | 9.66% | 8.07% | +1.59 |
| 1 year | 5.03% | -2.33% | +7.36 |
| 2 years | 4.62% | -3.93% | +8.55 |
| 3 years | 13.50% | 9.20% | +4.30 |
| 5 years | 15.64% | 8.91% | +6.73 |
| 7 years | 22.22% | 14.22% | +8.00 |
| 10 years | 19.97% | 12.79% | +7.18 |
| Since inception (31 May 2016) | 19.98% | 13.34% | +6.64 |
Information as at 30 September 2026. Past performance as reported by the manager. TWRR, net of all fees and expenses, before income tax. Returns up to one year are absolute, longer periods annualised. From Buoyant’s PMS factsheet, September 2026 (Bloomberg for the index); the same figures appear in APMI data as on 30 September 2026.
Your own return can differ from these aggregate figures because of when you invest and withdraw. Kalviro’s guide to PMS performance metrics explains TWRR, beta and rolling returns.
Rolling returns: how often Buoyant Capital PMS stayed ahead
| Rolling window | Periods measured | Average (PMS) | Average (BSE 500 TRI) | Share of periods ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 year | 3,411 | 25.2% | 15.6% | 65% |
| 3 years | 2,681 | 21.0% | 15.2% | 83% |
| 5 years | 1,950 | 23.3% | 16.4% | 97% |
| 7 years | 1,220 | 20.7% | 15.2% | 100% |
Information as at 30 September 2026. Daily rolling observations, % a year, from Buoyant’s September 2026 investor presentation.
The one-year figures show the other side. The best one-year window returned 133.4% and the worst lost 43.0%, against 102.1% and -33.3% for the index. An investor who needs the money within a year or two takes that range of outcomes.
What the Buoyant Capital PMS holds and who runs it
The five largest holdings at 30 September 2026 were ICICI Bank, Axis Bank, State Bank of India, Bharti Airtel and Bajaj Finance. Only the top five are public, and the portfolio holds 30 to 35 stocks in total.
Three chartered accountants founded the firm in 2016. Jigar Mistry led research at HSBC and worked at Kotak Institutional Equities. Sachin Khivasara covered autos, capital goods and mid and small caps at Nippon AMC, Edelweiss and Enam. Viral Berawala was CIO at Nippon Life Insurance. Buoyant’s August 2026 flyer notes that the directors and their families invest through the same framework.
The Buoyant Capital AIF series
The AIF runs the same research in a Category III open-ended fund. Buoyant has launched five series:
| Series | Inception | Minimum | Holdings |
|---|---|---|---|
| Buoyant Opportunities Strategy | 19 November 2022 | ₹1 crore | 30–35 |
| Strategy II | 31 March 2025 | ₹1 crore | 30–35 |
| Strategy III | 15 February 2026 | ₹1 crore | 30–35 |
| Large Value Fund | 28 May 2026 | ₹25 crore | 15 |
| Strategy IV | 16 July 2026 | ₹1 crore | 30–35 |
Information as of 10 October 2026, from Buoyant Capital’s products page.
Buoyant’s September 2026 AIF factsheet shows Series I at 18.35% a year since November 2022, against 10.23% for the BSE 500 TRI over the same window, and Series II at 11.87% a year since March 2025, against 3.11%. Series III returned 0.33% since February 2026, an absolute figure as it is under a year old, against -4.75%. The manager states these returns before tax, expenses and fees at fund level, so they are not directly comparable with the PMS figures, which are net of fees. The AIF record is also much shorter: under four years against more than ten for the PMS.
Tax: Buoyant Capital PMS vs AIF
In the PMS, each sale is a taxable event for you. For FY 2026-27, long-term gains on listed shares above ₹1.25 lakh a year are taxed at 12.5% and short-term gains at 20%. You see every trade in your capital-gains statement, and NRIs face tax deducted on each sale.
In the Category III AIF, the fund pays the tax on its gains and you hold units whose value is already after that tax. Fund-level tax can apply at the highest rates, so the result for an investor in a lower bracket may be worse than holding the same shares directly. Kalviro’s note on Category III AIFs for NRIs covers the NRI side. A tax professional should model both before you choose.
How Buoyant Capital PMS and AIF compare for an investor
| Point | PMS | AIF |
|---|---|---|
| Minimum | ₹50 lakh | ₹1 crore |
| Ownership and reporting | Each stock and trade visible | Fund NAV and unit statement |
| Tax administration | Yours, sale by sale | The fund’s |
| Track record | Since May 2016 | Since November 2022 |
| Liquidity | No lock-in or exit load | No exit load; exits on the PPM’s schedule |
Information as of 30 September 2026, from Buoyant’s September 2026 factsheet and products page.
This structure needs ₹50 lakh for the PMS or ₹1 crore for the AIF, with a horizon of three to five years as Buoyant states. Kalviro’s comparison of PMS vs AIF covers the choice of structure in general.
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Questions investors ask about the two Buoyant routes
Is Buoyant Capital registered with SEBI? Yes. Buoyant Capital Private Limited is a SEBI-registered portfolio manager (INP000005000) and manages a Category III AIF (IN/AIF3/22-23/1125).
What does Buoyant Capital PMS charge? The fee schedule sits in the disclosure document and is not public. The September 2026 factsheet confirms there is no entry or exit load.
How has Buoyant Opportunities PMS performed? As at 30 September 2026, 19.98% a year since May 2016, net of fees, against 13.34% for the BSE 500 TRI, as reported by the manager.
Can NRIs invest? The September 2026 factsheet is addressed to Indian residents and to NRIs eligible to invest under FEMA. The account route and tax deducted on sales differ for NRIs.
Does this article say which route to pick? No. It sets out how the two differ. Your tax bracket, residency and how much visibility you want decide the fit, so check the documents and the tax position with a professional.
The PMS gives direct ownership, a record of more than ten years and a ₹50 lakh entry point, with tax paid sale by sale. The AIF trades that visibility for pooled units, fund-level tax and a shorter record from ₹1 crore. Kalviro’s PMS in India and AIFs in India pages list the strategies on offer.