Breaking news

Mutual funds halt fresh lumpsum and new SIPs in gold schemes, reportedly after talks with SEBI

Friday, 16 October 2026 at 8:22 am ISTSource: CapitCue, from Reuters-based and other media reports listed below

Reports say HDFC, ICICI Prudential, Tata, DSP, Invesco, Kotak and UTI mutual funds have stopped fresh money into gold schemes. Existing SIPs, redemptions and exchange trading continue.

Several mutual fund houses have stopped taking fresh money into their gold schemes from Thursday evening, 15 October 2026, and Friday, 16 October, according to media reports. The reports say the move followed discussions with the market regulator, the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI). SEBI has not issued a public order that CapitCue could find, and it did not respond to Reuters when asked. So this is best read as fund houses acting after talks with the regulator, not as a published ban.

What has been stopped

Reuters reports that Kotak Mahindra, UTI and HDFC mutual funds are among those that suspended bulk subscriptions to gold exchange-traded funds (ETFs). Separate reports say HDFC, ICICI Prudential, DSP, Tata and Invesco India mutual funds issued notices on 15 October stopping fresh lumpsum investments and new SIP and STP registrations in their gold fund-of-funds (FoFs) and gold-silver FoFs. A fund-of-funds is a mutual fund scheme that buys gold ETF units and is bought directly from the fund house, unlike an ETF, which is bought on the stock exchange.

What continues

Redemptions are unaffected. According to the reports, SIPs that were already registered keep running, and gold and silver ETFs can still be bought and sold on NSE and BSE through a demat account. Buying physical gold is also unaffected. The reports do not agree on every detail, such as the exact schemes and whether each fund house treats lumpsum and SIP in the same way, so the notice of the fund house concerned is the one to read.

Why it is being reported

Reuters, citing a mutual fund executive and two bullion industry officials, says the rupee is under pressure from higher oil prices and heavy foreign selling of Indian shares, and gold imports add to the import bill. The government raised gold and silver import duties earlier this year, and several fund houses had already capped large gold ETF investments in June. The step appears to be a precaution ahead of the festive season, when gold demand usually rises. Gold imports fell to $1.8 billion in September from $2.3 billion in August. The fund houses’ notices gave no reason.

This story was compiled by CapitCue from the media reports listed below and will be updated when SEBI or the fund houses publish more. CapitCue provides information only; it is not investment advice.

Sources: Reuters (via investingLive): India curbs gold ETF buying before Diwali · Gujarat Samachar: SEBI directs mutual funds to stop fresh inflows into Gold and Silver FoFs · Whalesbook: HDFC, ICICI and Tata Mutual Funds halt fresh gold fund investments

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