Planning Global Investments? You May Face Limits for Now

Axis MF Suspends Fresh Inflows in Overseas Funds

Axis Mutual Fund has temporarily suspended fresh inflows into select overseas schemes, effective from 6 May, 2026. The restriction applies to:

• Axis Global Equity Alpha Fund of Fund

• Axis Global Innovation Fund of Fund

• Axis Greater China Equity Fund of Fund

The fund house has stopped accepting lump sum investments, switch-ins and fresh registrations for SIPs and STPs. Any requests submitted after 3:00 pm on 5 May 2026, will not be processed.

However, existing SIPs and STPs will continue without disruption and redemptions or switch-outs remain unaffected. The suspension is temporary, with no defined timeline for resumption.

Kotak MF Caps Monthly Inflows Across Four Schemes

Kotak Mahindra Mutual Fund has taken a slightly different approach by capping fresh investments instead of halting completely.

Effective from 30 April 2026, the fund house has limited inflows to ₹1 lakh per PAN per month across the following schemes:

• Kotak Global Emerging Market Overseas Equity Omni FOF

• Kotak Global Innovation Overseas Equity Omni FOF

• Kotak International REIT Overseas Equity Omni FOF

• Kotak Quality Overseas Equity Omni FOF

The cap applies to all fresh and additional investments, including lump sum, switch-ins and new SIP/STP registrations. Existing SIPs and STPs registered before the effective date will continue as usual.

Nippon MF Halts Subscriptions in High-Performing Global Funds

Nippon India Mutual Fund has also temporarily stopped fresh subscriptions in its international offerings, effective from 21 April 2026.

• Nippon India Taiwan Equity Fund

• Nippon India Japan Equity Fund

The suspension covers lump sum investments, switch-ins and fresh registrations of SIPs/STPs. However, existing systematic investments and intra-scheme switches remain unaffected.

Nippon India Taiwan Equity Fund emerged as the top-performing mutual fund scheme of FY26, delivering returns of over 171%.

A monthly SIP of ₹10,000 starting from 1 April  2025 would have grown to ₹2.17 lakh by the end of FY25, delivering an XIRR of 182.81%. Similarly, a lump sum investment of ₹1 lakh made on 1 April, 2025, would have grown to ₹2.70 lakh, reflecting a CAGR of 170.78%.

Why Are Fund Houses Stopping Overseas Investments?

The restrictions are due to limits set by SEBI, which cap the mutual fund industry’s overseas investments at $7 billion, with a separate $1 billion limit for ETFs.

These are combined industry limits, not for individual funds or fund houses. Every investment made abroad by any mutual fund in India adds to this overall cap.

These limits were introduced to control excessive foreign exchange outflows and reduce pressure on the rupee. $7 billion cap has been in place since 2008, when SEBI and the Reserve Bank of India introduced it to manage currency volatility and protect foreign exchange reserves.

Similarly, $1 billion limit for overseas ETFs is also a shared pool. Once this is fully utilised, no further investments can be made into overseas ETF schemes.

As most of the limit already been utilised, fund houses currently have very limited room to accept fresh investments in international schemes.

What This Means for Investors?

The recent moves by different fund houses point to an industry-wide limitation, not issues with any single scheme. With most of the regulatory limit already used, it may be difficult for investors to put fresh money into overseas mutual funds for now.

Existing investments will continue as usual, but new investors may have to wait until limits are revised or more headroom becomes available.

Overall, this shows that demand for global diversification remains strong, but it is currently constrained by regulatory caps.