A long-only strategy holds stocks without taking short positions. The fund manager selects a portfolio of companies with the expectation that their value will grow over time. Returns are generated purely from stock price appreciation and dividends. Long-only equity strategies are the most common form of professional equity management and are benchmarked against indices such as the BSE 500 or Nifty 50.

Contrarian strategies invest in stocks or sectors that are temporarily out of favour with the market — buying when others are selling. Value strategies look for companies trading below their intrinsic or fair value, with the conviction that the market will eventually correct the mispricing. These require patience and a willingness to hold positions through short-term underperformance.

Quantitative strategies use mathematical models, algorithms and data-driven rules to select stocks. Factor-based strategies may focus on attributes such as momentum (stocks trending upward), quality (high return on equity, low debt), or value (low price-to-earnings). These strategies aim to remove behavioural biases from investment decisions and maintain a disciplined, repeatable process.

Sectoral and thematic strategies concentrate exposure in specific industries or macro trends — such as financial services, manufacturing, technology or infrastructure — where the manager has high conviction in long-term structural growth. These strategies carry higher concentration risk than diversified approaches but can deliver significant outperformance when the theme plays out.

Real estate investment strategies provide exposure to property assets — either directly (through ownership of physical assets) or indirectly (through structured investment vehicles). Returns are generated from two sources: rental yield (regular income from tenants) and capital appreciation (rise in property value over time). Professional managers handle deal sourcing, legal diligence and asset management.

Private debt strategies involve lending to companies — typically mid-market businesses — through structured instruments such as senior secured loans, mezzanine debt or structured credit. The strategy aims to deliver higher yields than traditional fixed deposits or bonds, in exchange for lower liquidity and a defined investment period. All instruments are typically secured against assets of the borrower.

Private equity strategies invest in companies that are not listed on stock exchanges — either at an early (venture) stage or at a growth or buyout stage. Returns are generated from the appreciation in value of these companies over the fund life, realised at the time of exit (via IPO, strategic sale or secondary transaction). These strategies offer potential for differentiated returns uncorrelated to public markets.

Multi asset strategies allocate across equities, fixed income, gold, real estate and sometimes international assets within a single managed portfolio. The allocation shifts dynamically based on market conditions and the manager's macro view. Hybrid strategies typically maintain a more fixed allocation split between equity and debt. Both aim to deliver smoother returns with lower volatility than a pure equity portfolio.