Indian investors have traditionally preferred domestic investments like equity Mutual Funds, fixed deposits, and Real Estate. But in today’s interconnected world, relying only on India’s growth story can be limiting. International Mutual Funds give you a chance to invest in global markets — from Silicon Valley’s tech giants like Apple and Microsoft to Europe’s luxury brands and Asia’s fast-growing economies.
With the Indian economy becoming more globalised and investors looking for smarter diversification, International Mutual Funds are emerging as an attractive option in 2025. This guide explains everything — meaning, benefits, risks, taxation, best-performing funds, and whether you should add them to your Portfolio.
International Mutual Funds are schemes that invest in companies outside India. Instead of buying foreign shares directly (which requires opening a global Trading Account and dealing with complex taxation), you can invest in such companies through Indian AMCs (Asset Management Companies).
Feeder Funds – Indian AMCs collect money from investors and channel it into an overseas fund. Example: Franklin India Feeder – Franklin U.S. Opportunities Fund.
fund of funds (FoFs) – A fund that invests in another international mutual fund, ETF, or index abroad.
Direct International Equity Funds – A few funds may directly buy foreign stocks (less common).
Putting all your money in India means your wealth depends solely on how the Indian economy performs. Global exposure spreads risk. For example, if Indian IT underperforms but U.S. tech thrives, international funds balance your portfolio.
Think about this: India doesn’t have companies like Apple, Tesla, Microsoft, Amazon, or NVIDIA listed on NSE/BSE. International funds give access to these global leaders.
If the Indian Rupee depreciates against the U.S. Dollar (which historically it has — from ₹45/USD in 2010 to ~₹83/USD in 2025), your international fund value rises in INR terms.
Global themes like Artificial Intelligence, Electric Vehicles, Green Energy, Biotechnology, and Semiconductors can be tapped into via such funds.
Different economies move differently. For instance, when India faced COVID shocks in 2020, U.S. tech rallied. This balance helps reduce Volatility.
Currency Fluctuations – A strong rupee may reduce your returns.
Geopolitical Risks – Wars, trade disputes, sanctions can affect global companies.
Regulatory Risks – India’s RBI and SEBI impose limits under the Liberalised Remittance Scheme (LRS).
Higher Expense Ratios – Because of fund-of-fund structures and foreign management costs.
Concentration Risk – Many funds are U.S.-centric; you may lack true global diversification.
With the permission of Reserve Bank of India (RBI), International Mutual Funds opened up in India in 2007. Each fund is allowed to get a corpus of USD 500 million.
International Mutual Funds follow a master-feeder structure. A master-feeder structure is a three-tier structure where investors place their money in the feeder fund which then invests in the master fund. The master fund then invests the money in the market. A feeder fund is based on-shore i.e. in India, whereas, the master fund is based off-shore (in a foreign geography like Luxembourg etc).
A master fund can have multiple feeder funds. For example,
There are certain things to be kept in mind while choosing a suitable fund.
