Aditya Birla Sun Life Mutual Fund has become the sixth asset management company to impose limits on gold ETF subscriptions, joining a growing industry trend of restricting large investor inflows. The fund house has issued a notice-cum-addendum to the Scheme Information Document (SID) and Key Information Memorandum (KIM) of Aditya Birla Sun Life Gold ETF and Aditya Birla Sun Life Gold Fund, with the new rules coming into effect from June 09, 2026. Under the revised framework, the AMC will stop accepting direct transactions of more than ₹25 crore from large investors in its Gold ETF, while for the Gold Fund, lump-sum investments and switch-ins will be capped at ₹10 lakh per PAN per month. Any application exceeding this limit after the cut-off time of 3:00 PM on June 08, 2026, will not be accepted. The fund house stated that all other terms and conditions of the schemes will remain unchanged, with the restrictions being temporary and will stay in force until further notice.
The restrictions at major fund houses come after gold ETF inflows touched nearly ₹69,000 crore in FY26, as reported by Business Standard. Gold prices rose nearly 70% during 2025, causing investors to rush to the asset class. According to Business Standard, India's gold import bill crossed $72 billion in FY26, highlighting the country's dependence on imported gold. Akshat Garg, assistant vice-president at Choice Wealth, explained that "when investor inflows rise sharply in a short period, fund houses need to procure physical gold or equivalent assets to maintain the ETF structure." The restrictions apply to direct subscriptions of ₹25 crore or more and lump sum/switch-in above ₹10 lakh per PAN per month for fund of fund schemes, with the operational measures designed to protect existing investors and ensure efficient fund management.
With Aditya Birla Sun Life joining the trend, six major AMCs now have implemented limits on gold ETF schemes. The affected AMCs include Axis Mutual Fund (Gold ETF, Gold Fund - June 8-9, 2026), HDFC Mutual Fund (Gold ETF, Gold ETF FoF - June 5-8, 2026), ICICI Prudential Mutual Fund (Gold ETF - June 5, 2026), Nippon India Mutual Fund (Gold ETF, Gold Savings Fund - June 8, 2026), Tata Asset Management (Gold ETF, Gold ETF FoF - June 8, 2026), and Aditya Birla Sun Life (Gold ETF, Gold Fund - June 9, 2026). As reported by The Indian Express, HDFC Mutual Fund, ICICI Prudential Mutual Fund, Tata Mutual Fund and Nippon India Mutual Fund have all placed such curbs on gold ETF schemes, which came into effect between June 5-8. Most AMCs have cited elevated demand and broader market conditions as reasons for the curbs, signalling heightened interest in gold-backed investment products in recent months. With six fund houses now implementing limits, gold ETFs and related schemes are witnessing one of the most coordinated rounds of inflow restrictions in recent times.
Financial advisors emphasize that recent ETF restrictions do not significantly impact retail investors, with the focus shifting to broader portfolio diversification strategies. Santosh Joseph, founder of Germinate Investor Services, told NDTV Profit that "the word is restriction only, it doesn't stop you from investing." He noted that investors can continue accessing gold through multiple routes, with the restrictions currently limited to a handful of fund houses. Mohit Gang, co-founder and CEO of Moneyfront, explained that the ₹10 lakh per month limit remains a decent and wide limit for retail investors to invest. Both experts argue that the discussion should prompt investors to think more broadly about diversification, beyond simply reducing risk to optimize overall portfolio returns.
The restrictions come amid growing scrutiny of India's gold imports, with India's gold import bill for the March 2026 quarter at $22.57 billion and full year of FY26 at $71.97 billion as against $9.5 billion and $58 billion respectively in the previous year, according to RBI data. Prime Minister Narendra Modi had last month called upon the public to help the country battle against the threats posed by the West Asia war, announcing measures to curb fuel usage, gold imports and foreign exchange drain. India holds nearly $4 trillion worth of household gold, while the current account deficit is around $65 billion, as noted by Feroze Azeez, joint CEO of Anand Rathi Wealth. Despite these import concerns, investments in gold ETFs crossed that into the traditionally popular equity funds for the first time when it had more than doubled month-on-month to a record high of ₹24,040 crore in January 2026, before moderating to pre-boom levels of ₹2,000-₹4,000 crore as safe-haven demand shifted to the dollar.
Despite new restrictions, routine transactions will continue to operate normally according to scheme documents. According to official announcements, redemptions, switch-outs, and Systematic Withdrawal Plans (SWP) will continue to operate normally as per scheme information document. The regulatory changes and prospective implementation details were officially announced through an addendum issued to the Scheme Information Document (SID) and Key Information Memorandum (KIM) of the respective schemes. As per The Indian Express, there is no structural restriction on retail investors in Gold ETFs, with the changes affecting only how fund houses manage large inflows at the margin, not how individuals invest or exit. Experts caution against chasing recent returns, with Santosh Meena from Swastika Investmart suggesting that investors should avoid paying premiums over net asset value and consider systematic investments instead of deploying large amounts at current levels. Industry players welcome these measures, with Feroze Azeez calling them a "responsible step" and noting that even 1% to 1.5% of household gold coming back into circulation can make a meaningful difference to India's external finances.
