JioBlackRock Mutual Fund Files Draft With Sebi for Income Plus Arbitrage Omni FoF

JioBlackRock Files Draft for New Income Plus Arbitrage FoF

JioBlackRock Mutual Fund has filed draft documents with the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) for a new fund-of-funds scheme named JioBlackRock Income Plus Arbitrage Omni FoF.

According to the draft scheme document, the proposed scheme will be an open-ended fund of funds focused on investing in debt-oriented funds and arbitrage funds. Its stated investment objective is to generate income over the short- to medium-term by investing in active or passive debt-oriented schemes and arbitrage schemes.

SEBI's mutual fund filing records show the JioBlackRock Income Plus Arbitrage Omni FOF as a draft filing dated September 17, 2026.

What Is JioBlackRock Income Plus Arbitrage Omni FoF?

The proposed scheme is structured as a fund of funds (FoF). Instead of directly building a portfolio primarily of individual bonds and equities, the scheme will invest predominantly in units of other mutual fund schemes.

The portfolio is expected to combine two broad investment components:

• Debt-oriented mutual fund schemes

• Arbitrage mutual fund schemes

The objective is to combine the income-generating potential of debt investments with the return opportunities available through arbitrage strategies.

The scheme will be actively managed and the fund managers will consider factors such as interest rates, economic conditions, credit risk, liquidity and arbitrage opportunities while selecting underlying schemes.

How Will the Fund Allocate Its Money?

Under normal circumstances, 95% to 100% of the scheme's assets will be invested in units of debt-oriented and arbitrage schemes.

The proposed allocation is:

Investment CategoryAllocationDebt-oriented schemes35%–65%Arbitrage schemes35%–65%Debt and money-market instruments0%–5%Total in mutual fund units95%–100%

The scheme can invest in suitable debt-oriented and arbitrage schemes managed by JioBlackRock Mutual Fund as well as other fund houses, subject to the conditions specified in the draft document.

What Is the Investment Objective?

The proposed fund aims to generate income by investing in active and passive debt-oriented funds and arbitrage funds.

The debt component can provide exposure to instruments such as government securities, money-market instruments and corporate debt through the underlying schemes. The arbitrage component seeks to benefit from price differences between the cash and futures markets.

However, the scheme document does not guarantee that its investment objective will be achieved.

What Is the Benchmark?

The proposed fund will be benchmarked against a combination of debt and arbitrage indices.

The benchmark composition is:

60% NIFTY Composite Debt Index + 40% Nifty 50 Arbitrage Index (TRI)

This blended benchmark reflects the proposed strategy of combining debt-oriented and arbitrage investments within a single fund-of-funds structure.

Who Will Manage the Fund?

The proposed scheme will be managed by four fund managers:

• Anand Shah

• Haresh Mehta

• Siddharth Deb

• Arun Ramachandran

The managers will be responsible for selecting the underlying schemes and managing the overall allocation between debt-oriented and arbitrage funds.

Direct and Regular Plans to Be Offered

The proposed scheme will offer two plans:

• Direct Plan

• Regular Plan

Both plans will have the Growth option only.

This means investors will not have a dividend or income-distribution option under the proposed scheme according to the draft details reported by Economic Times.

Minimum Investment Starts at Rs 500

The proposed fund is expected to have a relatively low minimum investment requirement.

For a lump-sum investment, the minimum application amount will be Rs 500, with subsequent investments permitted in the specified increments.

The minimum monthly SIP amount will also be Rs 500, with investments allowed in multiples of Re 1 thereafter. A minimum of six SIP instalments will be required under the proposed terms.

What Is an Arbitrage Fund?

Arbitrage funds generally attempt to capture price differences between a security's cash-market price and its futures-market price.

For example, if the same security trades at different prices in the cash and futures markets, an arbitrage strategy can seek to lock in the price difference by simultaneously buying and selling the relevant positions.

Returns from arbitrage strategies can depend on market volatility and the availability of suitable cash-futures spreads. They are not guaranteed and can vary across market conditions.

In the proposed JioBlackRock FoF, investors will receive this exposure indirectly through underlying arbitrage funds rather than necessarily through direct arbitrage positions in the FoF.