Fund Selection Methodology used to find 9 funds
Fund NAV Net Assets (Cr) Min SIP Investment 3 MO (%) 6 MO (%) 1 YR (%) 3 YR (%) 5 YR (%) 2024 (%) DSP World Gold Fund Growth ₹40.789
↓ -0.08 ₹1,212 500 29.2 61.3 81.3 47.4 12.5 DSP World Mining Fund Growth ₹21.1597
↑ 0.15 ₹133 500 21.2 30.4 30.9 16.9 14.1 Edelweiss Emerging Markets Opportunities Equity Off-shore Fund Growth ₹19.414
↑ 0.09 ₹133 1,000 15.2 23.5 29.2 15.3 5.5 DSP US Flexible Equity Fund Growth ₹70.4547
↓ -0.49 ₹989 500 15 29.8 29 22.4 17.8 Kotak Global Emerging Market Fund Growth ₹28.945
↑ 0.15 ₹106 1,000 16.4 26.5 28.4 16 8.9 Aditya Birla Sun Life International Equity Fund - Plan A Growth ₹44.734
↓ -0.29 ₹229 1,000 10.7 19.4 26.4 18 12.4 Edelweiss Europe Dynamic Equity Off-shore Fund Growth ₹25.058
↓ -0.09 ₹132 1,000 3.8 17.3 26.1 24.3 16.1 Sundaram Global Advantage Fund Growth ₹37.1532
↑ 0.03 ₹126 100 9.1 15.6 22.3 20.9 13.2 Note: Returns up to 1 year are on absolute basis & more than 1 year are on CAGR basis. as on 16 Sep 25 Research Highlights & Commentary of 8 Funds showcased
Commentary DSP World Gold Fund DSP World Mining Fund Edelweiss Emerging Markets Opportunities Equity Off-shore Fund DSP US Flexible Equity Fund Kotak Global Emerging Market Fund Aditya Birla Sun Life International Equity Fund - Plan A Edelweiss Europe Dynamic Equity Off-shore Fund Sundaram Global Advantage Fund Point 1 Highest AUM (₹1,212 Cr). Upper mid AUM (₹133 Cr). Lower mid AUM (₹133 Cr). Top quartile AUM (₹989 Cr). Bottom quartile AUM (₹106 Cr). Upper mid AUM (₹229 Cr). Lower mid AUM (₹132 Cr). Bottom quartile AUM (₹126 Cr). Point 2 Oldest track record among peers (18 yrs). Established history (15+ yrs). Established history (11+ yrs). Established history (13+ yrs). Established history (17+ yrs). Established history (17+ yrs). Established history (11+ yrs). Established history (18+ yrs). Point 3 Rating: 3★ (top quartile). Rating: 3★ (upper mid). Rating: 3★ (upper mid). Top rated. Rating: 3★ (lower mid). Rating: 2★ (bottom quartile). Rating: 3★ (lower mid). Rating: 2★ (bottom quartile). Point 4 Risk profile: High. Risk profile: High. Risk profile: High. Risk profile: High. Risk profile: High. Risk profile: High. Risk profile: High. Risk profile: High. Point 5 5Y return: 12.50% (lower mid). 5Y return: 14.10% (upper mid). 5Y return: 5.52% (bottom quartile). 5Y return: 17.77% (top quartile). 5Y return: 8.90% (bottom quartile). 5Y return: 12.45% (lower mid). 5Y return: 16.08% (top quartile). 5Y return: 13.22% (upper mid). Point 6 3Y return: 47.44% (top quartile). 3Y return: 16.87% (lower mid). 3Y return: 15.33% (bottom quartile). 3Y return: 22.36% (upper mid). 3Y return: 15.96% (bottom quartile). 3Y return: 18.04% (lower mid). 3Y return: 24.28% (top quartile). 3Y return: 20.94% (upper mid). Point 7 1Y return: 81.29% (top quartile). 1Y return: 30.94% (top quartile). 1Y return: 29.21% (upper mid). 1Y return: 28.97% (upper mid). 1Y return: 28.39% (lower mid). 1Y return: 26.40% (lower mid). 1Y return: 26.07% (bottom quartile). 1Y return: 22.31% (bottom quartile). Point 8 Alpha: 2.80 (top quartile). Alpha: 0.00 (upper mid). Alpha: -4.15 (bottom quartile). Alpha: -1.71 (lower mid). Alpha: -1.94 (bottom quartile). Alpha: 5.36 (top quartile). Alpha: 0.00 (upper mid). Alpha: 0.00 (lower mid). Point 9 Sharpe: 1.56 (top quartile). Sharpe: 0.23 (bottom quartile). Sharpe: 0.80 (lower mid). Sharpe: 0.78 (lower mid). Sharpe: 0.99 (upper mid). Sharpe: 1.37 (top quartile). Sharpe: 1.27 (upper mid). Sharpe: 0.73 (bottom quartile). Point 10 Information ratio: -0.56 (lower mid). Information ratio: 0.00 (top quartile). Information ratio: -1.20 (bottom quartile). Information ratio: -0.40 (upper mid). Information ratio: -0.67 (lower mid). Information ratio: -1.05 (bottom quartile). Information ratio: 0.00 (top quartile). Information ratio: 0.00 (upper mid). DSP World Gold Fund
DSP World Mining Fund
Edelweiss Emerging Markets Opportunities Equity Off-shore Fund
DSP US Flexible Equity Fund
Kotak Global Emerging Market Fund
Aditya Birla Sun Life International Equity Fund - Plan A
Edelweiss Europe Dynamic Equity Off-shore Fund
Sundaram Global Advantage Fund
All the funds mentioned above are ideal, we are giving you detailed analysis of 4 funds.
