How many of the above are treated as Alternative Investment Funds? Bonds? Hedge? Funds Stocks? [2025]

With reference to investments, consider the following:

Alternative Investment Fund or AIF means any fund established or incorporated in India which is a privately pooled investment vehicle which collects funds from sophisticated investors, whether Indian or foreign, for investing it in accordance with a defined investment policy for the benefit of its investors. AIF does not include funds covered under the SEBI (Mutual Funds) Regulations, 1996, SEBI (Collective Investment Schemes) Regulations, 1999 or any other regulations of the Board to regulate fund management activities.
In Simple terms, an alternative investment is a financial asset that doesn’t fall into one of the conventional investment categories. Conventional categories include stocks, bonds, and cash. Alternative investments can include private equity or venture capital, hedge funds, managed futures, and derivatives contracts.

Alternative Investment Funds
Category I	Investment in Startups, SMEs and projects which are socially and economically viable	Venture Capital Fund Infrastructure Fund Angel Fund Social Venture Fund
Category II	Investment in Equity and Debt Securities	Private Equity (PE) Fund Debt Fund Fund of Funds
Category III	Investment aimed at short-term returns achieved by employing complex trading strategies	Hedge Fund Private Investment in Public Equity Fund (PIPE)

Use simple elimination here — Alternative Investment Fund refers to non-traditional investments. So, common traditional instruments like Bonds and Stocks are not treated as AIFs. On the other hand, Hedge fund and Venture capital are classic examples of alternative investments.