The Central Board of Trustees (CBT) of the Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) have approved that up to 5 per cent of the annual deposits can be invested in alternative investment funds (AIFs) including infrastructure investment trusts (InvITs). This investment will offer diversification to the EPFO’s investment basket.
The Finance Investment and Audit Committee (FIAC) have been tasked to decide upon the investment options, on a case-to-case basis. However, the board has also decided to focus only on government-backed alternatives, which are category one funds like public sector InvITs and bonds. The AIFs are regulated by the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI).