Fresh investment in Gold ETF FoFs halted by mutual fund houses ahead of festive season; ETF prices largely unchanged

Shares of asset management companies are buzzing in Friday’s trade after media reports stated that mutual fund companies have temporarily suspended fresh subscriptions into their Gold ETF Fund of Funds (FoFs).

According to multiple media reports, mutual fund houses communicated to the unit holders on Thursday that the AMCs will not be accepting any fresh investments in Gold ETF FoFs.

A Reuters report claimed that mutual fund houses like Kotak Mahindra Mutual Fund, UTI Mutual Fund, and HDFC Mutual Fund were issued notices to halt any kind of fresh investments in Gold ETFs.

However, there notices issued by multiple fund houses to their respective unitholders said only fresh investments, including SIP, STP and lump sum, into Gold ETF FoFs have been temporary suspended. Further, no restrictions have been announced by any fund house on fresh investments into their Gold ETFs.

Gold ETFs and Gold ETF FoFs are different from each other. While units of Gold ETFs can be traded on stock exchanges like equity shares, Gold ETF FoFs are like Gold mutual fund schemes that invest in Gold ETFs. Gold ETF FoFs are also popularly referred to as Gold Funds.

There is no official commentary or clarification from any of the fund houses regarding the motive behind the move.

The move comes ahead of the festive season in the country, where buying gold is considered to be auspicious during festival times.

Meanwhile, a halt in digital investments in gold could give a boost to demand for physical gold. This comes at a time when Prime Minister Narendra Modi urged citizens to stop buying gold for one year to save forex drain.

Gold ETF prices unchanged

After halting fresh investments in ETFs, the gold ETF prices remain largely unaffected, trading near their respective indicative net asset values (iNAV). Goldbees traded at ₹119 per unit, near its iNAV of ₹119.1 per unit. Similarly, other gold ETFs like Tatagold, GoldiETF, Goldcase, HDFCGOLD and Gold1 also traded near their iNAVs. In last year’s rally, ETFs witnessed wild swings and deviations in gold prices relative to their iNAVs amid high demand for investment in gold.

Note:This report was first published on Friday, October 16, 2026. It has been updated today (October 19, 2026) for a factual error in the body copy and headline