Gold & Silver ETF Investors Alert! SEBI Changes Valuation Norms from April 1, 2026; Key Details Inside

India's capital markets regulator, Securities and Exchange Board of India, has introduced a major change in how gold and silver Exchange Traded Funds are valued. Effective April 1, 2026, mutual funds will now be required to use domestic exchange-published spot prices instead of international benchmarks like the London Bullion Market Association (LBMA).

SEBI's New Rule On Gold and Silver ETF Valuation

Under the revised framework, mutual fund houses must value physical gold and silver holdings using polled spot prices published by recognised Indian stock exchanges. These prices are already used for settlement of physically delivered gold and silver derivative contracts.

The new rule replaces the earlier system where valuations were based on LBMA AM fixing prices, adjusted for currency conversion, import duties, transportation costs, and other domestic factors. According to SEBI, this shift will make sure that ETF valuations are more reflective of domestic market conditions and follow a uniform pricing mechanism across fund houses.

Why SEBI Changed The Valuation Method

The regulator's decision after the consultations with stakeholders and recommendations from the Mutual Fund Advisory Committee.The key objective is to eliminate inconsistencies caused by the earlier valuation model. Previously, reliance on LBMA prices often led to variation in ETF NAVs due to currency fluctuations, import duties and taxes, Notional premiums or discounts, logistics and transportation costs.

Impact on gold ETF and silver ETF investors

For investors, the structure of gold ETFs and silver ETFs remains unchanged. However, the way their Net Asset Value (NAV) is calculated will now be different.

Major changes investors should know more transparency in ETF pricing, better comparability across schemes, closer alignment with domestic gold and silver prices and Possible minor changes in returns due to pricing differences.

The change does not directly impact the core investment value, but small variations in returns may occur.