"The primary investment objective of the Scheme is to seek capital appreciation by investing predominantly in units of MLIIF - WGF. The Scheme may, at the discretion of the Investment Manager, also invest in the units of other similar overseas mutual fund schemes, which may constitute a significant part of its corpus. The Scheme may also invest a certain portion of its corpus in money market securities and/or units of money market/liquid schemes of DSP Merrill Lynch Mutual Fund, in order to meet liquidity requirements from time to time. However, there is no assurance that the investment objective of the Scheme will be realized." Research Highlights for DSP World Gold Fund Below is the key information for DSP World Gold Fund Returns up to 1 year are on The primary investment objective of the Scheme is to seek capital appreciation by investing predominantly in the units of BlackRock Global Funds – World Mining Fund. The Scheme may, at the discretion of the Investment Manager, also invest in the units of other similar overseas mutual fund schemes, which may
constitute a significant part of its corpus. The Scheme may also invest a certain portion of its corpus in money market securities and/or money market/liquid schemes of DSP BlackRock Mutual Fund, in order to meet liquidity requirements from time to time. Research Highlights for DSP World Mining Fund Below is the key information for DSP World Mining Fund Returns up to 1 year are on The primary investment objective of the Scheme is to seek to provide long term capital growth by investing predominantly in the JPMorgan Funds - Emerging Markets Opportunities Fund, an equity fund which invests primarily in an aggressively managed portfolio of emerging market companies Research Highlights for Edelweiss Emerging Markets Opportunities Equity Off-shore Fund Below is the key information for Edelweiss Emerging Markets Opportunities Equity Off-shore Fund Returns up to 1 year are on The primary investment objective of the Scheme is to seek capital appreciation by investing predominantly in units of BGF – USFEF. The Scheme may, at the discretion of the Investment Manager also invest in the units of other similar overseas mutual fund schemes, which may constitute a significant part of its corpus. The Scheme may also invest a certain portion of its corpus in money market securities and/or money market/liquid schemes of DSP BlackRock Mutual Fund, in order to meet liquidity requirements from time to time. However, there is no assurance that the investment objective of the Scheme will be realized. It shall be noted ‘similar overseas mutual fund schemes’ shall have investment objective, investment strategy and risk profile/consideration similar to those of BGF – USFEF. Research Highlights for DSP US Flexible Equity Fund Below is the key information for DSP US Flexible Equity Fund Returns up to 1 year are on 1. DSP World Gold Fund
DSP World Gold Fund
Growth Launch Date 14 Sep 07 NAV (16 Sep 25) ₹40.789 ↓ -0.08 (-0.20 %) Net Assets (Cr) ₹1,212 on 31 Jul 25 Category Equity - Global AMC DSP BlackRock Invmt Managers Pvt. Ltd. Rating ☆☆☆ Risk High Expense Ratio 1.41 Sharpe Ratio 1.56 Information Ratio -0.56 Alpha Ratio 2.8 Min Investment 1,000 Min SIP Investment 500 Exit Load 0-12 Months (1%),12 Months and above(NIL) Growth of 10,000 investment over the years.
