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When Debasish Mishra took charge as managing director and chief executive officer of SBI Funds Management, the initial public offering (IPO) was already underway. After the listing, the fund house is turning its attention to the next phase—strengthening post-IPO compliance, risk management and business development, while expanding its reach across B100 cities and overseas markets such as Dubai. During the IPO outreach, Mishra said cities such as Rajkot, Indore and Coimbatore saw encouraging investor interest, while the fund house is also looking closely at Dubai. Obtaining the appropriate fund management licence in the Gulf city, he said, would help make the business more structured and strengthen its institutional framework for investors. Edited excerpts: Where do you see Indian equities headed in the coming months? The near-term environment is likely to remain influenced by earnings, global interest rates, energy costs and geopolitical developments. In my view, the earnings trajectory will increasingly be important in determining the direction of Indian equities. The encouraging aspect is that the earnings cycle has begun to recover, with broad-based growth across key sectors. Large-cap valuations have also moderated from earlier levels, while domestic investment flows continue to provide resilience to the market. Therefore, the outlook remains constructive, but investors should continue to approach equities with a long-term perspective and an understanding of market volatility. How have your conversations with family offices and institutional investors been? The conversations have been extremely encouraging. I have met several family offices and institutional investors, and what stood out was the quality of their questions. Their focus was not just on returns, but on value creation and governance, how research works, how investment ideas are evaluated, valuations assessed and research translated into investment decisions. This tells us something important about the evolving investor. Sophisticated investors increasingly want to understand the process behind the outcome, seeking transparency, consistency and confidence in how their money is managed. You have seen strong traction in specialized investment funds. What does that tell you about investors? The successful launch of our second strategy, the Magnum Equity ex-Top 100 Long Short Fund, which mobilised over ₹1,150 crore last month, shows how investor behaviour is evolving. Nearly one-third of the flows came from B30 cities, which is significant for a specialised strategy. It shows that investment awareness is expanding beyond traditional financial centres, with investors in emerging markets increasingly willing to explore differentiated solutions when they are appropriately explained and aligned with their risk profiles. Why are you focusing on B100 cities? The T30 and B30 landscapes will continue to evolve, with some B30 cities eventually moving into T30. We therefore need to build a strong pipeline of financially aware investors across emerging centres. The remaining B100 cities offer significant scope for investor education and participation, and SBI’s strong branch presence across B30 and B100 locations gives us a foundation to reach investors closer to where they live and work. During our IPO outreach, we saw encouraging investor interest in cities such as Rajkot, Indore and Coimbatore. There are many other prosperous centres, including Warangal, Vijayawada, Raipur and Nagpur, where structured investor education and engagement can help participation grow. What is the opportunity you see in portfolio management services and alternative investment funds? We see meaningful opportunities across alternatives. PMS (portfolio management services) is already an important part of our platform, where we are the largest provider in India by assets under management. We are also looking seriously at AIFs and have already launched two Category III AIFs. Going forward, we see opportunities across private equity, private credit, and infrastructure, including real estate, Reits (Real Estate Investment Trusts) and InvITs (Infrastructure Investment Trusts). We have created a dedicated team for these areas. The broader objective is to offer investors a wider range of professionally managed solutions as their financial needs evolve. What is your outlook on global investing and international expansion? Our partnership with Amundi gives us access to one of the world's leading asset management ecosystems and a broad international platform. With an extensive presence across Europe and operations spanning 34 countries, Amundi enables us to think beyond any single international market. Currently, we have offshore mandates/clients across Japan, Paris, Dubai, London, Singapore, and Hong Kong, along with SBI Funds International (IFSC) Ltd in GIFT City. We see GIFT City as an important platform for developing investment solutions for overseas markets. International expansion is therefore one of our new growth areas. Is Dubai a market you are looking at closely? Yes, Dubai is an important market for us. During the IPO period, we visited Dubai and Abu Dhabi and met a number of investors. We also have an established team in Dubai that has been present for more than 15 years, and has considerable experience in distributing Indian investment products. Obtaining the appropriate fund management licence will enable us to make the business more structured and enhance the institutional framework for investors. The transition to a fund management platform will also provide greater clarity around investment objectives, products, disclosures and the solutions we offer. We see Dubai not only as an important market in its own right, but also as a key part of our broader international growth strategy. What are your thoughts on systematic investment plans, especially after the market volatility of the past two years? The growth of systematic investment plans (SIPs) is one of the clearest examples of the democratisation of investment in India. When I started my banking career, customers looking to save every month would typically ask for a recurring deposit (RD). Today, the conversation increasingly centres on SIPs. Industry SIP flows are around ₹32,297 crore per month as of August 2026, while we get nearly ₹3,900 crore, indicating growing acceptance of disciplined, long-term investing. However, SIPs are not the same as RDs, and their value can fluctuate. They must therefore be offered with proper investor education and aligned with the customer’s risk profile and long-term goals. Digital delivery can make SIPs and other investment solutions more accessible, but technology must go hand in hand with education and suitability. For a typical middle-class investor, diversified hybrid solutions may be relevant, while those with a higher risk appetite and an understanding of market volatility may consider equity-oriented solutions. What is your view on fixed-income investments in the current environment? Fixed income has experienced a relatively subdued period in recent months, and we continue to closely monitor the outlook for government securities and bonds by assessing the macroeconomy, the broader world economy, and individual industries. While the industry has experienced pressure in fixed income, our own business has remained broadly stable, and we continue to look for ways to improve. At the same time, we are focusing on solutions that can help investors manage risk across different market environments. Hybrid products, for example, combine a debt component with exposure to other asset classes and can therefore play an important role depending on an investor's risk appetite and financial objectives.
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