India’s gold exchange-traded funds managed assets worth ₹1.86 trillion across 26 schemes as of September 30, 2026. Despite a 4.78% correction in average category returns, the five biggest funds controlled 80.2% of assets. Established schemes remain popular, while 13 newer funds hold only 8% of the total market share.
The top 10 schemes hold 92.4% of assets; 13 schemes with less than three years of return history account for around 8% | Image: Bloomberg
India's gold exchange-traded funds (ETFs) managed assets worth ₹1.86 trillion across 26 schemes as of September 30, 2026, despite a 4.78% correction in average category returns during the month, according to ICRA Analytics.
Assets remain concentrated among a handful of large schemes. The five biggest gold ETFs accounted for 80.2% of the category's monthly assets under management (AUM), while the top 10 schemes held 92.4% of total assets.
The data highlights the dominance of established funds in the gold ETF market, even as newer schemes compete for a share of investor money.
Nippon India Gold BeES leads with ₹56,982 crore
Nippon India ETF Gold BeES was the country's largest gold ETF, with AUM of ₹56,982 crore as of September 30. It accounted for 30.6% of the category's total assets.
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ICICI Prudential Gold ETF ranked second, with ₹27,615 crore, followed by SBI Gold ETF at ₹26,466 crore. HDFC Gold ETF had assets of ₹23,900 crore, while Kotak Gold ETF managed ₹14,473 crore.
Together, the five schemes held ₹1.49 lakh crore, or 80.2% of gold ETF assets.
The top two schemes alone accounted for approximately 45% of the category's AUM, while the top three held nearly 60%.
Top 10 gold ETFs account for 92.4% of assets
The next five schemes in the ranking were Tata Gold Exchange Traded Fund, Axis Gold ETF, UTI Gold Exchange Traded Fund, Mirae Asset Gold ETF and Aditya Birla Sun Life Gold ETF.
Tata Gold Exchange Traded Fund had AUM of ₹6,138 crore, followed by Axis Gold ETF at ₹5,526 crore, UTI Gold Exchange Traded Fund at ₹4,406 crore, Mirae Asset Gold ETF at ₹3,470 crore and Aditya Birla Sun Life Gold ETF at ₹3,087 crore.
The top 10 schemes together managed ₹1.72 lakh crore, accounting for 92.4% of total gold ETF assets. The remaining 16 schemes held ₹14,246 crore, or 7.6% of the category.
Newer schemes hold around 8% of assets
Thirteen gold ETFs with less than three years of return history managed ₹14,575 crore, representing around 8% of category AUM, according to ICRA Analytics.
Tata Gold Exchange Traded Fund was the largest among these newer schemes and ranked sixth overall. It was followed by Zerodha Gold ETF, with ₹2,523 crore; Motilal Oswal Gold ETF, with ₹1,927 crore; and Edelweiss Gold ETF, with ₹1,759 crore.
Four schemes with less than one year of return history collectively managed ₹942 crore.
Ashwini Kumar, senior vice-president and head of market data at ICRA Analytics, said the ability of newer schemes to attract more assets would be an important indicator of how competition develops in the gold ETF market.
He also noted that returns across schemes were closely aligned, suggesting that performance differences alone did not explain why investors' assets were concentrated in the largest funds.
Gold ETF returns remain positive over one year
Despite the September correction, one-year returns remained positive across the gold ETF category.
The five largest schemes delivered compound annual growth rates (CAGR) of 27.2% to 27.5% over one year as of September 30, 2026. Most other schemes with a full year of return history reported CAGRs ranging from 26.1% to 28.1%.
Gold ETFs track the same underlying asset, so their returns tend to move closely together, although differences can arise from expenses and tracking performance.
The September correction in average monthly returns did not erase the category's positive one-year performance. However, the figures represent past returns and do not indicate how gold ETFs will perform in the future.
Gold ETF scheme-wise AUM
The five largest schemes account for 80.2% of category AUM; Nippon India ETF Gold BeES alone accounts for 30.6%.
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