Gold
Gold fund pauses explained: can you still invest in gold?
By Prateek Gupta, CA, CS, 18 Oct 2026, 3 min read
If you tried to start a new gold fund SIP recently, you may have been turned away. From 16 October, several fund houses temporarily stopped accepting fresh lump sums, switch-ins and new SIP registrations in their gold fund-of-funds.
Why it is happening
Gold funds have to buy physical gold to back every rupee invested. Demand for gold funds surged this year while a higher import duty and a weak rupee made sourcing physical gold harder and costlier. Fund houses first limited large investments in June: several stopped direct subscriptions of ₹25 crore and above into their gold ETFs, and some capped lump sums into gold fund-of-funds at ₹10 lakh per PAN per month. A few eased those limits in August before the latest pause.
If you already invest in gold funds
- SIPs registered before the pause continue to be processed as usual.
- Redemptions and switch-outs are not affected.
- Each fund house's notice sets out its own rules, so check the notice for your scheme.
If you want to add gold
The pauses are temporary and apply scheme by scheme, so options differ across fund houses. Gold works best as a small diversifier that tends to hold up when shares or the rupee fall, rather than as a core holding. Talk to us before switching schemes, as exit loads and taxes can apply.
For general information and education only, not investment advice or a recommendation. Mutual Fund investments are subject to market risks, read all scheme related documents carefully.