Frequently Asked Questions
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What are the reports I will receive as a PMS client?
- Quarterly reports covering fund performance, holdings, transactions, dividends, and key updates.
- Deloitte Haskins & Sells LLP audits client accounts annually and provides certified financial and tax statements.
- Daily PMS NAV, returns, and sector-wise portfolio data are available through the website.
- Direct access to relationship managers and the management team for queries and support.
A quarterly report will be provided when you invest in PMS, which will include:
- Macroeconomic commentary by the Fund Manager
- Return statistics of the PMS funds portfolio
- PMS investment account holdings and transactions statements
- Dividends and income information
- Any other pertinent information regarding the PMS services
Deloitte Haskins & Sells LLP has been appointed to audit all clients’ accounts of the Portfolio Management Services in India and produce a certified set of statements including balance sheet and P&L for the PMS investment account after the end of each fiscal year. This will include tax information and capital gains statements to help file your tax returns.
Once you invest in PMS, you will get login credentials to our website shepherdshill.in where you will be able to see high level PMS NAV and return data on a daily basis, in addition to sector-wise portfolio composition.
For any queries, clarifications, or details you can easily access our relationship managers and management team, as we are a small firm.
What are the tax implications of investing in a PMS?
Taxes on PMS investments are similar to direct investments, mainly involving capital gains and dividends. Tax rates may vary based on individual circumstances, so consult a qualified chartered accountant for advice.
Taxes in your PMS India / PMS schemes accounts are the same as if you were investing directly through your personal account. The main income in your PMS India accounts will be capital gains and dividends. Tax rates on these incomes are subject to change from time to time and will depend on your individual circumstances when you invest in PMS. Please consult a certified chartered accountant for tax advice regarding your PMS investment.
What is the investment process and how do you select companies in the PMS?
- Screening & Short-listing: Use proprietary tools to identify high-quality companies for further research.
- Checklist Verification: Review potential investments for key red flags and governance concerns.
- Financial Analysis: Analyse financial performance, profitability, debt, returns, and dividends using historical data.
- Qualitative Research: Evaluate management quality, business strengths, and stakeholder relationships.
- Comparative Analysis: Compare shortlisted opportunities based on attractiveness, sector exposure, and portfolio fit.
- Decision Point: Select investments after considering all factors, with entry price as a key consideration.
- Continuous Monitoring: Regularly monitor individual investments and overall portfolio risks.
The following are the steps in our PMS investment process:
Screening and Short-listing. We use proprietary screening tools and software to focus on only those companies in India that we believe merit further research and analysis. With approximately 5,000 listed companies on the India exchanges, the PMS focuses research on a high-quality subset with the goal of achieving operational efficiencies.
Checklist Verification. The Portfolio Management Services team will employ a proprietary checklist to identify any red flags that appear with respect to a potential investment. Issues for scrutiny include related party transactions, joint ventures, equity or debt investments in other companies, loans and advances that have been written off, exorbitant salaries to managers, and preferential allotments.
Financial Analysis. The Portfolio Management Services team will perform an extensive quantitative analysis with respect to potential investments in India. We will analyse multiple years of publicly available data to create a financial picture covering many facets of operations, including profit margins, return on assets, debt levels, operating leverage, and dividend yields.
Qualitative Research. The Portfolio Management Scheme will research and judge the qualitative aspects of each potential investment. Topics relevant to this part of the process include management quality, minority shareholder communication (including quarterly investor calls), business moats, and relationships with suppliers and customers.
Comparative Analysis. When the number of available investment opportunities for the Portfolio Management Scheme exceeds the number of investments that the portfolio can contain, the PMS funds manager will compare ideas to each other in order to assess the relative attractiveness of each. Considerations relevant to this analysis include over- or under-exposure in an industry sector and perceived correlations between assets.
Decision Point. A deliberate decision is taken on the choice of portfolio company considering all factors, with price of entry being a key consideration.
Continuous Portfolio Monitoring. Once an investment decision has been made for Portfolio Management Scheme, we will monitor each position continuously. Along with each investment decision, we will monitor the entire PMS funds portfolio in an effort to ensure that any portfolio-level risks are considered and mitigated to the extent possible.
What is the difference between Portfolio Management Scheme and Portfolio Management Services?
Portfolio Management Services (PMS) is the official SEBI term. Portfolio Management Scheme is commonly used as a market shorthand for the same service. There is no difference in onboarding, KYC, reporting, audits, or investor protections. Investors should focus on the manager’s process, fees, risk controls, benchmark, and performance rather than the terminology.
As an investor, it’s useful to know that Portfolio Management Services is the official SEBI term, and that what many people casually call a Portfolio Management Scheme is the very same thing in practice. When you open an account, you engage a registered Portfolio Manager to deliver Portfolio Management Services—discretionary or non-discretionary management of your securities under a written agreement—even if a brochure or friend describes that engagement as a Portfolio Management Scheme. Your onboarding, KYC, custody, brokerage execution, reporting, and audits are identical whether a factsheet headlines Portfolio Management Services or a distributor says Portfolio Management Scheme. For due diligence, compare mandate design, risk controls, fees, benchmark, and drawdown history; do not infer any product difference from the phrase Portfolio Management Scheme versus Portfolio Management Services. In formal documents, SEBI requires providers to be registered for Portfolio Management Services, and your rights, disclosures, and protections are anchored to that label; the phrase Portfolio Management Scheme persists only as market shorthand. Day to day, your experience—asset allocation, security selection, rebalancing, and periodic reviews—remains the same whether a pitch deck repeats Portfolio Management Services or an advisor’s email repeats Portfolio Management Scheme. If you see both terms side by side, read them as interchangeable: you are evaluating one engagement model. In short, treat Portfolio Management Services as the definitive regulatory name, and treat Portfolio Management Scheme as an alternate phrasing for the same investor-facing service—choose a manager for process and fit, not for whether they say Portfolio Management Services or Portfolio Management Scheme.
What is an Alternative Investment Fund (AIF)?
An Alternative Investment Fund (AIF) is a privately pooled investment vehicle that invests in defined asset classes and strategies. The minimum investment is ₹1 crore, with units issued against the investment.
An Alternative Investment Fund (AIF) or ‘ AIF Fund ‘ is a privately pooled investment vehicle which can comprise Indian and foreign investors. The resources are pooled in the form of a trust and the funds are used for investing in defined asset classes and strategies. The minimum investment subscription amount for an AIF Fund is Rs. 1 crore, and units are issued against subscription amounts, similar to units being issued by a mutual fund.