Date Value 31 Aug 20 ₹10,000 31 Aug 21 ₹7,754 31 Aug 22 ₹5,954 31 Aug 23 ₹7,515 31 Aug 24 ₹9,830 31 Aug 25 ₹16,461 Returns for DSP World Gold Fund
absolute basis
& more than 1 year are on CAGR (Compound Annual Growth Rate)
basis. as on 16 Sep 25 Duration Returns 1 Month 20.3% 3 Month 29.2% 6 Month 61.3% 1 Year 81.3% 3 Year 47.4% 5 Year 12.5% 10 Year 15 Year Since launch 8.1% Historical performance (Yearly) on absolute basis
Year Returns 2024 2023 2022 2021 2020 2019 2018 2017 2016 2015 Fund Manager information for DSP World Gold Fund
Name Since Tenure Jay Kothari 1 Mar 13 12.51 Yr. Data below for DSP World Gold Fund as on 31 Jul 25
Equity Sector Allocation
Sector Value Basic Materials 95.27% Asset Allocation
Asset Class Value Cash 1.87% Equity 95.34% Debt 0.01% Other 2.79% Top Securities Holdings / Portfolio
Name Holding Value Quantity BGF World Gold I2
Investment Fund | -78% ₹942 Cr 1,578,535
↓ -32,363 VanEck Gold Miners ETF
- | GDX21% ₹259 Cr 573,719 Treps / Reverse Repo Investments
CBLO/Reverse Repo | -1% ₹13 Cr Net Receivables/Payables
Net Current Assets | -0% -₹2 Cr 2. DSP World Mining Fund
DSP World Mining Fund
Growth Launch Date 29 Dec 09 NAV (16 Sep 25) ₹21.1597 ↑ 0.15 (0.70 %) Net Assets (Cr) ₹133 on 31 Jul 25 Category Equity - Global AMC DSP BlackRock Invmt Managers Pvt. Ltd. Rating ☆☆☆ Risk High Expense Ratio 1.14 Sharpe Ratio 0.23 Information Ratio 0 Alpha Ratio 0 Min Investment 1,000 Min SIP Investment 500 Exit Load 0-12 Months (1%),12 Months and above(NIL) Growth of 10,000 investment over the years.
Date Value 31 Aug 20 ₹10,000 31 Aug 21 ₹13,330 31 Aug 22 ₹13,126 31 Aug 23 ₹14,795 31 Aug 24 ₹15,524 31 Aug 25 ₹18,716 Returns for DSP World Mining Fund
absolute basis
& more than 1 year are on CAGR (Compound Annual Growth Rate)
basis. as on 16 Sep 25 Duration Returns 1 Month 11.8% 3 Month 21.2% 6 Month 30.4% 1 Year 30.9% 3 Year 16.9% 5 Year 14.1% 10 Year 15 Year Since launch 4.9% Historical performance (Yearly) on absolute basis
Year Returns 2024 2023 2022 2021 2020 2019 2018 2017 2016 2015 Fund Manager information for DSP World Mining Fund
Name Since Tenure Jay Kothari 1 Mar 13 12.51 Yr. Data below for DSP World Mining Fund as on 31 Jul 25
Equity Sector Allocation
Sector Value Basic Materials 92.39% Energy 1.55% Asset Allocation
Asset Class Value Cash 5.43% Equity 94.53% Debt 0.04% Top Securities Holdings / Portfolio
Name Holding Value Quantity BGF World Mining I2
Investment Fund | -99% ₹132 Cr 196,725
↓ -3,213 Treps / Reverse Repo Investments
CBLO/Reverse Repo | -2% ₹2 Cr Net Receivables/Payables
Net Current Assets | -0% ₹0 Cr 3. Edelweiss Emerging Markets Opportunities Equity Off-shore Fund
Edelweiss Emerging Markets Opportunities Equity Off-shore Fund
Growth Launch Date 7 Jul 14 NAV (16 Sep 25) ₹19.414 ↑ 0.09 (0.47 %) Net Assets (Cr) ₹133 on 31 Jul 25 Category Equity - Global AMC Edelweiss Asset Management Limited Rating ☆☆☆ Risk High Expense Ratio 1.04 Sharpe Ratio 0.8 Information Ratio -1.2 Alpha Ratio -4.15 Min Investment 5,000 Min SIP Investment 1,000 Exit Load 0-1 Years (1%),1 Years and above(NIL) Growth of 10,000 investment over the years.
