What is a Key Information Memorandum (KIM)? (2026)
To answer what is a Key Information Memorandum: it is the short-form offer document for a mutual fund scheme, the one SEBI requires to be attached to the application form. It is the abridged version of the longer Scheme Information Document, built so an investor sees a scheme's essential facts at the moment of applying, without reading the full document first.
Definition
A Key Information Memorandum (KIM)
is the abridged mutual fund offer document that SEBI requires to accompany every application form. It summarises the scheme's objective, asset allocation, riskometer, benchmark, costs, exit load, and minimum investment, and points to the full Scheme Information Document for detail. Source: SEBI (Mutual Funds) Regulations, 2026.
What does a Key Information Memorandum contain?
The KIM is deliberately short. It carries the facts an investor most needs before applying, in the same standard order SEBI prescribes across fund houses:
- Investment objective and asset allocation: what the scheme aims for and the bands it can hold.
- Riskometer and benchmark: the scheme's risk level and the index it is measured against.
- Costs: the expense structure and any exit load.
- Minimum investment, plans, and options: the smallest amount, plus the direct or regular plan and growth or dividend option choices.
- Past returns: performance against the benchmark, with the standard caveat that past data does not predict future results.
Anything the KIM abbreviates is spelt out in full in the SID, and fund-house-level facts sit in the Statement of Additional Information. The KIM is the entry point, not the whole story.
How to use the KIM
Treat the KIM as the two-minute read that decides whether the full SID is worth your time. Check the riskometer against what you expected, confirm the asset allocation matches the scheme's label, and read the expense and exit-load lines, since costs are set in advance. The expense figure ties directly to the total expense ratio, and the plan line is where the direct versus regular decision applies.
So, what is a Key Information Memorandum in one line: the SEBI-mandated short form that puts a scheme's key facts in front of you before you apply. Flock reads public filing data and keeps every figure stamped with its source and date. What any of it means for you is your call to make.
Frequently asked questions
Why does the KIM accompany the application form?
SEBI requires the KIM to be attached to every mutual fund application form so an investor sees the scheme's key facts at the point of applying. It is the abridged, must-read summary of the fuller Scheme Information Document. Source: SEBI (Mutual Funds) Regulations, 2026.
What does a Key Information Memorandum contain?
A KIM carries the scheme's essentials in short form: investment objective, asset allocation, riskometer, benchmark, minimum investment, plan and option details, expenses, exit load, and past returns. For full detail it points the reader to the Scheme Information Document. Source: SEBI.
Is the KIM the same as the Scheme Information Document?
No. The KIM is the abridged version. The Scheme Information Document is the full offer document with complete detail. The KIM exists so investors get the key points concisely, then can read the SID for the fine print. Source: SEBI.
Where can I find a scheme's KIM?
Every fund house publishes the KIM on its website alongside the Scheme Information Document and the Statement of Additional Information, and it is attached to the physical and online application forms. Check the version date before relying on it. Source: SEBI, AMFI.
Flock tracks these filings, sourced, dated, and linked back to the original. See what smart-money entities disclosed, without the guesswork about what it means.
Disclosures shown are public regulatory filings. Data may be delayed or incomplete. Smart-money entities may no longer hold positions shown. Not investment advice.