mumbai, March 14 -- The Indian market regulator's decision to discontinue solution-oriented schemes such as education and retirement funds offered by mutual fund houses has left Rs.57,664 crore of investor money in limbo, with uncertainty over what will happen to the investments. For 28-year-old investor Nandish Dholakia in Gujarat, the investment was never meant to be tactical-it had a destination. Almost a year ago, he started investing in an SBI Children's Fund for his niece's education, drawn by a structure that locked the money away from the temptations of market timing. That certainty has now evaporated following the decision of the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI). "SEBI is arguing that AMCs (asset management companies) are giving emotional names and taking money, which is not good for investor protection, but all schemes have documents elaborating on all the information about a scheme," Dholakia said. Children's funds, by design, prevent withdrawals until the passage of five years or until the child turns 18. That constraint, he said, helped investors stay committed to the financial goal. "Since the children's fund had a lock-in, I could not take out that money no matter how the markets were performing. I was investing with a purpose in mind," he said. SEBI's 26 February decision was part of a broader push to ensure that portfolios of schemes within a fund house are materially different from each other and provide value to investors. "Solutions oriented scheme category is being discontinued w.e.f the date of the circular. Existing schemes in this category shall stop all subscriptions with immediate effect. Such schemes shall be merged with any other scheme having similar asset allocation and risk profile with prior approval from SEBI," the regulator said. The directive came after a consultation process that began in July 2025. However, the consultancy paper did not mention the possibility of such schemes being discontinued. An emailed query to SEBI did not elicit a response. "Investors are more concerned about what happens to their money rather than the overall shutting of solution-oriented schemes," said Vishal Bedse, investment advisor at ICICI Investment Management Company Ltd. "They have asked questions about what happens to their money if the lock-in is still in place and what would happen to their asset allocation if the scheme is merged." However, there is a push within the mutual fund sector to retain the existing category. "The assets under management (AUM) of solution-oriented schemes may be small compared to the overall industry's AUM but it is still over Rs.50,000 crore. We have routed feedback to SEBI via the Association of Mutual Funds in India (AMFI) to retain solution-oriented schemes," a mutual fund executive said on condition of anonymity. Meanwhile, investors have been left in the lurch with the circular on the one hand and no official communication from AMCs on the other. They said money is still being debited from their accounts towards the scheme. "The sentiment among investors is that of uncertainty," said Ananya Roy, founder of Credibull Capital, an investment advisory firm....