INDUSTRY
SEBI unveils new norms for mutual funds to value their gold, silver holdings
- IBJ Bureau
- Feb 27, 2026
The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has revised the valuation methodology for physical gold and silver held by mutual fund schemes. The capital markets regulator has mandated the use of polled spot prices published by stock exchanges for calculating the worth of the precious metals.
Spot prices used by stock exchanges for settlement of physically-delivered bullion derivatives contracts will now form the basis for mutual funds to price their gold and silver holdings, replacing the earlier benchmark-linked approach. This will become effective from April 1, 2026, the SEBI has said in a circular.
Currently, gold and silver exchange-traded funds (ETFs) value their holdings based on the AM (ante meridiem or morning) fixing prices of the London Bullion Market Association (LBMA), adjusted for currency conversion, transportation costs, Customs Duty, taxes and other levies to arrive at domestic prices.
The new price-fixing mechanism is aligned with the SEBI (Mutual Funds) Regulations, 2026, and aims to ensure that valuations better reflect domestic market conditions and promote uniformity and transparency.
The markets regulator has also introduced many new measures to make mutual funds transparent and customer-friendly. A new category of open-ended, goal-based funds with pre-determined maturities of 5 to 30 years in multiples of 5 has been approved. These funds will follow a glide path, where equity exposure automatically reduces and debt allocation increases as the fund approaches maturity.
Equity mutual funds have also been permitted to invest up to 35 per cent of assets under management in gold and silver instruments and in units of InvITs and REITs.
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