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As India's major festival season of strong gold demand approaches, domestic asset managers are restricting new investments in gold products.
The Indian rupee has suffered a historic decline, and the country is taking multiple measures to reduce public demand for precious metals, with asset managers' actions further aligning with related policies.
Most fund managers, including leading institutions such as SBI Funds Management and ICICI Prudential Asset Management, announced through separate notices on Thursday evening that they would impose subscription restrictions on certain gold ETFs and related products, with the new rules taking effect on Friday.
The institutions did not specify the exact reasons for the restrictive measures, but people familiar with the matter said the move stemmed from discussions among multiple asset management companies, aiming to temporarily limit new investments in gold funds.
The sources said the industry hopes to guard against an explosion of gold demand on the eve of the festival season, while policymakers are focusing on controlling gold imports.
The Association of Mutual Funds in India and the market regulator, the Securities and Exchange Board of India, did not immediately respond to email requests for comment.
India is one of the world's largest gold consumers, and demand for gold typically surges during major national festivals such as Diwali in early November each year.
India earlier this year raised import tariffs on gold and silver to reduce the foreign exchange needed to purchase precious metals and ease pressure on the rupee.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has repeatedly called on citizens to reduce their preference for holding physical gold and instead direct savings toward financial assets with productive value.
But the latest data shows that investors, seeking to hedge against the risk of the rupee's record depreciation, continue to pour into gold and gold-related products.
Indian stocks are among Asia's worst performers so far this year, and against the backdrop of falling equities, demand for gold and silver ETFs has also heated up.
Data from the Association of Mutual Funds in India shows that although international gold prices have fallen by 20% since the outbreak of the US-Iran conflict at the end of February, India's gold ETF assets still reached 1.8 trillion rupees (equivalent to $19 billion) as of the end of September, up nearly 50% from the beginning of 2026.
India's largest gold ETF — the Nippon India Gold BeES ETF, with assets exceeding $6 billion — has returned 9.4% this year, while India's main stock index, the NSE Nifty 50, has fallen 12% over the same period.
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