Motilal Oswal Alternates expects to achieve first close by December 2023 and complete the fund-raising process within the following 6-9 months. NEW DELHI: Motilal Oswal Alternates (MO Alts), the alternative investments arm of Motilal Oswal Financial Services will raise up to Rs 2,000 crore through its sixth real estate fund 'India Realty Excellence Fund VI (IREF VI).' IREF VI will focus on early-stage investments in mid-income/affordable residential projects across Mumbai, Delhi-NCR, Pune, Bangalore, Chennai, Hyderabad, Kolkata and Ahmedabad. Additionally, selective investments in commercial projects will be pursued, the company said. The fund has been set up as an alternate investment fund (AIF Category II) registered with stock market regulator SEBI. The company expects to achieve first close by December 2023 and complete the fund-raising process within the following 6-9 months. Anand Lakhotia, co-head of real estate funds, MO Alts said, "Early-stage investments in real estate present a significant opportunity, especially considering the crucial capital requirement developers face at the beginning of a project. With various restrictions on Banks and NBFCs to fund this critical phase, coupled with the promising outlook of the real estate market, our fund is strategically positioned to seize this opportunity. Our investment strategy, evident in our earlier funds, centers around partnering with established developers in their mid-income/affordable housing projects through structured debt." The cumulative assets under management (AUM) under MO Alts is more than USD 2 billion. The company, till date, has invested capital in the real estate sector through five real estate funds. The firm also manages other standalone and proprietary investments. It has till date funded about Rs. 7,500 crore across 50 developers in India. The company said that they have also exited more than 70 transactions and generated an IRR of more than 20% in these exits