Gold, silver ETFs and FoFs drive MF investor additions to 18-month high

A rally in gold and silver pushed MF investor additions to an 18-month high in January, with 1.2 million new investors joining and precious metal ETFs driving most folio growth

Investor additions by mutual funds (MFs) accelerated to an 18-month high in January as a sustained rally in gold and silver drew a wave of investors to precious metal exchange-traded funds (ETFs) and fund of funds (FoFs).

 

The industry added 1.2 million investors last month, taking the unique investor count to 60.2 million. Additions in January were more than double the average monthly increase of 500,000 in 2025.

 

According to MF executives, the trend suggests that precious metal offerings — especially gold schemes — could emerge as a key investor acquisition tool for the industry over the long term.

 

 

“Gold schemes have the potential to become one of the biggest client acquisition vehicles for the MF industry, given gold’s deep cultural acceptance and familiarity,” said Swarup Anand Mohanty, vice-chairman and chief executive officer, Mirae Asset Investment Managers (India).

 

Precious metal offerings have been among the most sought-after MF categories in recent months, as the rally in gold and silver prices has lifted returns across time frames, drawing both existing and first-time MF investors, experts said.

 

In January, gold ETFs alone outpaced all active equity schemes in net inflows as well as account and folio additions. Gold and silver ETFs together accounted for 55 per cent of net folio additions during the month. Investors also came in through the FoF route. Combined inflows into precious metal FoFs stood at ₹33,503 crore in January, 40 per cent higher than net inflows into active equity schemes.

 

Nippon India MF, which manages the largest gold and silver ETFs, said it added around 600,000 new investors in January alone. The fund house accounted for nearly 50 per cent of investor growth at the industry level, said Saugata Chatterjee, president and chief business officer, Nippon India MF. “This strong momentum appears to be driven by rising participation in gold and silver ETFs,” he added.

 

The last time the industry saw investor additions at a similar pace was in 2024, when growth was driven largely by a wave of fund launches in popular categories and equity-linked ‘hot’ themes.

 

According to Mohanty, while the pickup in gold investments is encouraging for the industry, investors will benefit only if they stick to steady accumulation.

 

“Traditionally, investors have accumulated gold consistently without reacting to price movements. Bringing an equity investing mindset into gold ETFs could undermine a time-tested wealth creation habit,” he said.