"Osian’s" Group of companies

Osian’s-Connoisseurs of Art Private Limited was a fund started in Mumbai in 2007 by Neville Tuli. It was closed down in 2010 upon orders from the Securities and Exchange Board of India, SEBI when it was not able to pay back its investors.

Osian's art fund was India's first arts based fund. It was established in 2007 in Mumbai by Neville Tuli, an Indian who had reportedly spent eight years gambling in the UK (mostly on horses at Ladbrokes)and had returned to India in the early 2000s. The fund consisted of numerous schemes, which allowed people to invest a minimum of Rs 10 lakh and in multiples of Rs 5 lakh thereafter, promising annual returns of 10 percent. The fund in turn invested in art by Indian painters. The fund was not registered with SEBI. A similar fund floated by another company called "Yatra Art fund" also used a similar modus operandi. It too was finally closed down by SEBI in 2015.

The fund invested funds in art, including paintings, and had a functioning art auction house. As per Forbes and Moneylife India, Tuli built up a clientele in the nascent art scene in India, by attending socialite parties and get togethers, portraying himself to be an expert on art, writing books and subsequently floating an art fund that would invest in art. Investments in this art fund were sold through a tie up with the Indian division of ABN Amro, a Dutch bank. A high entry load was charged to all investors, and this was used for a while to pay them back. Subsequently, the fund ran out of money and after complaints were lodged by customers, it was investigated by the enforcement directorate in India.

Osian's most popular fund offered was the "Osian’s Art Fund – Scheme Contemporary 1", a three-year scheme which matured in July 2009 and had 656 unit holders. Returns of upto 40 percent were promised to investors. The company in turn purchased art by Indian artists including MF Husain and FN Souza, but was only able to sell them at a loss, thus leaving its investors with their initial investments eroded.

As per an investigation co0nducted by SEBI, the scheme had thus collected 102.4 crore rupees. A fund management fee of 3% was charged for purchasing units of Rs. 100 each, with an agreement to share the profits of sales with customers on a 30:70 basis and a promised hurdle rate of 15 percent.

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