The Securities and Exchange Board of India has revised the way mutual funds will value physical gold and silver held in their schemes, moving away from international benchmarks to domestic spot prices published by recognized stock exchanges.
In a circular issued on 26 February 2026, the regulator said that with effect from 1 April 2026, mutual funds will be required to use polled spot prices published by recognized stock exchanges for valuing physical gold and silver. These are the same prices used for settlement of physically delivered gold and silver derivative contracts.
Currently, gold and silver held by Exchange Traded Funds are valued using the AM fixing prices of the London Bullion Market Association, with adjustments for currency conversion, transportation costs, customs duty, taxes and notional premiums or discounts to arrive at domestic valuations.
The shift follows discussions in the Mutual Fund Advisory Committee, public consultation and stakeholder feedback. SEBI said using exchange-published spot prices, which are subject to regulatory oversight and transparency norms, would ensure valuations that better reflect domestic market conditions and bring uniformity across fund houses.
The change comes under the newly notified SEBI Mutual Funds Regulations, 2026, which will take effect from 1 April 2026. The valuation will be subject to the investment valuation norms specified in the Seventh Schedule of the regulations.
The Association of Mutual Funds in India will, in consultation with SEBI, prescribe a uniform policy for implementation.