Why Combine Debt and Arbitrage?

The proposed structure brings together two different potential sources of returns.

The debt component is intended to provide income through underlying investments in debt-oriented schemes, while the arbitrage component seeks to capture opportunities from price differences between cash and derivatives markets.

This combination can give the fund a different return profile from a traditional equity-oriented fund.

However, the actual performance will depend on the underlying funds selected, interest-rate movements, credit conditions, arbitrage opportunities, expenses and the fund manager's allocation decisions.

What Are the Risks?

Although the proposed scheme is designed around debt and arbitrage investments rather than a conventional equity portfolio, it will still carry investment risks.

According to the draft details reported by Economic Times, the principal invested in the fund is classified as having moderate risk under the riskometer, while the benchmark carries a low-to-moderate risk classification.

Potential risks include:

• Interest-rate risk in the debt component

• Credit risk in underlying debt investments

• Liquidity risk

• Changes in arbitrage opportunities

• Market volatility

• Risks associated with the underlying mutual fund schemes

• Fund-of-fund expenses and underlying scheme expenses

• Asset-allocation decisions

Therefore, the proposed scheme should not be considered equivalent to a bank fixed deposit or a guaranteed-return product.

What Makes This a Fund of Funds?

A fund of funds invests in other mutual fund schemes rather than primarily selecting individual securities itself.

For investors, this can provide access to multiple underlying strategies through a single scheme.

In this case, the proposed JioBlackRock fund will be able to invest in suitable debt-oriented and arbitrage schemes from JioBlackRock Mutual Fund as well as eligible schemes managed by other fund houses.

The FoF structure can also allow the fund manager to change allocations between the debt and arbitrage components depending on market conditions, subject to the scheme's stated limits.

JioBlackRock Expands Its Mutual Fund Product Range

The proposed FoF comes as JioBlackRock Mutual Fund continues to build its product range in India.

The fund house already has several schemes across debt and equity categories. For example, JioBlackRock Short Term Fund was launched in January 2026, while its Ultra Short to Short Term Fund was launched in August 2026.

The new Income Plus Arbitrage Omni FoF would add another product focused on combining debt-oriented and arbitrage strategies.

Is the Fund Available for Investment Yet?

The filing with SEBI is a draft scheme document, meaning the proposed fund is not the same as an already-launched mutual fund available for investment.

SEBI's records list the scheme as a draft mutual fund filing dated September 17, 2026. Investors should therefore wait for the applicable regulatory approvals and official launch documents before considering an investment.

Details such as the final launch date and other applicable terms may be subject to regulatory approval and subsequent scheme documentation.

What Should Investors Check Before Investing?

Once the scheme is launched, investors should examine the final Scheme Information Document and other official documents carefully.

Important factors include:

• Final asset-allocation limits

• Riskometer classification

• Expense ratio

• Exit-load structure

• Underlying fund selection

• Debt portfolio quality

• Duration exposure

• Arbitrage allocation

• Tax treatment

• Fund manager track record

• Investment horizon

• Minimum investment and SIP conditions

Investors should also compare the proposed fund with other income-plus-arbitrage products rather than assessing it only on the basis of the fund house's name or the strategy label.

Bottom Line

JioBlackRock Mutual Fund has filed draft documents with SEBI for the JioBlackRock Income Plus Arbitrage Omni FoF, an open-ended fund-of-funds scheme designed to combine debt-oriented and arbitrage mutual fund strategies.

The proposed scheme will invest 95%–100% in mutual fund units, with debt-oriented and arbitrage funds each allowed an allocation of 35%–65%. It will have Direct and Regular Plans with a Growth option, while the minimum lump-sum and SIP investment amounts are proposed at Rs 500.

Its benchmark will combine the NIFTY Composite Debt Index and Nifty 50 Arbitrage Index (TRI) in a 60:40 ratio. The scheme is intended for investors seeking income over a short- to medium-term horizon, but the investment objective is not guaranteed.

Since the scheme is currently at the draft-filing stage, investors should wait for the final regulatory documents and scheme details before evaluating whether it fits their financial objectives and risk tolerance.