Indian investors shifted significant funds into gold and silver exchange-traded funds in FY26, marking a dramatic change in portfolio diversification as passive investing boomed and precious metal assets soared to record highs.
Indian investors poured more money into gold and silver exchange-traded funds than into equity ETFs in financial year 2026, underscoring a sharp turn towards precious metals as a portfolio diversifier. Analysis by Zerodha Fund House, based on AMFI data, showed that gold ETFs drew ₹68,868 crore and silver ETFs attracted ₹30,412 crore during the year, taking the combined total to ₹99,280 crore, or about 55% of all ETF inflows.
That shift came alongside a broader boom in passive investing. The CRISIL-AMFI Factbook 2026 said passive funds logged net inflows of ₹2.07 lakh crore in FY26, up sharply from ₹1.3 lakh crore in FY21. Economic Times reported that Indian ETFs as a whole recorded more than ₹1.8 lakh crore of net inflows in FY26, the highest ever for a single financial year and more than double the previous peak in FY22.
The rise in demand also lifted assets in gold funds. Gold ETF assets under management rose from about ₹59,000 crore in March 2025 to ₹1.71 lakh crore by March 2026, a jump of roughly 191%, according to the Business Today summary of AMFI-linked data. Gold ETFs accounted for 12.5% of passive fund assets by March 2026, while long-term asset growth since March 2021 has run at a compound annual rate of 64.7%.
Silver ETFs, introduced in India in 2022, also gained momentum as prices rose and industrial demand strengthened. Economic Times said silver ETFs returned 117.89% in FY26, while gold ETFs gained 54.80%, though market specialists cautioned that recent performance does not mean investors should abandon equities altogether. Instead, advisers quoted by Economic Times suggested keeping commodity exposure within a long-term allocation framework, typically around 5% to 15%, and rebalancing when positions move above target levels.
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