Date Value 31 Aug 20 ₹10,000 31 Aug 21 ₹11,661 31 Aug 22 ₹9,100 31 Aug 23 ₹9,312 31 Aug 24 ₹10,479 31 Aug 25 ₹12,379 Returns for Edelweiss Emerging Markets Opportunities Equity Off-shore Fund
absolute basis
& more than 1 year are on CAGR (Compound Annual Growth Rate)
basis. as on 16 Sep 25 Duration Returns 1 Month 6.9% 3 Month 15.2% 6 Month 23.5% 1 Year 29.2% 3 Year 15.3% 5 Year 5.5% 10 Year 15 Year Since launch 6.1% Historical performance (Yearly) on absolute basis
Year Returns 2024 2023 2022 2021 2020 2019 2018 2017 2016 2015 Fund Manager information for Edelweiss Emerging Markets Opportunities Equity Off-shore Fund
Name Since Tenure Bhavesh Jain 9 Apr 18 7.4 Yr. Bharat Lahoti 1 Oct 21 3.92 Yr. Data below for Edelweiss Emerging Markets Opportunities Equity Off-shore Fund as on 31 Jul 25
Equity Sector Allocation
Sector Value Financial Services 29.58% Technology 25.68% Consumer Cyclical 18.63% Communication Services 9.23% Industrials 4.81% Energy 4.12% Consumer Defensive 2.59% Health Care 1.52% Real Estate 1.25% Basic Materials 0.31% Utility 0.11% Asset Allocation
Asset Class Value Cash 2.18% Equity 97.82% Top Securities Holdings / Portfolio
Name Holding Value Quantity JPM Emerging Mkts Opps I (acc) USD
Investment Fund | -100% ₹133 Cr 94,755
↑ 570 Clearing Corporation Of India Ltd.
CBLO/Reverse Repo | -1% ₹1 Cr Net Receivables/(Payables)
CBLO | -0% ₹0 Cr Accrued Interest
CBLO | -0% ₹0 Cr 4. DSP US Flexible Equity Fund
DSP US Flexible Equity Fund
Growth Launch Date 3 Aug 12 NAV (16 Sep 25) ₹70.4547 ↓ -0.49 (-0.70 %) Net Assets (Cr) ₹989 on 31 Jul 25 Category Equity - Global AMC DSP BlackRock Invmt Managers Pvt. Ltd. Rating ☆☆☆☆☆ Risk High Expense Ratio 1.55 Sharpe Ratio 0.78 Information Ratio -0.4 Alpha Ratio -1.71 Min Investment 1,000 Min SIP Investment 500 Exit Load 0-12 Months (1%),12 Months and above(NIL) Growth of 10,000 investment over the years.
