Iran’s exchange-traded gold funds have experienced rapid expansion, reaching nearly 800 trillion tomans in assets as investors seek liquidity and protection against currency and inflation risks, despite contested performance figures and macroeconomic tensions.
Iran’s rush into exchange-traded gold funds has produced a clear winner, but not a clean set of numbers. Market summaries published after the trading period ending on 1 September said Rose Toranj was the best-performing gold fund over the previous month, yet syndicated versions of the same snapshot diverged sharply: one put the fund’s gain at 19.97%, while another said it returned 24.62%. The same reports also disagreed on how much fresh retail money entered the sector over the period, citing either 5.6 trillion tomans or 7.6 trillion tomans.
What is not in dispute is the broader direction of travel. Tasnim reported in May that investors were already moving out of fixed-income funds and into gold vehicles as the dollar and bullion prices climbed. On one session covered by the agency, more than 14 trillion tomans of gold-fund units changed hands and net retail inflows reached 4.9 trillion tomans. Tasnim said that, after a cautious start to the new year, sentiment turned decisively once the dollar moved from around 152,000 tomans to 189,000 tomans. Over the 11 trading days following 25 April, retail investors were net buyers to the tune of 33 trillion tomans. Silver funds also benefited, attracting more than 4.5 trillion tomans over 35 trading days.
By early September, the gold-fund market had become one of the largest corners of Iran’s retail investment landscape. The month-end leaderboard carried by Vista put total assets under management across gold funds at about 800 trillion tomans and counted 35 active products. That was up from the level reported in late August, when mirrored coverage of exchange data said the sector’s net asset value had crossed 700 trillion tomans. Across the September snapshot, average daily turnover was put at 14 trillion tomans, underlining how liquid these instruments have become for investors looking for exposure to gold without holding metal directly.
Rose Toranj’s own first-year numbers help explain why it has drawn attention beyond a single month’s ranking. A Donya-e-Eqtesad report republished by Vista said the fund had reached 10,000 billion tomans in assets under management in its first year, generated a 126% return and recorded 39,000 billion tomans in trading value. The same report benchmarked that against a 110% rise in the dollar, a 105% gain in the Tehran stock market index and 66% inflation over the period. It said the fund, launched in August 2025, built those returns through a mix of bullion, coins and derivatives, including options, designed both to lift returns and to manage risk.
Further details from reports on Toranj’s first-anniversary event show how concentrated that growth has been. Mirrored coverage carried by Khabarfarsi said Bahador Borhan, a senior Toranj investment executive, told reporters that Rose Toranj had grown its assets by 900% from subscription to the end of its first year and had attracted 108,000 retail and institutional investor codes. Another report from the same event said the portfolio included 368 kilograms of gold and 5,447 exchange-approved coins, although one redistributed version mentioned 5,047 coins instead. Borhan also said the fund was launched to provide a safe, simple and liquid route into gold, and argued that an asset manager’s job was not to chase returns at any price but to produce returns suited to an investor’s risk level.
The anniversary event also placed the fund inside Toranj’s wider ambitions. TSE Press reported that the speakers included Hadi Johari, the group’s chief executive, alongside Borhan, macroeconomics director Siavash Ghafari and strategy director Majid Shojaei. Johari said Toranj, which has operated for 11 years under the supervision of Iran’s Securities and Exchange Organisation, now has 10 exchange-traded funds with combined assets of 43 trillion tomans. He said Rose Toranj itself raised more than 1 trillion tomans in two days during subscription and described it as a bridge into the gold market for investors who wanted listed exposure rather than direct purchases.
Toranj’s managers are also using the fund’s growth to press a wider case for exchange-traded precious-metals products. According to TSE Press, Johari said about 4 trillion tomans left Toranj funds after the 12-day war, only to return within three days, which he presented as evidence of liquidity even in stressed conditions. Coverage aggregated by Khabarfarsi added that Toranj plans to launch a silver fund, Yas, and later expand into a multi-commodity vehicle. Shojaei, speaking at the same round of briefings, argued that exchange-traded gold funds differ fundamentally from informal online gold platforms because the metal is standardised, lodged in approved vaults and backed by exchange-issued certificates.
That growth story, however, still depends on an uneasy macro backdrop. Ghafari said at the Toranj event that lower tensions and more positive expectations had pushed monthly inflation below 4% in Tir, but warned that a return of negative expectations could send Mordad inflation back towards first-quarter levels. That helps explain why the scramble into gold funds has persisted even when the performance tables themselves are contested. Investors may disagree over whether Rose Toranj gained just under 20% or closer to 25% in the latest month, but the bigger pattern is clearer: cash continues to move into listed gold products as savers look for liquidity, transparency and protection against another turn in the currency and inflation cycle.
Disclaimer: This article is intended to inform and educate, not to recommend or endorse any financial product, investment or strategy. Please consider your own financial circumstances and seek professional advice where appropriate before making financial decisions.
