Against the backdrop of a continuously climbing international gold price, gold ETFs are experiencing a highlight moment. After the market closed on January 14, 2026, the scale of Huaan Gold ETF, the largest commodity ETF in the domestic market, reached 100.762 billion yuan, marking the first time it broke through the 100-billion-yuan threshold and becoming the first commodity ETF in China to reach this milestone. On January 15, the scale of this gold ETF continued to grow, reaching 101.181 billion yuan. So far, the total scale of the 14 gold ETFs in the domestic market has exceeded 260 billion yuan, an increase of nearly three times compared to a year ago. Over the past year, a combination of sustained capital inflows and rising fund net asset values has jointly driven the explosive growth in gold ETF scale.
In recent years, gold ETFs have become an important vehicle for a wide range of investors to allocate gold assets. Since the beginning of 2026, the trend of capital flowing into gold ETFs has continued. According to Wind statistics, from January 1 to January 15, 2026, Huaan Gold ETF, Guotai Gold ETF, and Bosera Gold ETF attracted net inflows of 1.472 billion yuan, 1.378 billion yuan, and 1.086 billion yuan, respectively. The net inflow scales for ChinaAMC Gold ETF and E Fund Gold ETF reached 920 million yuan and 677 million yuan, respectively. During this period of continuous capital inflow, the scale of Huaan Gold ETF surpassed 100 billion yuan for the first time after the market close on January 14 and continued to grow to 101.181 billion yuan on January 15.
Meanwhile, Bosera Gold ETF, E Fund Gold ETF, Guotai Gold ETF, ChinaAMC Gold ETF, ICBC Credit Suisse Gold ETF, and Fullgoal Shanghai Gold ETF are also among the larger-scale products. As of January 15, the scales of these six products were 43.873 billion yuan, 38.387 billion yuan, 32.698 billion yuan, 13.273 billion yuan, 7.296 billion yuan, and 6.656 billion yuan, respectively. Overall, as of January 15, the combined scale of the 14 gold ETFs on the market was 263.061 billion yuan, an increase of over 21 billion yuan compared to 241.561 billion yuan on December 31, 2025. Taking a longer-term view, as of January 15, 2026, the total scale of the 14 gold ETFs has increased by over 190 billion yuan in the past year, representing a growth of nearly three times.
Behind this growth, the strong capital-gathering capability of gold ETFs cannot be ignored. According to Wind statistics, as of January 15, 2026, the net inflow scale of the aforementioned 14 gold ETFs totaled 123.166 billion yuan over the past year. Among them, Huaan Gold ETF, Guotai Gold ETF, Bosera Gold ETF, and E Fund Gold ETF were the main drivers of inflows, attracting net inflows of 43.786 billion yuan, 17.325 billion yuan, 16.421 billion yuan, and 14.515 billion yuan, respectively. Additionally, ChinaAMC Gold ETF, ICBC Credit Suisse Gold ETF, and Fullgoal Shanghai Gold ETF also saw significant inflows, amounting to 9.478 billion yuan, 4.739 billion yuan, and 4.427 billion yuan, respectively.
Furthermore, the impressive return performance of gold ETFs has also contributed to their scale growth. From January 15, 2025, to January 15, 2026, the returns of all 14 gold ETFs exceeded 61%. "The strong performance of the international gold price provides key support," pointed out Wu Yuening, a senior analyst at Morningstar (China) Fund Research Center. Over the past year, influenced by factors such as the decline in the US dollar's real interest rates, rising international geopolitical risks, and a continuously widening gold supply-demand gap, the international gold price has continued to climb. Since gold ETFs closely track the gold price, they have also risen significantly, delivering considerable returns to investors. As of January 16, spot gold approached $4,600 per ounce, accumulating a 6.5% increase year-to-date. Since 2024, the gold price has set new records nearly 100 times.
