Portfolio Management Services
That floor is set by SEBI, not by any manager, and it cannot be waived. Below it, PMS is not open to you, and mutual funds are the managed option that is. Above it, PMS becomes worth understanding properly, because what you gain and what you give up are both real.
The actual difference
Seven things that change when you move from a fund to PMS.
Four of them are harder, not easier. Marked so you can see them.
| Mutual fund | PMS | |
|---|---|---|
| Minimum | ₹500 a month | ₹50 lakh, set by SEBIHarder with PMS |
| What you own | Units of a pooled fund | The shares themselves, in your own demat account |
| Tax | Only when you redeem your units | Every sale the manager makes is your taxable event, in the year it happensHarder with PMS |
| Portfolio visibility | Disclosed monthly, for the whole fund | Your own holdings, visible any day |
| Customisation | None — everyone holds the same portfolio | Can exclude sectors or stocks you do not want |
| Cost | One expense ratio, capped by SEBI | Fixed fee, profit share, or both — plus brokerage and custody, billed separatelyHarder with PMS |
| Getting out | Redeem any working day | Exit terms vary by manager; a partial withdrawal must leave ₹50 lakh behindHarder with PMS |
The tax row is the one people underestimate. In a mutual fund you are taxed when you sell your units. In PMS the shares are yours, so every time the manager books a profit it lands on your return that year — even if you never took a rupee out.
Three kinds
How much control you hand over.
Discretionary
The common one
The manager buys and sells without asking you each time. You see everything after the fact. Most PMS money in India sits here — it is also the version that demands the most trust.
Non-discretionary
You approve each trade
The manager suggests each trade, you decide, they execute. Slower, and it only works if you are genuinely available to respond.
Advisory
Ideas only
You get the manager's trade ideas and place the trades yourself. Rare in practice, because most people who can afford PMS are buying the fact that they do not have to.
Rules on your side
What SEBI already stops a manager doing.
- Every portfolio manager is registered with SEBI and re-registers every three years
- A portfolio manager must hold at least ₹5 crore of net worth
- Equity portfolios cannot be leveraged
- Discretionary portfolios cannot hold unlisted securities
- Money invested in the manager's own group companies is capped at 30% of your portfolio, and needs your consent
Questions
The three worth asking first.
PMS gives you the shares themselves in your own demat account, a portfolio that can be shaped around you, and daily visibility. It needs at least ₹50 lakh, usually charges a fixed fee, a profit share or both, plus brokerage and custody, taxes you on every sale the manager makes in the year it happens, and has exit terms that vary by manager. A mutual fund starts from ₹500 a month, has one expense ratio capped by SEBI, and in the growth option is taxed only when you redeem. Most open-ended funds can be redeemed on any working day (ELSS has a 3-year lock-in). Both carry market risk. The table above sets the differences side by side.
SEBI rules on this page were last checked in September 2026. This is general information, not a suggestion to invest in any product or to choose any portfolio manager. Krystal Capitals is an AMFI Registered Mutual Fund Distributor (ARN 272635); portfolio management is provided by SEBI-registered portfolio managers, and any introduction we make is to one of them. Investments in securities markets are subject to market risks.
Build the plan, send it to us, and we'll come back with the funds, the paperwork and an honest opinion. No separate fee, no obligation.
No separate fee · AMFI ARN 272635 · Nagpur