Investors looking to start a fresh systematic investment plan (SIP) in an international mutual fund now have very limited choices. Following the suspension of fresh SIP registrations by 11 international mutual fund schemes last week, Baroda BNP Paribas Aqua Fund of Fund (FoF) is currently the only international mutual fund accepting fresh SIPs as well as lump sum investments. The restrictions are due to regulatory overseas investment limits and are not linked to the performance of these schemes.Also Read |Samir Arora-backed Helios Flexi Cap Fund adds Groww and 5 others, increases stake in HDFC Bank and 14 more Last week, Edelweiss Mutual Fund said it is nearing the overseas investment limit allowed for mutual funds under the industry-wide cap introduced on February 1, 2022. As a result, it stopped accepting fresh SIPs and other investments in select international funds. PGIM India Mutual Fund and Franklin Templeton Mutual Fund also suspended fresh investments in some of their international schemes after approaching the same regulatory limit. These restrictions are a result of SEBI's overseas investment limits for mutual funds. Indian mutual funds operate under an industry-wide overseas investment cap, and once fund houses approach these limits, they temporarily stop accepting fresh inflows into international schemes until investment headroom becomes available.In February 2022, the regulator asked fund houses to stop accepting fresh investments in international schemes after the industry-wide overseas investment limit was exhausted. Since then, most fund houses have either suspended lumpsum investments, SIPs, or both in their international mutual fund schemes. Baroda BNP Paribas Aqua FoF invests in an open ended Fund of Fund scheme investing in BNP Paribas Funds Aqua (Lux) and the primary investment objective of the Scheme is to seek capital appreciation by investing predominantly in units of BNP Paribas Funds Aqua (Lux). Alternatives for global exposureAs access to international mutual funds remains restricted in some cases, investors are exploring other ways to gain overseas exposure. There are other possible options to global exposure which includes through the LRS route, GIFT City leaving investors confused which one to pick for investment in case the limits are not increased.Liberalised Remittance Scheme (LRS)In budget 2025, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced an increase in the threshold for tax collected at source (TCS) on remittances under RBI’s Liberalized Remittance Scheme (LRS) from Rs 7 lakh to Rs 10 lakh which market experts then believed will reduce the upfront tax burden for investors remitting funds abroad.GIFT CityWhile investing in GIFT City, one can invest using their existing Indian bank account. No separate foreign account is needed. No foreign tax filing is applicable when investing through GIFT City. If one is investing through GIFT City, IFSC route gives you access to global markets without being limited by domestic mutual fund overseas limits. This option is designed for retail investment, Resident Indians can invest via the LRS route starting with USD 5000 ticket size. Also Read | Planning retirement & child's education through mutual funds? Expert explains SWP, taxation, portfolio rebalancing There is no lock-in, and redemptions will be processed within seven business days and Gift City retail funds combine global access with a transparent, mutual fund-style cost structure. Gift City-based retail funds are a structurally optimized route - tax efficient, free from mutual fund caps, compliance-light, and institutionally designed for seamless global access and are structurally optimized to mitigate country-specific risks and economic cycles. Global ETFsGlobal ETFs are another way to gain international exposure. Unlike international mutual funds, exchange-traded funds (ETFs) listed on stock exchanges are driven by market demand and supply and are generally not affected by the overseas investment limits applicable to mutual funds. However, investors should pay close attention to the price at which they buy these ETFs, as they may sometimes trade at a premium to their underlying value. Last year, several global index ETFs were trading at premium.(Disclaimer: Recommendations, suggestions, views and opinions given by the experts are their own. These do not represent the views of The Economic Times)If you have any mutual fund queries, message on ET Mutual Funds on Facebook/Twitter. We will get it answered by our panel of experts. Do share your questions on ETMFqueries@timesinternet.in alongwith your age, risk profile, and Twitter handle.