Sebi’s gold-fund curbs leave a gap as savers pile into bullion (opens the source in a new tab)
- Mint reports that Sebi has told mutual funds to stop taking fresh money into gold fund-of-funds from 16 October, apparently to ease pressure on the rupee, while gold ETF Exchange-traded fund: a basket of shares or bonds you can buy and sell like a single stock. are untouched.
- Experts say that leaves a back door: ETFs hold about 66% of the industry’s gold assets, and buyers with a demat account can simply switch. Gold imports fell 27% to $19.27bn in April to September.
- A Mint column by Rajrishi Singhal raises the bigger worry: household gold and silver investment rose 32.3% in two years to March 2025, with drought, inflation and rising rates still to come.
- -27%
- gold imports, Apr-Sep
- 66%
- of gold fund assets sit in open ETFs
- 32.3%
- rise in household gold, silver investment in 2 years
Why it matters Curbs that close one door while another stays open mostly redirect money. The deeper signal sits in the column: when savers park cash in metal, it says something about the alternatives on offer.
Other side Fund routes are a small slice of India’s gold demand, so the curbs were never going to be decisive. Even so, a modest nudge can matter if it signals that more is coming.