"The sustained rise in gold prices, global trade disputes and international geopolitical tensions, and high volatility in financial markets have led investors to choose gold ETFs based on hedging needs. At the same time, the inherent advantages of gold ETFs, such as investment convenience and low costs, have also attracted a large number of investors," Wu Yuening further analyzed. While capital continues to pour in, the managers of gold ETFs have begun to strengthen liquidity and risk management. Recently, E Fund Management Co., Ltd. announced that due to operational needs of the fund's investment, the company decided to adjust the minimum subscription and redemption units for E Fund Gold ETF and the subscription and redemption consideration for gold spot physical contracts effective January 19, 2026, and correspondingly amend the relevant clauses in the fund's prospectus.
Specifically, starting January 19, 2026, the minimum subscription and redemption unit for cash and physical subscriptions and redemptions of the fund will be adjusted from 300,000 units to 100,000 units, and the corresponding minimum subscription and redemption unit for gold spot physical contracts will be adjusted from 3,000 grams to 1,000 grams. The gold spot physical contract type for subscription and redemption consideration will only be the Shanghai Gold Exchange Au99.99 spot physical contract, no longer including the Shanghai Gold Exchange Au99.95 spot physical contract. Back in 2025, Huaan Fund, Bosera Fund, and Guotai Fund had also made similar adjustment arrangements for their respective gold ETFs. "Fund companies adjusting the subscription and redemption consideration for gold spot physical contracts might be a consideration to respond to market changes, ensure the stable operation of the fund, and protect the interests of existing investors," Wu explained.
For instance, given the high volatility in the gold spot market, adjusting the consideration can prevent unreasonable arbitrage activities and effectively safeguard the security of the fund's assets. For investors, investing in gold funds requires a full understanding of the risks and making prudent decisions based on one's own risk tolerance. Wu Yuening suggests that investors interested in gold ETFs need to closely monitor the trends in the gold market. At the same time, it is crucial to understand the fund's fees, including management fees and custody fees, as these costs will impact investment returns. Additionally, investors should always pay attention to announcements released by the fund company, such as changes to subscription and redemption arrangements.
In the view of Liang Pusen, Portfolio Manager of the Qianhai Kaiyuan Gold ETF, considering that the current gold price has already partially reflected the core narratives of the interest rate cutting cycle and "de-dollarization," coupled with increased profit-taking pressure after the recent sharp short-term rally, the probability of continued significant surges in the future has noticeably decreased. Investors need to abandon short-term speculative thinking, anchor reasonable return expectations, and return to the essence of gold as an asset allocation tool for hedging against inflation and systemic risks and smoothing portfolio volatility over the medium to long term. Simultaneously, considering that gold is a non-interest-bearing asset, he advises investors to control its allocation percentage. "Calculated from an asset allocation perspective, a 10% to 20% allocation ratio can effectively optimize a portfolio; for investors currently holding a low gold allocation, adopting a dollar-cost averaging approach to build positions gradually can help smooth entry costs and reduce timing risks," he suggested.
On the other hand, regarding the future trend of the gold market, a relevant person from Bosera Fund judged that, in the short term, with the phased easing of Sino-US economic and trade relations reducing uncertainty, and combined with the high short-term crowding in gold positions, the risk premium for gold may gradually converge in the future period, and the pace of gold price increases might slow down. "From a medium to long-term perspective, driven by the purposes of anti-inflation and hedging, global central banks have been increasing their gold reserves in recent years, and this trend has not yet ended. We remain optimistic about the future trajectory of gold prices," they stated. Huaan Fund believes that the Federal Reserve is still in a major interest rate cutting cycle. If a dovish chair is elected, the Fed's pace of rate cuts might become more aggressive, which could potentially benefit gold. Beyond accommodative monetary policy, the US is also in a phase of expansionary fiscal policy, with US debt credit risks persisting, continued central bank gold purchases amid de-dollarization, and叠加 high global gold ETF investment demand. They remain optimistic about the allocation value of gold in 2026.
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