India's Tax Hike on Stock Derivatives Threatens Arbitrage Funds

India's arbitrage fund managers are bracing for reduced returns following the government's unexpected decision to increase the tax rate on stock derivatives. According to Jin10, this move poses a threat to the rapidly growing $36 billion industry. Announced in parliament on Sunday, the tax hike aims to curb high-risk speculative trading in the options market. However, arbitrage funds, considered lower risk and popular in volatile markets, will also be affected as the tax rate change raises the cost of executing spot-futures arbitrage strategies, potentially diminishing investor returns. Aditya Agarwal, co-founder of wealth management platform Wealthy.in, noted that arbitrage spreads are typically narrow, often only 0.6%–0.8% monthly, and higher transaction costs per trade will significantly erode these spreads.