Date Value 31 Aug 20 ₹10,000 31 Aug 21 ₹12,790 31 Aug 22 ₹12,729 31 Aug 23 ₹14,669 31 Aug 24 ₹17,491 31 Aug 25 ₹21,484 Returns for DSP US Flexible Equity Fund
absolute basis
& more than 1 year are on CAGR (Compound Annual Growth Rate)
basis. as on 16 Sep 25 Duration Returns 1 Month 4.2% 3 Month 15% 6 Month 29.8% 1 Year 29% 3 Year 22.4% 5 Year 17.8% 10 Year 15 Year Since launch 16% Historical performance (Yearly) on absolute basis
Year Returns 2024 2023 2022 2021 2020 2019 2018 2017 2016 2015 Fund Manager information for DSP US Flexible Equity Fund
Name Since Tenure Jay Kothari 1 Mar 13 12.51 Yr. Data below for DSP US Flexible Equity Fund as on 31 Jul 25
Equity Sector Allocation
Sector Value Technology 31.34% Financial Services 17.84% Communication Services 14.32% Health Care 11.78% Consumer Cyclical 9.65% Industrials 6.96% Basic Materials 3.03% Energy 2.85% Asset Allocation
Asset Class Value Cash 2.23% Equity 97.76% Debt 0.01% Top Securities Holdings / Portfolio
Name Holding Value Quantity BGF US Flexible Equity I2
Investment Fund | -99% ₹980 Cr 2,024,037 Treps / Reverse Repo Investments
CBLO/Reverse Repo | -1% ₹10 Cr Net Receivables/Payables
Net Current Assets | -0% -₹1 Cr
These invest in developing economies such as China, Brazil, South Korea, Taiwan and India. Emerging markets offer faster growth potential, young demographics and rising consumption — but also carry higher volatility and political risk. Examples: Franklin Asian Equity FoF, Kotak Global Emerging Market Fund.
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These invest in stable economies like the US, Japan and Europe. Developed markets tend to be more resilient during global uncertainty and provide access to global leaders (Apple, Microsoft, Toyota, Nestlé, etc.). Examples: Motilal Oswal S&P 500 Index FoF, Nippon India Japan Equity Fund.
Focused on one nation’s equity market. These are higher risk since all exposure is tied to a single economy, but can deliver strong returns if that market performs well. Examples: Kotak US Equity FoF, Mirae Asset China Advantage Fund.
Invest in commodities like gold, silver, energy or agriculture. They provide an inflation hedge and low correlation with equity. Examples: DSP World Gold Fund, Kotak Global Energy FoF.
Target a global theme — e.g., technology, healthcare, energy, real assets, or ESG. Broader than sector funds, thematic funds spread investments across multiple industries tied to the same theme. Examples: Edelweiss US Technology Equity FoF, L&T Global Real Assets Fund.
Geographic diversification — Over-concentration in any single economy raises risk; global fund spread it.
Access to global leaders & themes — Apple, Microsoft, Nvidia, Tesla, advanced semiconductor firms and global biotech companies are easier to access via international funds.
Currency hedge — If INR weakens vs USD, overseas investments gain in INR terms (on top of market returns).
Participation in long-term megatrends — AI, EVs, cloud, green energy and semiconductors have most depth outside India today.
Portfolio smoothing — Different economies and sectors often move out of sync, reducing portfolio volatility.
Common planner guidance for retail investors: 5–15% of total investible assets in international equities/FoFs. For more aggressive investors or HNIs who already have large domestic exposure, this can be higher. Keep the bulk in Indian equity + debt for local goals and stability. (This is a rule of thumb — adapt to risk appetite and Financial goals.)
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According to experts, an investor should have around 10-12% of the portfolio invested in international mutual funds. So with the basics covered now, start building up that portfolio with international mutual funds today.
International mutual funds are a convenient, regulated route for Indian investors to own global companies and themes. They provide diversification, access to non-Indian market leaders, and an effective currency hedge — but they come with tax, currency and theme-concentration risks. For most retail investors, a measured exposure (5–15%) combined with SIP discipline and a long-term view will work well.
A: Many international FoFs are treated as “specified mutual funds” under Section 50AA; units acquired on/after 1 April 2023 are typically taxed as short-term gains at slab rates. Check the AMC factsheet and AMFI guidance for specifics.
A: Yes — via international brokers (Vested, INDmoney, Hatch) or by Investing in India-domiciled FoFs/ETFs that replicate US ETFs. Direct purchases are subject to LRS limits and additional compliance.
A: Nasdaq is tech-heavy (higher growth, higher volatility). S&P 500 is broader and less concentrated. Choose based on risk tolerance and time horizon.
A: SEBI sets industry-level overseas headroom (historically adjustments in 2020/2021 and temporary pauses in 2022). AMCs may pause inflows if headroom is exhausted. Always check AMC notices.
Very good article I got all the required information.